Bonjour! Welcome to our blog, where we will be documenting our trip to Montpellier with the French department. Not only will we be spending a week in this beautiful city, but we will also be staying with French host families, attending a languages school, visiting the historic town of Carcassonne and fully immersing ourselves in the French way of life ♥

Wednesday 18 July 2012

The Montpellier film!

 Bonjour! 


 Liz here, and I have just finished making my film of the Winstanley College trip to Montpellier 2012.

 Here it is, and I hope you enjoy it. Double-click on the film title below to get a bigger video view on YouTube.


 It really was a great trip and I so hope I can go back to Montpellier one day ♥

 Merci beaucoup

 Liz x

Friday 23 March 2012

Vendredi

 Hi!


 I'm back home and very happy to see my family and my cat again. But I am a bit sad to be leaving the beautiful South of France, the lovely lady with whom I have been staying, and the amazing group of students on the trip.

 We have truly had a brilliant time. On Wednesday, we had our crêpe party at the Ecole, where we made our own crêpes - it was great fun, and I made sure to keep the recipe so I can make them just like that in the future!

 Wednesday night we went as a group to the Gaumont cinema to see the French film l'Oncle Charles; it was enjoyable but very hard to follow - we could understand the French, but not the plot! It was about a group of people pretending to be people they weren't, and it was so muddling trying to work out who was really who! We'd had a long day and some people fell asleep in the cinema. It was a nice evening out though.

 On Thursday we had our last morning of lessons at the Ecole. It's been a wonderful week, and I've learnt so much. The school is really fantastic and I would recommend it to anybody.

 The whole group then went to a crêperie, where we each had a savoury galette for our main course, then a sweet crêpe for dessert. I had a galette with cheese, ham, onion and egg, and then a crêpe with chocolate sauce. C'était delicieux!

 And for those who went upstairs to the toilet, there was a slight throwback to the aquarium - the staircase and the upstairs are brilliantly decorated to look like the inside of a ship - it really is very convincing. You can easily kid yourself that you are sailing at sea.

 After the crêperie we had one last shopping excursion in Montpellier, then we went home to do our packing and have our last meal with our families. We then went out to Cubanito Café for a last night out as a group. It was brilliant; lots of dancing and crazy singing! The "Montpellier Dance," invented by Catriona, will certainly be remembered for a long time.

 This morning we said an emotional goodbye to our host families, then set off by coach for Carcassonne Airport. I think everyone was sad that soon our amazing French experience - and our time together as a group - would be over. We didn't want the trip to end!

 Last year we had the Catalans Dragons on our flight, and this year we had the Toulouse Olympique rugby league team. We got back to Liverpool Airport, and were pleased to be back in the UK, but I think everyone still really misses France. One day, hopefully, we can go back...

 Merci beaucoup to everyone who went on the trip, for making it really fantastic. Hopefully we can all stay really good friends.

 Au revoir pour le moment,

 Liz x (aka Rizzle Kick - don't ask!)

Wednesday 21 March 2012

Hey guys!

Manda here... Last night was the best night so far as Liz said! Lazerquest was hysterical! Aurélie and Odile were definitely in it to win it! Still think that they were Ninjas in disguise! I must say la meilleure équipe a gagné! Go blue team!

Aujord'hui nous irons au cinéma pour regarder l'Oncle Charles! Il y aura beaucoup de bonbons et boissons mais je pense que je vais m'endormir pendant le film! 

Anyway either me or Liz will report back tomorrow if possible!

Bonne journée 
Manda :) 

Some photos

 Bonjour! 

 Here are some photos of our trip so far.

Carcassonne





Montpellier










At the aquarium





A l'École Klesse


 We are having a great time!

 Liz x

Mercredi

 Bonjour tout le monde!


 Yesterday was the best day yet; we had a brilliant time at the aquarium and then went LazerQuesting! C'était fantastique.

 At the aquarium we saw sharks, rays, adorable penguins and an octopus, along with lots and lots of fish of so many different colours, sizes and patterns. We went in a ship simulation and a hurricane simulation; an unusual experience which people came out of with very interesting hairstyles!

 LazerQuest was amazing; very exciting and fun and my team won both games! Allez les bleus!

 Tom was the overall winner of both games; "félicitations" to him.

 Now we're off to a crêpe party!

