On Friday March 18th, we traveled to Montmartre which is an area in the 18th arrondissement in the North of Paris. Our tour guide Pamela gave us a guided tour of the district and told us the story of the Saint Denis who was a christian martyr living at the time of the roman soldiers. The legend of St. Denis is that he was decapitated by the Romans while he was walking through the streets of  Montmartre. But the Romans could not stop him, he picked up his head and walked ten kilometers to be buried in the Christian way. The Basilique du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre is located on a huge hill at the top of Montmartre. There is an amazing view from the top of the hill.
After we visited the Church we had time to explore the area.

 

 After we visited the Church we had time to explore the area. In front of the Church were people playing music and a man that could do amazing tricks with a soccer ball. Behind the Church was a row of shops with many artists who were creating portraits of people in the street.

Pôle de Commerces et de Loisirs Confluence

Our first day in Lyon was jam-packed with exciting activites. After returning back to school from our visit to l’hôtel de Région, we used our free time to go to Pôle de Commerces et de Loisirs Confluence with our correspondants.This is the shopping mall in Confluence, the hub-epicenter area of Lyon. Just two tram stops away from school, Pôle de Commerces et de Loisirs Confluence is where all of the french kids go to socialize and kill some free time. There aren't too many people, so the ambiance feels pretty laid back opposed to the King of Prussia mall. From Mexican food to bungee jumping, you'll be able to find anything you want with a wide range of restaurants and stores to choose from. A bunch of us decided to go to Woko, the hot, new Asian-infused restaurant in the mall. With a choice of Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese or Japanese foods, we spent a while holding up the line debating over what to order. Thankfully, the server came to our assistance, but spoke very fast. It was extremely difficult to keep up with what she was saying, but we managed to order something in the end. On some of the warmer nights in Lyon, parts of the roof of the mall open up, giving you a view of the night sky. There are lights that change colors on the ceiling, illuminating the walkways of the shopping center while creating a fun and entertaining atmosphere. On the first floor of the mall, the first thing that catches your eye is a movie theater. This past weekend, a bunch of us had taken a trip to the UGC Ciné Cité Confluence to see Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Although the movie wasn't great, we all had an awesome time watching it together. The movie theater was very clean and modern, looking much nicer than any movie theater we've seen in America. Sometimes, a bunch of us will take the tram during lunchtime and will buy food at Carrefour, a very large, Wawa-like supermarket in the mall. The baguettes with assorted choices of meats, cheeses and vegetables are a group favorite. With only three days left in Lyon, a lot of our free time will definitely be spent at Pôle de Commerces et de Loisirs Confluence.
  - Sophie and Lucy

 

Vieux Lyon

Vieux Lyon

On Tuesday, March 22nd, we got to explore vieux (old) Lyon. We started off the day by going CSI with our parteners in the morning, and then right before lunch we set out for the metro. The metro took us to a funicular that was located across the Rhône river, at the base of the hill that held the beautiful church, Fourvière. When we got to the top, we ate lunch on a terrace beside an amazing view of Lyon. After lunch, our tour guide met us by the terrace and talked a little about the geography of vieux Lyon. He then led us into Fourviére, which was absoluetly beautiful. There were many meticulous details inside which added a very special and sacred feel. After our tour, we started our way down the hill by foot. There were many great view points, and cool stone work that decorated the side of the hill. We walked through narrow cobblestone streets lined with old houses and buildings, and finally hit the base of the hill, where the heart of vieux Lyon was located. There were little shops and cafes everywhere, as well as beautiful, old, stone buildings. While walking through the streets, our guide pointed out various types of architecture, and explained a brief background on what they signified in the medieval time period. One that I thought was particularly interesting was the octagonal-shaped towers attached to the side of certain houses. He said that the octagonal shape was a flashy way the upper class showed their wealth to society. During medieval times, the towers held stairs used by servants. Poor citizens did not have stairs in their homes, as they didn't have servants, nor the money to pay for multi-floored homes. Along with looking at architecture, we also walked through many passageways called traboules. Traboules were first implemented to help bring supplies to stores and businesses from ships docked in the Rhône faster. This was because since buildings and streets are parallel to the river, the trip to stores in the center of the city very long as you would have to walk to the end of a row of buildings. Now citizens use traboules to get around the city easier. We concluded our visit by the metro station, and headed back to CSI to meet our parteners. 

