We left school early on Friday morning to travel down to Dover and caught the ferry to Calais at lunchtime. We arrived at Chateau du Broutel in the afternoon in time for dinner then we played relay games with the leaders from the chateau. After that we had some free time to look around the chateau and settle into our rooms.
On Saturday we had a tour around Rue, the town we were staying in. We learned about the local traditions and some of the history of the town which was occupied by the Nazis in the second world war. We visited the market where we had the opportunity to talk to the locals in French. After that we went to the supermarket to stock up on sweets! In the afternoon we visited a chocolate factory where we saw the owner make delicious chocolate; we learned the process and got to try some. The day ended with a visit to the beach at Berck-sur-Mer where we were able to relax in the sun for two hours. Back at the chateau in the evening we mixed with some children from other schools and made some new friends.
On Sunday we had a very early start as we had a three hour journey to Disneyland Paris. We spent the day on the rides and attractions with our friends. Everybody agreed that the Indiana Jones ride was the best by far! When we returned to the chateau we got to try frogs legs and snails for dinner – they were disgusting but well done to those of us who made the effort to try them!
The final day started with a visit to the goat farm. At the farm we were able to hold and stroke goats, ducklings and rabbits. One baby goat had been born only 30 minutes before we arrived! The farmer only spoke French which encouraged us to use the language. We learned how to make goats cheese and then we were allowed to try some.
The journey home was a long one and we returned tired but happy having had a great time visiting France, improving our language and learning about the culture. Thanks to Mrs Elphick for organising a fantastic trip.
By Ella Simpson, Joe Ford and Alicia Bennici.
