UII residential trip to La Grange d’Espins in France

UII have just returned from a superb trip to Normandy in France. We were extremely lucky in the weather which was mainly hot and sunny.

On arrival at the gîte, we excitedly unpacked and said hello to Mousse, the resident dog. We had to keep alert as our bus driver, Fabrice, our guide, David, and the kitchen staff did not speak any English. At mealtimes- breakfast and dinner which was a 3 course meal, we had to communicate in French if we wanted anything!

Our first trip was to the market and we were moved by all the chicks and ducklings for sale in the live market. We were given 5 euros each to buy lunch in our group- for this we needed to get the right quantities of cheese, tomatoes, saucisson, or chicken and ask for it in French! However, we quickly got used to it and most of us treated ourselves to at least one crêpe which cost only 50 centimes.

At the port

This is our room

We ate lunch outside at the goat farm run by Monsieur Martin who again did not speak any English! We were introduced to Balou, his dog, who was very friendly and chewed your sleeve and behaved like a goat rather than a dog! The star of the farm was their mascot, Etoile, who was a baby goat who had been rejected by his Mother because he could not see or walk properly. Monsieur Martin’s wife had looked after it and some of us fed it with milk from a biberon or baby’s bottle. We watched a video of how the goat’s milk was processed into cheese and we all loved lifting, stroking, brushing, and even milking the goats. Many of us bought cheeses to take home.

Our trip to Mont St Michel the next day was very exciting, though, at first, we toured the ancient town itself and there were so many people! We then learned that it was a bank holiday, so we quickly ate our lunch and went barefoot onto the sands to cross the bay. This was pure mud and sand combined and we had difficulty in standing upright at first! Woody told us medieval tales and legends about the Mount and started off speaking in French but ended up talking in English. We learned how to test for sinking sand, and followed Woody 10 metres behind through streams and the water went right up to the tops of our legs!

Being given 3 Euros each to buy lunch from the market

We reached the other side before the tide came back, and washed our very muddy/sandy legs! We had walked at least 6 kilometres that day!

It did not stop us from taking part in our talent contest after supper that evening. There were songs, poems, and acting. The song of the trip seemed to be Queen’s “We will rock you!” sung by all at one time or another. Dinethri won the song section with a lovely song from “Annie” and Annabel, Phoebe, Alys, Araminta, Sabelo and Becky pretended to be old ladies doing the Can-Can and won a prize too.

We went in two groups for our last day’s canoeing on the River Orme. Woody taught us how to work the paddles and we went in threes. Lots of people went straight into the bank, and, try as we might, we did not manage to capsize! Mrs Cowx went with us and we learned to go in a straight line down the river-a shame we were not allowed to go right over the waterfall instead of left!

After another great picnic, we went to the Hypermarché for a final whizz round and then onto the bus and onto the ferry. On board, we showed our knowledge of films, and Georgina won a prize. We then hit the dance floor as a grand finale.

The return trip was as smooth as the outward journey, and we went on deck and saw the lights of The Spinaca Tower in Portsmouth. We were back in England once more!

UPPER II M

Canoeing on the River Orne

Canoeing and the Goat farm

Today we woke up to find we would be going canoeing, so we ate really quickly and left on the bus. We got there and had a little talk about paddling and steering before setting off in threes. I was with Hannie and Lauren; it was fun as I was Captain and helped do the steering. We did loads of fun things like 720º turns and races! Next, we went into the village and bought some souvenirs and postcards at the corner shop. Then we sat down at an eating area, ordered drinks in French, and wrote to our parents. We posted our letters and went back to the Gîte for lunch-it was delicious! Then we packed our suitcases and tidied our dorms for inspection before dinner, writing in our diaries and going to bed. What a day!

by Hattie

Normandy Goats’ Farm

• Meet Monsieur Martin and his family of goats
• Hold, stroke, brush and feed the baby goats
• Watch an interesting documentary on Monsieur Martin’s life caring for his goats and making cheese
• Try milking a goat with the help of Monsieur Martins so you can drink the freshest goats’ milk
• After all that excitement you can sit down and taste monsieur martin’s speciality goats’ cheese
• If Monsieur Martin’s goats’ cheese excite your taste buds you can buy the cheeses from the farm shop

… SO DON’T DELAY VISIT TODAY!

Charlotte

Here are some of the girls’ comments…

“On the trip I developed a better relationship with the other class. I also became more confident in speaking French.” Lizzie

“Something I learned in Normandy was how to speak more French; I even had a conversation with a shopkeeper!” Christy

“Life in a dorm was fun because I got to know the people in my dorm much better. It was good being away from home because I learned to do more things for myself.” Saraya

“It was nice being in a dorm with my friends - even though I was a little homesick.” Helena

“I learned to be more independent.” Rachael

One good thing about being away from home was escaping from my little sister!” Anon