-Hannah Posencheg 

The Picasso Museum

On Friday (March 18th) our group visited the Museum dedicated to Pablo Picasso, located in Le Marais, which is known as the cities Jewish and gay neighborhood. We were shown the museum by a guide, who started off with Piccassos work on sculptures and metal work. Many of Piccassos work with clay and stone sculptures were depictions of women. As was his style, their body parts and extremities were often exaggerated, particularly the nose. This style was also carried into his painting. His metal sculptures often depicted humanoid forms, put together from an assembly of metal rods and plates. One example being the goat head, a metal sculpture depicting a goat skull, which Picasso later translated into a painting.

Heading into the upper levels of the Museum, we were shown some of Picassos paintwork and drawings. These were drawings that were often angular and exaggerated like his sculptures, particularly in the nose. They were often paintings of people or animals, just like his sculptures were portraits of specific subjects. He also made use of a wide variety of vivid colors in his paintings, a number of which zere not only used to express his internal emotions and the subjects, but comment on current events of the time.

by Zak and Erlend

Les Halles de Lyon and Food with our French Families

 Les Halles de Lyon
On Saturday I spent the day in the center of Lyon at Les Halles de Lyon (The Paul Bocuse Market). Similar to Reading Terminal, Les Halles de Lyon is a indoor food market with both small restaurant like stalls as well as Fromageries, Patisseries, Boulangeries, Charcuteries, and a variety of other stalls. After seeing the entire market my host family decided to get oysters, but my correspondant, Guillaume, thought I should try more classic French cuisine while at the market. We decided to try cuisses de grenouilles (frog legs). Although intimidating at first, after trying them I quickly consumed the whole plate. The cuisses de grenouilles were breaded and pan-fried in olive oil, garlic and parsley. In the U.S. I always heard that frogs leg tasted just like chicken, but I think they taste more like a meaty whitefish. Whether they taste like a whitefish or chicken, cuisses de grenouilles were one of the best things I have eaten in France. Les Halles de Lyon is the food center of Lyon, the food captital of France, making it any foodies dream.

Dinner with our French Family
Each dinner I eat at my host family's house consists of seven, yes seven, courses. We start with bread, butter, and water. After that, we move to the main course which consists of a protein, a vegetable, and a starch. Some of the main courses are sausage Lyonnais, steamed radishes, with spiced rice, or roasted chicken with lyonnaise carrots, and potatoes. After the main course, we have cheese: from classics like camembert to sticky cheeses such as Epoisses, or Rhône-Alpes specialties like D'affinois. The cheeses are always fantastic. After the cheese, we have yogurt, flan, and mousse. For our fifth course, we have a prepared dessert like apple tart or malgache a Madagascan banana cake. After dessert, we have fruit, and last but not least, coffee and tea. The meals are massive, and I have slowly learned how to pace myself in order to try everything.

-Alex and Max

L'Institut Lumière

The Institut Lumière

On Tuesday of our second week in Lyon, our group visited the Institut Lumière. The Institute Lumière was originally the home of Lumiere brothers, two men involved in cinema and filmography. The house was described to us as a “Library for movies” as there were many films that are stored in the house, as well as movie making equipment that was used back in the 1980’s. We found it interesting to see the original versions of equipment such as cameras, lights, film strips and flip books that showed what the process making films was like at that time.

We saw a large model of a factory dedicated to filmmaking in front of the house that was also very fascinating. This was when we learned about how black and white film was turned into color by using a certain type of potato powder!

We really enjoyed our experience at the Institut Lumière, and we are glad that we learned so much about the origin of filmmaking. It is so great to see places that promote the preservation of all aspects of French cinema.

By Sonya and Rishi

Intouchables

    The French kids organized a movie night for all of us with lots of homemade food and the french movie Intouchables or Untouchables in English. The movie was based on a true story about a lower class man who gets a job working for a rich tetraplegic and forms an extraordinary bond with him. Everyone loved the movie and thought it was really funny. The movie was in French but we watched it with english subtitles. Before the movie, we all just hung out in the movie room and ate lots of baked goods and drank lots of soda. It was a lot of fun to be with the whole group and just have a night where we could all hang out together.
-Chloe and Julia

Our arrival and speeches@L'hotel de Region

Arrival, and the speeches at the Hotel de Region: 

