The French Exchange trip to Grenoble ends today. Here's what they got up to this week:
Monday
Today we took a trip into the Vercors mountain region along with the French partners. In the morning we visited the Mémorial de la Résistance, a museum which commemorates the role of the French resistance in resisting the Nazi invasion and helping the Allies with the Liberation of France. The Vercors was an important area for the French Resistance due to its isolation and inaccessibility which made it an ideal place for resistance fighters to hide and train. The weather was amazing today and we ate our lunch outside in the sunshine before putting on our raquettes for the snow walk. We walked through the woods, threw a lot of snowballs, made some snow angels and got back on the coach very tired but happy. We are looking forward to our day in Lyon tomorrow!
Tuesday
Another early start today as we set off for a day trip to Lyon, France’s 3rd biggest city. We were dropped off at Fourvière at the top of the hill where we met our tour guide for the morning. We learnt all about the history of Lyon, visited the Basilica, the Roman amphitheatre and the famous "traboules" in Old Lyon. After some free time for shopping and eating we visited the Cinema and Miniature museum which according to one student was "the best museum I’ve been to!" We saw all kinds of props and special effects from a huge range of films such as Alien, Harry Potter and Back to the Future. Part of the special effects work included some incredibly detailed miniature sets which were really impressive. Tomorrow we are spending the morning exploring Grenoble and then we have a free afternoon to spend with our partners as there is no school in France on Wednesday afternoons!
Wednesday
On Wednesday morning students on the French Exchange spent time in Grenoble, Oxford’s twin town. We completed a quiz to get to know the the town a bit better and then went to a reception with the Deputy Mayor of Grenoble. The Deputy Mayor spoke very warmly about the importance of School exchanges to promote friendship and solidarity between countries. We learnt that 2019 will be the 30 year anniversary of the link between Grenoble and Oxford. After some food and drink at the reception we visited the archeological remains at the Crypte Saint Laurent and learnt more about the history of Grenoble. Then it was back to the French school on the tram to meet our partners and a free afternoon as there is no school in France on Wednesday afternoon!
Thursday
On Thursday Wallingford students experienced life in a French school, attending lessons and eating lunch in the school canteen. We also attended a talk about Space in a pop-up planetarium! After lunch we took the cable car to the top of La Bastille which gave us some great views of Grenoble and the mountains. Then we experienced Spéliobox-a series of boxes which you have to escape from, a bit like caving. Even the teachers managed to squeeze their way through this! We rounded off the day with a party back at the Lycée where we thanked our hosts for a fantastic visit. We are now really looking forward to when the French students visit us in March!
