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We will post emails and pictures for WCE/SCHS France Student Trip as we receive them! Encourage your friends to view the WCE Web Site and follow the trip!!!
2010 WCE/SCHS France Paris, Compiègne, Rouen, Mont Saint-Michel Trip
5/13/2010 Thursday (Seattle) Our 31 Member France Student Delegation led by Madame Peters (SCHS Staff), Mr. Berkbigler (SCHS Staff), and Ms. Worrell (SCHS Staff) departed from Seattle as scheduled,
will transfer planes in Philadelphia, and fly to Paris. This Student Delegation will visit Paris, Compiègne, Rouen, Mont Saint-Michel, France. The Lycée Pierre D'Ailly School in Compiègne has
invited SCHS Students for a School Visit and a Friendship Exchange. Pictures and emails will be posted on this page during the trip.
5/14/2010 Friday Paris (3:30 pm Paris Time 6:30 am Seattle Time) Our 31 Member SCHS Student Delegation has arrived safely in Paris. We have spoken with Mr. Berk and all is well. Today the delegation
first took the Grand Bus Tour of Paris (a two hour bus journey to familiarize members with the locations of major sites of Paris including the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, Trocadéro, the
Eiffel Tower, Musée du Louvre, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, Musée d'Orsay, Concorde, and more); are checking into the Novotel Paris Tour Eiffel Hotel; and late in the afternoon will take the metro to
walk the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and enjoy dinner. Their adventure has begun. Tomorrow they will visit Musée du Louvre, Notre Dame, and Sainte Chapelle. We have received a couple of pictures from
Mr. Berk!
5/15/2010 Saturday Paris (11:00 pm Paris Time 2:00 pm Seattle Time) After a full night’s rest and refueling from an outstanding Buffet Breakfast at the Novotel Paris Tour Eiffel Hôtel our delegation
toured the most famous sites in Paris for a very memorable day. In the morning they spent hours visiting Musée du Louvre (an opportunity to view one of the most famous paintings in the World The Mona
Lisa and the equally spectacular sculpture The Venus de Milo). After lunch our Students toured Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris including climbing stairs of the south tower for a magnificent view and
explored La Sainte-Chapelle with 6,458 square feet of stained glass windows considered the best of their type in the world. Dinner was in the Latin Quarter (named Latine Quarter because everyone spoke
Latin as a language) to view a church mentioned in the Da Vinci Code. We have received a few more pictures from Mr. Berk!
5/16/2010 Sunday Paris (11:00 pm Paris Time 2:00 pm Seattle Time) We have spoken with Madame Peters today and she has informed us that everyone is having a wonderful trip! Our Students have been very
busy. Our delegations’ third day in Paris allowed them to visit more of the most famous sites in Paris. After breakfast our Students rode the elevator up The Eiffel Tower (one of the most recognizable
structures in the world and the symbol of Paris) for the best view in Paris. In the afternoon our delegation visited Musée d'Orsay (best known for its extensive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist
masterpieces, the largest in the world) and then took the metro to explore Montmartre and view Paris from the square in front of the basilica of Sacré-Coeur. Dinner was nearby in Place du Tertre where many painters
will paint your portrait. Tomorrow our Students will leave Paris to travel to Compiègne. Mr. Berk has sent more pictures!
5/17/2010 Monday Paris (11:00 pm Paris Time 2:00 pm Seattle Time) Our Students are now in Compiègne. On their way to Compiègne the delegation toured the Château of Pierrefonds (with its picturesque battlements
and massive round towers was originally a fortified castle begun in 1390 and is one of the most beautiful monuments and oldest in France); enjoyed lunch in Compiègne; and explored the Château de Compiègne (a
French château, was one of three seats of royal government, the others being Versailles and Fontainebleau. Compiègne was the preferred summer residence for French monarchs, primarily for hunting given its
proximity to Compiègne Forest.). This evening Madame Peters met with the Educators from Lycée Pierre D'Ailly to prepare for tomorrow’s School Visit and Friendship Exchange!