 Au revoir

 Liz x

Monday 19 March 2012

Lundi

 Bonjour tout le monde!


 Today we had our first morning of lessons at l'Ecole Klesse; the work was challenging but really enjoyable. We are in two groups; in my group we worked on techniques for writing a good essay or presentation; this is a very important skill for both the upper- and lower-sixth French exams, so we all found it really helpful.

 Today was Rachel's birthday and yesterday was Bethan's, so we had a little party for them at the Ecole with cake and we sang "Joyeux Anniversire." It was really nice. After lessons we went and ate in Montpellier; we ended up in a little park with a beautiful and unusual fountain - hopefully I can upload a photo soon! We then explored the city and some people did a bit of shopping.

 We rendez-voused in the centre of Montpellier for le course de trésor (the treasure hunt); this was nice because it enabled us to look all around Montpellier while trying to answer all the questions we had been given about the city. I saw parts of the city I'd never seen before, and I had thought that I knew the place pretty well! Montpellier will never run out of surprises, no matter how long you spend there. It is a city like no other ♥

 Tomorrow we are going to the aquarium and then LazerQuest! Should be fun! These were two of the best parts of last year's trip, so it should be a pretty great day.

 A demain,

 Liz x

Sunday 18 March 2012

Bonjour!

 Salut tout du monde!


 We are in Montpellier, having an amazing time.

 On Friday we flew out from Liverpool Airport, to the beautiful town of Carcassonne; we spent Friday night in a youth hostel there, which was good fun. We played some games as a group and it got very competitive! Carcassonne is wonderful; we found an amazing sweet shop with lollipops of every flavour imaginable! There were some lovely, cosy bars and restaurants, where we sheltered from the cold (Il faisait froid au soir!), chatted and got to know each other a bit better. On Saturday morning we visited the castle, which is really impressive, and enjoyed the stunning views of Carcassonne (now in the sunshine!) from its ramparts. C'était chouette!

 The coach journey to Montpellier on Saturday afternoon was enjoyable; the South of France is so beautiful ♥ We arrived in Montpellier and met our French families; I have the same lady I had last year, and she is lovely ♥

 Today we went on a group excursion to Arles, a Roman town, and Saintes Maries de la Mer, a seaside town with a really beautiful church. We also visited the beach which was lovely - luckily the sun shined for us when we reached the beach, whereas it had rained earlier in the day.

 We are having a great time, and learning lots of French. You really don't know until you experience it just how beneficial it is being completely surrounded by a language. You learn new things all the time.

 I will try to add photos and video clips to this blog tomorrow - though I can't guarantee anything because it means tracking down the cyber-café! But I will do my best.

 Vive Montpellier!

 Merci de lire,

 Liz x

Wednesday 14 March 2012

36 hours!

Hey guys! This time in 36 hours we will be on our flight to the amazing city of Carcassonne! It will be a great way to get to know other people on the trip and I am looking forward to meeting you all! À vendredi! Manda x

Tuesday 13 March 2012

3 days to go!

 Bonjour!

 We are setting out for Carcassonne on Friday, and I am ecstatic! I adore this beautiful medieval town and am looking forward to walking down its sunny streets again, eating crêpes, exploring all the quirky little shops, and admiring the huge castle.


 It's also nice to know that we will be visiting the town where scenes of Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves were filmed!





 We will then travel on Montpellier, where we will be staying for the rest of the trip.



This is an amazing city whose famous university and huge student scene make it a brilliant place to stay; dynamic and thriving with things to do - shops, bars and restaurants of every description; the aquarium, the zoo, bowling, the cinema, LazerQuest, wonderful open-air markets and the spectacular multicoloured trams which can really put a smile on your face.




 So, this promises to be an amazing trip. We will try to keep this blog updated with stories, photos and hopefully video clips of our time in the beautiful Languedoc-Rousillon (the French region in which Montpellier and Carcassonne can be found).

 Merci de lire.

 Liz x

Thursday 1 March 2012

15 days to go! :)

Hey Guys!

I have always wanted to speak and use the French Language in my everyday life so therefore this trip means alot to me that I am staying with a native and speaking the language as much as possible!
I honestly don't know how I am going to cope with 15kg of Luggage though...
I am hoping this trip will as enjoyable as many are making out it was last year and I can't wait!

Merci
Manda x