A total of 21 girls studying French at GCSE and A-level enjoyed an incredible trip to the French Riviera in Southern France during the half term holiday. French teacher and tour guide extraordinaire, Isabelle Powell describes the experience:
“We flew from Bristol and arrived in Nice in time for a late afternoon tour of the shopping area and a walk on the “Promenade des Anglais” from where we were able to admire the sunset over the Mediterranean. On Saturday, we spent a whole day in St-Tropez, going around the amazing market all morning, the wonderful shops and the marina. We encouraged the girls to explore the myriad of quaint village nooks, the “Citadelle” and to have a taste of “la tarte Tropézienne” whilst there. In a packed itinerary, the next day was spent in Monaco, visiting its Tropical Gardens, the Oceanographic Museum and the cathedral where we saw Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier’s tombs.
After the Monday morning French lessons, we had a guided tour of Old Nice, visited the cathedral, the catholic cemetery and the “Confiserie” Florian. We were able to taste many of their specialities, all of which were absolutely delicious. The next day, after some hard work on grammar and conjugation, we spent the afternoon in Eze, the quaintest village we explored on this tour. We visited a perfumery where we learnt the know-how behind perfume-making which the girls thoroughly enjoyed. We then climbed through cobbled sinuous narrow streets, full of charming art and craft shops, stopping on the way for a pancake for some or a waffle for others.
On Wednesday, we visited the Villa Ephrussi of Rothschild, positioned on the peninsula of St-Jean-Cap-Ferrat from which one has stunning views of the coast. Both the villa and gardens were fascinating with works of art collected by Beatrice Ephrussi of Rothschild. Every 20 minutes, the fountains come alive to the sound of classical music which is truly enchanting.
On our last day, after the morning lessons, we had some free time to finalise our shopping. At the end of the day, we were able to see Nice by night with its main square, gardens and fountains illuminated.
All good things come to an end, we flew back to Bristol on Friday afternoon, after the morning lesson, all very sad the week had gone so quickly. The girls had a great time and were a credit to our school. We are already looking forward to our next trip in October 2018!”