On Sunday the 20th, we took a TGV Train from Paris to Lyon. During this train ride Julianna and I wrote speeches in french that we would deliver at the hotel of the Region. Julianna's speech was about 10 times better than mine, but they wanted both of us to present. We arrived in the evening, and were greeted by our host famlilies in the station. From there we disprsed and went to the homes of our families were we ate dinner. The next morning, we rose at the crack of dawn, and with sleep in my eyes David and I made our way to Jonathan's and Max's House, and the 4 of us walked to the tram. In Lyon, everyone takes some form of public transportation, whether it be tram, train, bus, or metro every form of transportation is packed with people. It was 2 stops to the station, fro, which we took a short walk to the CSI school (which Julianna and I will talk about in our next post). From the CSI School, all of us took the tram 2 stops to L'hotel de Region and the Confluence Mall. L'hotel de Region (which translates to House of the Region) is a large, sleek building made of metal and wooden panels. The interior of the building is also mostly made of wooden panels, but there is a lot of glass so that is appears to be more open and natural. On the top floor of the House of the Region, there is a large garden area. After our tour of the building, we were brought to a room within the building, where we meet the US Consulate, Clay and another group of french politicians.

After they spoke with us, I and a group of CSI Students dilevered our speeches regarding the Exchange and how it effeced us. Funny enough, we actually ran out of time, so Julianna didn't have to present hers at all. Needless to say, she was relieved. All in all it was a nice experience in a beautiful building.

- By Jesse and Julianna

Musée des Confluences

    La Musée des Confluences is really close to CSI so we walked there. It was only about 5 minutes away and we walked on the bridge over the Rhône river. One of the reasons it’s called Musée des Confluences is because it is located on the confluence of the two rivers of Lyon. The other reason is because they try to show how all of their artifacts interact with each other even though they are from different time periods and cultures. They focus on answering the three main questions- Who are we, Where are we from, and What do we do? The architecture is also important to the aesthetic of the museum. They strive for a open and modern type of building with large glass walls and metal beams. Our tour guide encouraged us to think about the building with an open mind and what it could represent. After the tour, we went up to the cafe on the roof and it was nice because it had a great view of Lyon. And good food.

- Chloe and Julia

CSI

          Whenever we are not going on our field trips, we are spending our day at the Cité Scolaire International de Lyon (CSI)!

          First of all, the building and layout of CSI is very different than FCS' campus. The building is very industrial, with a curved layout and its main hallway looking as if it used to be a road. The roof and side walls of the school is composed mostly of windows, letting a lot of sunlight in, utlizing it as their main source of light. The school is also an international school, therefore they also have foreign students from countries such as England. There are many different sections regarding what type of program you can take, regarding and where you are from/what you plan to do.

          The school schedule: The schedules of the CSI students have very different layout than FCS does. Most students start school at 8:00 am-- some students come in later depending on what time their first class starts-- and they all end at 5:30pm. Unlike in the US, high school students in France already specify what kind of future they want to have-- language arts, history, sciences, etc-- and therefore are classed in different sections. There are many classes offered to the students. My correspondent takes 4 languages: French, English, Italian and German! Each class is 50 minutes long, and sometimes they can have double blocks, which result to 1 hr 40 min long classes.

          In addition, CSI is located in a very nice area. Being very close to the public transportation, whenever there is free time, the students are allowed to go out during their free time if they desire. They have been a couple of occasions when the FCS students have gone with CSI students to Confluence, a nearby shopping center, for lunch. It is only 2 metro stops away, only taking ~5 min each way--getting there and back-- which means that we have about ~35-40 min to enjoy ourselves!

-- Julianna and Jesse

L'Hôtel Cluny Square

L'Hôtel Cluny Square is located at the intersection of Boulevard Saint-Michel and Boulevard Saint-Germain. It is in the Latin Quarter which is a great neighborhood because of its close proximity to the Seine, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Orsay Museum, and the Louvre. There are also lots of great restaurants and cafes close to the hotel. When we first arrived, we could not find an elevator to get to the lobby of the hotel which is on the second floor. After realizing there was no elevator, we had to carry our very heavy suitcases up the very narrow spiral staircase. And this is all after a day of school, a 7 hour flight, and a day long tour exploring Paris. It was hard, but once we got to the fourth floor we knew it had been worth it. Thankfully there was an elevator from the lobby to our room on the fourth floor. Our room was beautiful, with a great view of the streets of Paris. In the morning, there was a classic French breakfast waiting for us in the lobby consisting of croissants, bread, coffee, juice, butter, cheese, and jam. Everyone who worked at the hotel was patient and kind, especially towards our attempts at speaking French. The Hotel Cluny Square was truly a great place to return to after a long day of exploring Paris.

