Day 8&9: A day with our families &Goodbye Angers

Historical theme park, Puy du Fou

Day eight: A day with our families


We got to spend all of day with our french families! Students went to places such as Puy du Fou, Mount Saint Michel, and professional football (soccer) games!






Day nine: Goodbye Angers

Everyone met at the train station to drop off our students and say goodbye. As soon as you walked in, you immediately started to tear up. Everyone was crying and hugging their families. Madame had to take charge and give directions when the train showed up. No one wanted to leave their French families. The train ride to Paris was quiet and sad, and many students caught up on some sleep.




















We arrived in Paris a little after noon. When we got there, the excitement was through the roof! We took a bus to the hostel to leave our suitcases, then took the metro to the Eiffel tower. The metro ride seemed to take forever! We stepped out of the metro, turned a corner, and there it was! The Eiffel Tower, in all its glory! We spent some time finding the best angles to snap some pics, and then we continued on. We got in line to go up the tower, and while we were waiting, we grabbed some snacks! We traveled up 328 excruciating steps to the first floor. The view was wonderful! But many of us and no intentions in going any higher! A few brave souls decided to climb 341 more steps and take the elevator to the very top!

The view from the top was breath taking! You could almost see the whole world from up there! We looked through binoculars and played eye spy!
What did people do on the ground?

When we were done climbing the tower, we took the elevator back down to the ground. The groups that had separated before met in the market by the river. We had time to shop and have dinner. There were so many different cultural foods, along with a macaron shop, candy store, and souvenir store.

When it got dark, we took an open boat,Le Bateau Mouche, down the Siene River. We got a wonderful tour of Paris at night. The boat was lit up, along with bridges, the Observation Wheel, and the Eiffel tower. It was a wonderful way to end our last day in France!

Day 7-The freedom of a French student, A delicious tour.

Day seven- Yummy bakery trip and exploring Historic Angers


We started off the day attending classes with our Frenchies. For lunch, several students got to enjoy a privilege they don' have at home: leaving school for lunch. Depending on their class schedule, French students are allowed up to a 3 hour lunch break to leave school and travel anywhere they'd like for lunch. One student took the tram into the city with her Frenchie and her friends. She was given a quick tour of the city and shown the best places to eat. They chose to eat at a pasta restaurant, where the food was served in a Chinese take out container! They enjoyed their meal sitting in a beautiful garden in front of the Château d'Angers, something you'd never get to experience in the US!

After lunch, the students returned to school for classes.  At 4 o'clock we headed back out again to visit a bakery in Angers. The owner, Monsieur Phillipe, was nice enough to take his time to give us tours. The students broke into two groups, and one explored the city while the other took the bakery tour.  Monsieur Phillipe explained how his bakery makes their delicious bread, step by step. Learning about how long and rigorous the process is was amazing!  He was so enthusiastic about his business that he made the whole tour so much fun! We were given the chance to knead and form our own baguettes and pastries. We were given so many samples of different types of bread, pastries, and éclairs that we were stuffed when the tour was over!

Once everyone had the chance to explore Angers, take the tour, and buy a pastry if they wished, we returned to the school for the farewell dinner. Parents helped out to prepare a fabulous meal for everyone involved in the exchange! We had Fouées, which is a small, airy bread that you can stuff. The bread was freshly made in a wood fire oven they brought to the school. We filled it with meats, hot apples, salted butter, and nutella! The students played games, such as foosball, and talked with all of their friends throughout the night. There was lots of laughter and smiles It was emotional knowing this was the last time our whole exchange group would be able to spend time together in one place.