London Update!

(Hi parents! This post was intended to be posted yesterday (Wednesday) but I was having some technical difficulties! Please enjoy today!)

Hello from London!!

Our time in France flew right by! We had an amazing stay complete with tours, Easter mass, subway rides and enough croissants to feed the entire Ottawa district school board. Speaking with all of the students, I believe they will always look back at their time in France with really great and positive memories. Looking back at past Easters and Christmas’ it is easy for one or two to get lost with the rest of them, I do not think that will be the case with Easter Mass in Notre Dame Cathedral for the students.

Our time spent in Vimy and Arras were particularly memorable. En route to our hotel on Sunday we stopped at Beaumont Hammel and walked through the grounds of the Newfoundland Memorial. While walking through the cemeteries the students were clearly moved reading the epitaphs on the soldiers tombs and learning their ages and hearing the messages from their loved ones that they left behind. Watching the students somberly walk through the rows in the cemetery will be a memory that I will personally keep with me forever.

Following the stop we continued on our way to our hotel in Arras and had an early night to prepare for the next days ceremony in Vimy.

We were amongst the first Canadians on the Vimy site the next morning. This worked out well as we had a tour and learned about the tunnels and trenches and we practically had the site to ourselves. The Canadian Heritage Foundation has done an amazing job preserving the site and facilitating tours. It was a sobering and spooky feeling walking through what was once No Mans Land and walking the maze of the trenches that still remain today. Having our Canadian History textbooks come to life was extremely fascinating albeit sobering and very, very sad.

Following the tunnels and trenches tour and our visit to the Visitors Centre (which is home to photos and artifacts of WWI including letters, mugs, tins etc.) we had lunch on our bus as we took shelter from the rain. We made our way to the ceremony in the afternoon (it rained consistently for the whole day!). Thousands of students were present for the ceremony including the Govenor General of Canada David Johnston. We stuck it out through the whole ceremony even though our students were cold, and very wet. Our main objective of this trip was to pay homage to the soldiers that died at Vimy and fighting out the cold and rain was an easy task while remembering and reflecting on the sacrifice of the young men who fought for our country.

Following the ceremony we boarded our bus and returned to Paris.

This morning we took our coach bus to the train station for our 2.5 hour journey to London on our Eurostar train. Our whole group sat in the same coach cabin and it was fun to see the students enjoy the trip.

After checking into our hotel and enjoying some free time we regrouped and walked to our restaurant for a very tasty meal. Following this, Ms. Stokes lead the group on a walking tour to Trafalgar square and a view of Big Ben at night. I’m sure one or two of the students will come home with pictures of them posing in classic London phone booths J

Our time in London will be full of activities! I’ll be happy to report on them as we go along.

Please enjoy some pictures of our last couple of days.

Sending everyone my kindest regards from (sunny!) London.

Sincerely,

Natalie

Hello parents!

Dear parents and guardians of this wonderful All Saints and St. Matthew's group,

A giant HELLO to everyone and a quick note to let you know that we have arrived safe and sound! Yesterday the group was picked up from the airport in the morning around 10:00 and we travelled through the city on a guided orientation tour with our funny and knowledgable guide Vincent. We stopped at the Eiffel Tower for a snack and carried on our way to see just about everything you would ask to see on a tour. We then continued on our way to the hotel and spent the afternoon acclimatizing and getting familiar with the neighbourhood. After a very delicious restaurant at a charming little place (our group took up the entire restaurant and every seat) we returned to the hotel and we all had an early night to prepare ourselves for our big day the next day.

.. and what a full and big day it has been! The group left the hotel around 9:30am and made our way to The Louvre where we met up once again with Vincent and his partner for a guided tour of the museum. We saw all the works of art that the museum is famous for, and little pockets of the museum that not many tourists would think to discover. We of course stopped to see the famous Mona Lisa which impressed everyone!

Following the Louvre we had some time for a quick lunch then carried on our way via train to Versailles. The students took in the gardens before our entrance time and had an hour to meander around and wander through the gardens. Following this, the group entered Versailles at 3:40pm and walked through the world famous halls and rooms along with their guides and teachers.

From Versailles we went directly to dinner and enjoyed a tasty meal and from there a very large portion of the group decided to head to the Eiffel Tower (with the teachers) to take the elevator to the top! So you can see how this was a very full and big day for our group!

Tomorrow morning we are heading to Notre Dame Cathedral for Easter Mass before travelling to Arras where we will stay for one night as our base for the next days ceremony in Vimy.

All the students are in very high spirits and are thoroughly enjoying themselves. They are wearing their customized sweaters proudly.

Everyone should be very proud of their son/daughters as they are a very polite, respectful, keen and interested group of students :)

I will update the blog every couple of days, so please do check back every 1 - 3 days for notes on the day as well as pictures. I hope you enjoy the pictures below! Please do not fret if you do not see your son/daughter, over our time here everyone will have their picture up on the blog.

I send you all my kindest regards from the beautiful city of Paris,

Natalie

The group waiting for our train to Versailles.

The crowd of people to see the Mona Lisa!

A view of The Louvre courtyard

Vincent explaining to the students what past versions of The Louvre looked like

Students in the gardens in Versailles