France 2023

Bon Voyage! On April 3rd, 2023, eleven students and two teachers left Roanoke for Paris for their two week exchange with Lycée Privé Charles Péguy in Gorges, France.

France 2023

Bon Voyage! On April 3rd, 2023, eleven students and two teachers left Roanoke for Paris for their two week exchange with Lycée Privé Charles Péguy in Gorges, France.

After arriving they took some time to explore Paris, the capital and most populated city of France!

April 6, 2023

Our travelers arrived in Gorges. Here are a few photos of them enjoying their grape juice while on a vineyard tour, and also later hanging out in the library.

April 6, 2023

Our travelers arrived in Gorges.

Here are a few photos of them enjoying their grape juice while on a vineyard tour, and also later hanging out in the library.

April 7, 2023

Today, they visited the nearby small city of Clisson. Clisson is a medieval town with Tuscany architecture and is named for Jeanne de Clisson. She is known as ‘The Lioness of Brittany” and was France’s first and fiercest female pirate driven to war with the French king in order to avenge her husband’s death.

April 7, 2023

April 8-11, 2023

The students spent a long weekend with their host families and visited a variety of attractions, both natural and manmade. Enjoy their collages below:

April 8-11, 2023

The students spent a long weekend with their host families and visited a variety of attractions, both natural and manmade.

Enjoy their collages below:

Stephanie biked to the market for fresh fish in Nantes, a city with a long history as a port and industrial center.

She also attended a French Garden party, enjoyed oysters, and took a ride on the ferry to a French hot dog shop.

Stephanie biked to the market for fresh fish in Nantes, a city with a long history as a port and industrial center.

She also attended a French Garden party, enjoyed oysters, and took a ride on the ferry to a French hot dog shop.

Chloe visited the medieval town of Guérande and explored a church from 1790 and also hit the beach.

Chloe visited the medieval town of Guérande and explored a church from 1790.

They also hit the beach.

Olivia visited the fine sand beach of La Boule in the Atlantic Loire Valley, which is regarded as one of the best beaches in Europe.

Andre and Nama’s families visited one of the 20 beaches found at Saint-Naizare.

They also visited the historical Puy du Fou theme park in Les Epesses to see a show. The park receives more than 2 million visitors every year, making it one of the most popular theme parks in France.

Andre and Nama’s families visited one of the 20 beaches found at Saint-Naizare.

Madeline captured photos of two major landmarks of the 19th-century landscape of Paris from below – Notre Dame Cathedral and the Arc du Triumph.

These photos are from her time at Sainte-Naizare, which was one of the last territories in Europe to be liberated from German occupation in 1945.

Isabella visited the sea in Le Pouliguen, which is known for its crystal clear turquoise water.

She also visited the protected Guérande Salt Marshes that have been used in the production of salt for hundreds of years.

Isabella visited the sea in Le Pouliguen, which is known for its crystal clear turquoise water.

She also visited the protected Guérande Salt Marshes that have been used in the production of salt for hundreds of years.

Ebelin toured the Château de Saint-Fargeau, a 17th-century Renaissance château in the Burgundy region of France, which was originally used as a hunting residence.

She also tried her hand at stone carving and made the cute bird in the last photo.

Derek attend a concert in Brittany, France. They played in Breton, a local Celtic language. The people here are not of French decent, but instead descendents of refugees who fled Celtic Britain to escape the Anglo-Saxon invaders of the fifth century.

Desmond shared a photo collection of his travels which included a tidal island named Mont-Saint-Michel which is located in Normandy.

He also visited the Brittany American cemetery, which has over 4,400 World War II American soldiers buried there.

Desmond shared a photo collection of his travels which included a tidal island named Mont-Saint-Michel which is located in Normandy.

He also visited the Brittany American cemetery, which has over 4,400 World War II American soldiers buried there.

Sebastian visited the Nantes Memorial to Abolition. Nantes was France’s most active port in the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

April 11, 2023

Today everyone took the train from Nantes to visit a castle, a slave exhibit, and a cathedral before having lunch together.

Afterwards they were treated to a trip to La Galerie des Machines, where they enjoyed an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour. Les Machines de l’île was inspired by Jules Verne who is a Nantes native. The iron, steel, and glass pavilion was built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris.

Although they could not take any photos during their behind-the-scenes tour, they were able to capture a number of wonderful photos and videos to share with us.

April 11, 2023

Today everyone took the train from Nantes to visit a castle, a slave exhibit, and a cathedral before having lunch together.

Although they could not take any photos during their behind-the-scenes tour, they were able to capture a number of wonderful photos and videos to share with us.

April 12th, 2024

Today in Clisson they visited the site of France’s annual June rock festival. The festival focuses on heavy metal music and is called Hellfest Summer Open Air, or simply Hellfest. This event’s high attendance makes it the French music festival with the largest turnover, and it is one of the biggest metal festivals in Europe.

April 12th, 2024

April 13, 2023

Today the group trained in to Paris, where they spent the day visiting the Louvre. Paris is also full of iconic and historic structures and makes for a picuesque drive.

While driving down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées , they saw the historic exhibition hall and museum, Le Grand Palais (on the left in the photo).

On the right is Le Petit Palais, which was constructed in 1900 and now houses a significant collection of decorative murals and sculptures created between 1903 and 1925.

They also drove passed the L’Assemblée Nationale, which is the lower house of Parliament.

April 13, 2023

aToday the group trained in to Paris, where they spent the day visiting the Louvre. Paris is also full of iconic and historic structures and makes for a picuesque drive.

The photo on the left below shows the historic exhibition hall and museum, Le Grand Palais (left) and Le Petit Palais (right) as they drove down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The latter was constructed in 1900 and now houses a significant collection of decorative murals and sculptures created between 1903 and 1925.

The photo on the right shows the L’Assemblée Nationale, which is the lower house of Parliament.

April 14th, 2024

They enjoyed one last French meal, and made one last iconic stop at the Eiffel Tower before beginning the journey home from a trip they would never forget.

April 14th, 2024

They enjoyed one last French meal, and made one last iconic stop at the Eiffel Tower before beginning the journey home from a trip they would never forget.