2009 France Study Tour

One might say that a study tour of France is de rigueur. This is why Mr Bussu and Mrs Fish took the crème de la crème of VSC to tour Paris and the chateaux region of the Loire Valley during the recent holiday break.

For Mr Bussu, particularly, the trip had a soupçon of déjà vu about it. With him as tour guide par excellence and Mrs Fish as his trusty accoutrement, it was a fait accompli that the tour would be sans faux pas.

Our first stop was in the medieval town of Loches which had a truly convivial ambiance. After a visit to the local dungeon, the oldest in Europe, the group had a successful rendezvous with students from the nearby high school which culminated in a delicious gourmet tasting of the canteen cuisine. The pièce de résistance, however, was viewing the magnificent Renaissance castles built beside and across the Loire River including Chenonceau, Azay-le-Rideau, and Villandry with its gardens extraordinaire. In addition, the students were fortunate to explore the fascinating Clos Lucé, last residence of Leonardo da Vinci whose works of inventive genius, including the
machine gun, ball bearings, the suspension bridge and helicopters, have been a cause célèbre across centuries.

We then ricocheted back to Paris where we were treated to a grand bus tour of the major tourist attractions to give even the most conscientious connoisseur of French architecture a frisson of anticipation. For the next 9 days the students spent their evenings à la française with their host families. Days were passed tramping the cobblestones and surfing the Metro in search of the chic (on the fabulous Champs-Elysées), the passé (Napoleon’s Tomb, the Palace of Versailles, the Arc de Triomphe et cetera), the avantgarde (the Pompidou Centre, the Evry
Cathedral), the risqué (Moulin Rouge and the Pigalle area) and the je ne sais quoi (Luxembourg Gardens for lunch and Châtelet Les Halles for shopping). We spotted many an à la mode Parisian and even participated in
the French tradition of demonstrating against the government (cuts to education funding), but do not worry – there was none of the usual fracas.

Souvenirs were purchased (6 Eiffel Tower keyrings for 1 Euro), fondue and escargots (snails) were tasted, and
the students and teachers all agreed it had been a bon voyage for our première French sojourn. After all our travails Mr Bussu and Mrs Fish say a big Bravo! to the student ensemble who were the most wonderful, enthusiastic, receptive learners and great fun as well (especially on the bus where we exchanged an array of repartee, bon mots
and double-entendres!) Merci à tous! including the parents, VSC and Passport Travel who made this wonderful adventure possible.

Anne-Marie Fish & Fred Bussu