Newsletter 38 - July 2012 - Faringdon Community College

FCC Paris Trip 11th-15th June 2012 – Year 9’s View
Four weeks ago a group of year 8 and 9 students embarked on a quest to discover and explore the depths of
Paris. At 6.15 on the 11th of June, bleary eyed and confused, we clambered onto the coach after ten minutes
of torrential rain. After eleven sweaty hours, ten horrible minutes, and 3 dreary seconds, we were welcomed
by radiant sunlight. Scrambling off of the coach, we realised that
eleven hours wasn’t good for the legs and collapsed in a heap in
the reception. After the feeling came flooding back to our legs
we headed to our rooms to hit the hay.
After a rude awakening by a handful of willing teachers at 0700
hours we opened our eyes and were very surprised as many of
us had never seen this hour before. Breakfast was a calamity so
we won’t go there... We sprinted to the coach to ensure the best
seats. A busy day followed visiting The Stade De France and
Montmartre. The evening consisted of a visit to the Eiffel Tower.
Stunned by the huge lights and limos around us, we eventually
got to the second floor losing 5 pounds in the process. We were
amazed by the mesmerising view and promptly left due to our obsession with food. After food and a cheeky
power nap we returned back to base.
Day 3 of our quest. After losing Mr West during his optimistic run, once again we ventured into Paris. Firstly
jumping on the chance of a boat journey we headed down
the river for the photography enthusiasts. After a bit of
relaxing and sightseeing in the Louvre courtyard, we
headed off to the Musée d’Orsay.. We started off a bit too
optimistically and strode straight for the Monet section,
abruptly realising than we weren’t as fit as we originally
thought and had to have quick power nap on a nearby
bench. Eventually getting into to Monet’s section, we saw
his original paintings and had a chance to buy prints of
them. After an enormous hike from the gallery to Notre
Dame which almost killed us (especially after 2 hours of
lightly strolling around an art gallery) our tour guides
greeted us warmly to their humble abode. They took us to
the actual shops which starred in Sweeney Todd and then later explaining that the Notre Dame’s architect had
made two statues of himself on the building because he was an arrogant Frenchman. Then the heavens
opened, dumping millions of gallons of water on us and treating us to a jaw dropping thunderstorm. Let’s just
say we got a bit damp… We then stiffly waddled around the corner to the crêperie where we enjoyed a lovely
two course meal of crêpes. To be honest some of us weren’t exactly what you’d call clean. With full stomachs
we marched out of the restaurant into a now clear skied
city. We all then got a bit stressed and confused when
the bus driver decided to play chase through the busy
roads. Eventually getting back to base exhausted, we
collapsed on our beds and soon fell asleep.
Day 4 of our quest: Parc Astérix! No one minded the
lengthy bus journey as they had been looking forward
to this all week. When we arrived, Miss let us roam free
throughout the park only being summoned for lunch
money. The day was incredible, hitting big ride after big
ride and occasionally some of the little ones. What a
way to end a fantastic trip to France. The journey back
was long but incredibly entertaining as we had plenty of
banter and food. We would like thank all of the teachers
for enabling this trip to be as enjoyable as it was and to
put up with us for a week.
By Jake Thacker- Pugsley, Millie Buck. Mallory Ritchie, Freyja Langford and Abigail Campbell.