5/18/2010 Tuesday Paris (6:00 pm Paris Time 9:00 am Seattle Time) We have just spoken with Madame Peters as she and her Students were walking through Monet’s Gardens at Giverny. Madame Peters informed us that
every day in France has been WONDERFUL and that the school visit was FANTASTIC! After the outstanding visit to Lycée Pierre D'Ailly in Compiègne, our delegation departed Compiègne for Rouen. Their most
important stop was in Giverny to visit Monet’s gardens both the flower garden called Clos Normand in front of the house and the Japanese gardens. The delegation will spend the night in Rouen (the capital of
Normandy with 2,000 years of history, it is one of the country's most ancient cities and where Joan of Arc burned at the stake - place du Vieux-Marche). We were able to speak again with Madame Peters after
our delegation had checked into the Etap Hotel Rouen centre rive gauche. The excitement in her voice from the day’s activities was amazing! She informed us that there are three US Exchange Students at Lycée
Pierre D'Ailly in Compiègne which made the school visit even more remarkable and their visit to the Monet Gardens in Giverny was thrilling. It was a short visit as they were off to the Buffalo Grill for dinner!
5/19/2010 Wednesday Paris (8:30 pm Paris Time 11:30 am Seattle Time) Angélique (the Reception Supervisor at Hôtel Vert) has informed us that our delegation has arrived at Mont Saint-Michel and has checked into
Hôtel Vert. Today our Students traveled from Rouen to Mont Saint-Michel (A rocky tidal island and a commune in Normandy, France Le Mont-Saint-Michel). In the afternoon the delegation was able to tour Mont Saint-Michel
including Mont Saint-Michel Abbey and the medieval parish church of St-Pierre. This evening our delegation was treated to a special traditional menu dinner at Restaurant La Rôtisserie. We have also received an update from
Mr. Berk with MORE PICTURES! “Sorry--lost the internet connection just as the message was going out yesterday. The Photos are from Pierrefonds, School Visit, Rouen, and Mont St. Michel. Everything is going smoothly with happy
students, staff, and chaperones!” Mr. Berk has added three more pictures from the Giverny art project! Tomorrow will be another very busy day as our delegation will tour the beaches of Normandy and return to Paris to prepare for
their return flight to the USA.
5/20/2010 Thursday Paris (5:30 pm Paris Time 8:30 am Seattle Time) Julie Loyon (Novotel Leisure Group Manager) has informed us that our delegation has returned to Paris. This morning our Students departed from Mont Saint-Michel to tour
the Plages De Normandie (The Normandy Beaches to re-live all the moments of June, 6th 1944 and to discover what made the D-Day Landings “The Longest Day”) and visit Cimetière Américain (Omaha Beach). After lunch the delegation
returned to Paris, checked into the Novotel Paris Tour Eiffel Hotel, and had time for additional visits to the sites of Paris and last minute shopping. After dinner our delegation will hold their Return to USA Meeting which
will fully prepare them for the return flights to the USA. Mr. Berk has sent us more pictures, “Last 24 hours of photos: dinner at Mont St. Michel, Omaha Beach at Normandy, American Cemetery, and a last group photo in Paris!”
For Parents meeting the delegation tomorrow, please check the flight status for US Airways #74 by phone 1.800.428.4322 or online at www.usairways.com. The delegation will clear customs in Philadelphia so once they deplane in
Seattle they will exit from the A or B Concourse and head directly to baggage claim (usually #9). See you tomorrow!
5/21/2010 Friday Seattle - Welcome Home!
2010 WCE/SCHS France Paris, Compiègne, Rouen, Mont Saint-Michel Trip Pictures
WCE Reminder:
If you receive an exciting email or picture from one of our delegation members, please forward the email or picture to the
Washington Cultural Exchange Office and we will post it! Our email address is start@wce.org.
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