Weds Feb 29

Weds was our day to go snowshoeing in the Vosges mountains. In the bus we got a sense of going up and up; but when we got to where we were going we were in a cloud. Very foggy and windy time on the snowshoes, but after several hours of rigorous exercise we were happy to see a place to relax and eat good food. As we ate, the sky cleared and by the time we left we saw some magnificent sights, little lakes nestled in valleys, wonderful trees. They say these woods are enchanted, I can believe it! The guide made the kids nibble on needles to tell the difference between conifers! The meal at the refuge was tartiflette, a cheese and potato sort of casserole, with a myrtilles tart for dessert. Very yummy! We saw lots of people enjoying the mountain, skiing, as we left. We were at about 3600 feet. After a few hours rest ... bowling that night! Things are going great, can't believe we have just two days left!! See you all soon!

Monday Presentations

A few photos of the kids making their presentations, and of the surrounding area.

Weekend with families

Over the weekend students spent time with their families ; some went to Nancy for shopping and to visit the sights, some went to visit a lovely tourist spot with a lake nearby. Mrs. Francisco and I spent time with our host teachers Sylvie and Delphine on Saturday in Nancy and on Sunday in Baccarat (famous for the crystal) to watch a big parade for carnaval. Some pictures of our adventures! We are at school today; sat in on an English class so far with Heather, Kathleen and Natalie, more to follow this afternoon.

Friday in Epinal!!

Thankfully our trip to Epinal did not start until 9 am, so people got to sleep a little more. At the museum of the printed image, Heather got to try a press like the one invented by Gutenberg. We got a full introduction to the history of printing, and saw some of the techniques used in the 17 and 1800s to create and hand-color printed images. Free time in Epinal: students explored churches and ruins and of course did more shopping; chaperones lunched in an indian restaurant, yum! Then a trip to the American cemetary where the remains of more than 5000 American soldiers from WWII still reside, some of whom lost their lives to protect Bruyeres; a very moving experience. Back to the families for weekend outings together; the blog is on vacation until Monday when we are back in school. HAPPY WEEKEND!

If it's Thursday this must be Strasbourg ...

Beautiful visit of this beautiful and historic city, then a trip to the seat of the European Parliament building, lunch and souvenirs, bus back to Bruyeres and dinner with families...

Wednesday in Paris...

Photos out of order, today we started out by dragging all of our bags to the train station ... left them and metro'd it up to Sacre Coeur in Montmartre and enjoyed a panoramic view of the city, ate a special lunch of crepes and escargot!! then went shopping at discount shoe stores, walked and trained back to the Eiffel Tower, took a boat ride on the Seine and ... AU REVOIR PARIS!!!
Back to the train and taking cat naps until we woke up in Bruyeres! Bonjour les familles, and off to sleep.

Tuesday!!

Well, I didn't get a lot of photos today of stuff, just some photos of kids. We started out on a trip to Versailles, we ended up walking for a bit in Versailles and enjoying some coffee in a little brasserie en route. We played lost and found in Versailles (!), but ended up with everybody found :-) Lunch in the gardens of Versailles, then we rushed back to Paris to meet up with Eloise, Kathleen's French student from the exchange 3 years ago (!) who came up from Blois with her mom and a friend to meet us in the Place des Vosges, a beautiful Rennaissance square. We visited Victor Hugo's house in the Place des Vosges, then relaxed over coffee again (ah, this cafe lifestyle!!), and said good bye to Eloise in the Place de la Bastille. Headed back to the residence for supper, then out to find Heather a t-shirt from the Hard Rock Cafe Paris. Success! We have walked about 3,000 miles in the last two days, and the students are thinking their track coach is going to be very happy with their thighs and calves when the season starts ... Packing tonight, last day in Paris tomorrow before our train to Bruyeres!!