Bonjour From Dani Herreen and Rachel Hutchings

Hey everyone :)

This is Dani and Rachel here.

France is absolutely AMAZING!!! Definitely getting nice and fat from all the great food. Last night everyone did a cultural painting activity and might we say our work should definitely be displayed in the Louvre as you can see from our pictures on the blog :) So far Dani has taken 915 photos and still have 8 days left, wow. The perfume factory yesterday was très bon! Lets just say a lot of money was spent.... :) (on presents for you, of course!) This morning we had a scavenger hunt around Cap d'Aïl, this included ordering food in french and talking to different people on the streets of France. It was heaps of fun I think everyone is getting the hang of the whole French culture. All we need to fit in even more is a cute little poodle in our handbag. LOL. Looking back on our photos, we can already tell it has been a magnificent experience and many great memories have been had. Wow the life is different between Monaco and Paris though! Overall enjoying the amazing food, views, language and company of the group, will keep you undated with our further adventures.

Miss Everyone heaps check out the photos, more to come :)

Much love Dani and Rachel xxxx

La vie au CMEF

Hello Everyone This is Candice and Lauren,

Currently we are staying in the beautiful monaco, it is very sunny and warm and we have an amazing view of the Mediterranean Sea. We have seen the Royal Palace in Monaco, gotten the best ice cream ever in Menton with some of the boys managing to eat a tub of 500 grams of icecream it was that good. Yesterday we went to Eze to the perfumery, and passed through a beautiful church/village with a stunning view. At the moment we are staying with a big group of Spanish, Italian and French Students. The things that we have seen in our time in Monaco so far are breath taking and we will take back all the memories. We are so looking forward to going to avignon soon but not to excited at the fact of leaving this bit of paradise.

Love Candice and Lauren

xoxo

Tout va bien! Menton, Eze et les cours de français

Chers lecteurs!

The good times continue here at the Centre Mediteranneen. I'm sitting in the sun in the beautiful gardens whilst the students have a short break from classes. They're keen to write an entry this afternoon so stay tuned. The program is so full it's hard to pin ourselves down - there's never a dull moment here in Monaco!

This morning the classes had an excursion to Cap d'Aïl, where they had little 'missions' to complete - all in French. All groups had to buy something different from the boulangerie, ask questions about the region and find opening times of shops etc. For me as the teacher, it was an exceptionally good activity and the students got a lot out of it. They're going to have a dégustation of all the things they bought later on - so it's an all encompassing experience. Their teachers here at the centre are so pleased with their language skills and one of them even said that she wished all her classes were as enthusiastic and well behaved as our Scotchies have been.

As for excursions and other activities - we've been to the Parfumerie at Eze, where we learnt how perfume is made and how you can become a 'nose' after 10 years of training. A nose is the person who can distinguish all the different scents and you have to be born with this skill. Certain students think they've got what it takes and it pays 15,000 euro per month for 2-3 hours work per day, so it's rather appealing! The old town of Eze gave spectacular views of the coast and the narrow streets were like scenes from a movie.

We also went to Menton, the last town before you reach Italy. Here we discovered the Musée Jean Cocteau - an artist who helped design the language school and we also went crazy for ice cream and Gelati. A new record has been set with 2 of the boys managing half a kilo of ice cream each. Luckily we've been jogging to stay in shape and with all the walking we've been doing, it's a non issue!

Night time at the centre has had some diverse activities - including a crêpe night - where M. Lefeuvre presented his famous crêpe à la bretonne, which was amazing! You'll have to ask him for the recipie! We've also painted a plate in the Jean Cocteau style and had a disco. The disco was a mix of choreographed routines performed by the Italians, disco lights and lots of singing and jumping about. It was a great chance to de-stress and have some fun.

We've got 2 more nights here at the Cemtre and then it's on to Avignon. The trains are still on strike, so our schedule may need to be flexible, but more trains are running than there were last week. 3 out of 4 are guaranteed, though we won't know which ones until the morning we leave. Fingers crossed it's all OK, were getting good at adapting to the circumstances!

I'll make sure some students do the next update!

Shawn

Bonjour!!! :)

This is a big hello from Charlotte, Emily, and Jamie! We are absolutely loving France and it is absolutely amazing. We have had such nice weather (up till today which was a tad chilly) and we are now at the language centre. The classes have been quite challenging, but very fun so far, and we have already learnt so much by immersing ourselves in the language, and by ordering a lot of crepes, chocolate croissants and ice creams! Hope we still fit into our formal dresses when we get back, but we have been doing a lot of walking around the beautiful streets of Monaco, Villefranche, Cannes, and Antibes, taking in the breathtaking views! We especially loved the relaxing beach at Villefranche, and the cute streets of Antibes. We are all having a ball, and finally did some washing today. We can't wait to experience more and are looking forward to shopping in Avignon, climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower, the night bike tour, and Disneyland! Hope all is well in Adelaide!

Love Charlotte, Emily, and Jamie!

xoxo

Centre Mediteranéen

It’s quite amazing to think we’ve been away for 1 week already! Our program has been so full it’s like we’ve packed a fortnight worth of activities into 7 days. The last few days have been no exception and life at the CMEF is proving to be a perfect balance between activities, classes, excursions and even some relaxation under the Mediterranean sunshine.

The students have very positive reports from their first class on Friday – the Year 11 group have Armelle, who taught the group last time. Many have commented on how useful the classes are and how much they think they will improve over the next few days. The teachers only speak in French so it’s up to the students to make the most of the chances they have. Friday evening we had a quiz musicale – Australia vs USA and we came in first and second place! Allez l’Australie!

Saturday we had our first excursions. In the morning we went to Monaco and saw the old town and the Palais. A few were very excited to see that the Prince was in – as denoted by the flag being raised. The impressive geographical structure of Monte Carlo provided a stunning backdrop for many photos and has proven to be a delightful, though sometimes challenging stroll up and down the hills and steps! We’ll never complain about the steps up to the French room ever again!

In the afternoon we headed to Villefranche sur mer, a picturesque seaside town situated in a bay, complete with one of the largest chateaux on the Cote d’Azur, an old section of the town with cobbled streets and narrow pathways and of course a stunning beach. We spent 40 minutes soaking up the sun and dipping our feet in the crystal blue water whist savouring the local ice cream – which I can verify was delicious!!

We finished off the day with a closely fought soccer match between Monaco and Valenciennes, with Monaco winning 2-1. I think we doubled the amount of supporters for their team, so I’m attributing the victory to us! We know all the chants and sat with the devoted cheer squad who welcomed us into their cheers! We’ve all got official Monaco FC flags and scarves to mark the occasion.

Thanks you all for the comments – yes, it’s a tiring experience, though we all had a solid 8 hours sleep last night (most students had even more) and with all the sun we’ve been getting – it’s easy to stay positive and smile! Sickness has been and gone, we’ve survived a gastro scare and hopefully can avoid any colds and flu. We’ve given all rooms a bottle of dettol hand wash to keep all germs at bay. Thanks for the footy updates too – we’re all worried about our tips and dream teams!!

Tomorrow we’re off to Cannes and Antibes – personally, I can’t wait for Antibes!

À la prochaine….

Shawn, Seb and Melissa