-Chloe and Julia

Le Louvre

The Louvre

On Saturday, the exchange group took a trip to one of Paris’ most prominent monuments, the Louvre. We were all so amazed by not only the beautiful paintings, but the architecture of the Louvre itself. The building resembled a castle, because of the many intricate carvings and designs on the exterior, as well as the opulent ceilings on the interior. The Louvre holds numerous genres of art from many different time periods. We were able to see one of the most well known paintings of all time, The Mona Lisa during our visit. As we walked into the room where the painting is held; we first saw a huge crowd of people surrounding it. None of us were sure what they were all so amazed by, until we saw the Mona Lisa ourselves. Though there were many other beautiful pieces in the room, we found it funny that everyone’s focus was on one single painting. There were also many paintings that were so big that they took up entire walls. We were very intrigued and impressed by all of the time that the artist took to paint a single one of these pieces. The rooms that had more wall space were just as beautiful, because of the same castle effect as before. One of the rooms that we walked into, was covered in elegant paintings on the wall itself, surrounded by cool gold carvings and frames. Overall, our experience at the Louvre was a very good one. We only wish we could have seen more of the building, but it is so large that it would take days to see everything. The Louvre has definitely given us a reason to come back to Paris!
 ~Rishi and Sonya

Parisien Dining

 Le Petit-Prince 

After a full first day exploring Paris, we went to dinner in the city at Le Petit-Prince. This restaurant located the 5th Arrondissement (section) of Paris serves traditional Parisian cuisine. Once we arrived, we were led to a dark room in the back of the restaurant set for a table of 18. The 16 hungry, jet-lagged, teenagers quickly consumed 3 baskets of fresh baguette together before being presented with a price-fixed menu. We could choose between having a entrée (appetizers) and a plat (entrees) or a plat a dessert. Most of us had a sweet tooth, and chose to have the plat and dessert option. For our plats, we had Lamb in a chèvre (goat cheese) sauce with scalloped potatoes, and a chicken "supreme" with gravy and haricots verts (green beans). Others had butterflied salmon steak with a pepper "magic" sauce. The food hit the spot for all us and gave us some much needed energy. 

Café Constant 

On Saturday we had a lot of free time and decided to trust Alex's lunch recommendation from years ago. We walked along the Seine for about 30 minutes from the Musée d'Orsay to get tothe restaurant. 9 of the 16 of us made the voyage towards the Eiffel Tower to go to Constant. The food was worth the walk, and it lived up to our very high standards. For our entrée (appetizer), we split a shrimp tart with a basil sauce and micro greens topped with a lemon foam, and foie gras served with warm whole wheat toast, fig marmalade, and a side salad. For our plat (entrée), we shared a classic french beef stew. The Stew was served at boiling temperature with bubbling broth. The stew was one of the best beef stews we have eaten in our entire lives, with wonderful chunks of meat, carrots and potatoes. For dessert, we got Profiteroles served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in between and then covered in a warm chocolate sauce. The dessert was wonderful. The chocolate, ice cream, and the dough of the profiteroles fit together in perfect harmony. This dessert put the meal over the top, making it one of the best meals that either of us had ever had.

Last Meal in Pairs 
We ate our last dinner in a charming restaurant near the Louvre in the first Arrondissement. Luckily, we had a large rectangular table in a private dining room, allowing the whole group to engage in conversation. Like Le Petit Prince, this restaurant had a fixed price menu. This menu consisted of two choices of plats (entrées) and one dessert. The main course options were a vegetarian risotto with cheese and mushrooms, and a duck dish served in between mashed potatoes with a side of gravy. We both enjoyed the duck because of its originality and beautiful presentation. The duck was cooked, cut, and then served inside the potatoes, and neither of us had seen anything like it! For dessert, everyone was served a cheesecake topped with a raspberry sauce in the shape of a smiley face. After our delicious meal, we walked back to our hotel and packed up for Lyon.

Sacre Coeur et Notre Dame

On our second day in Paris, the group took a trip to Montmartre, a city built upon a large hill. In Montmartre, there were two exquisite churches that we got to explore. Our first stop was Sacre Coeur. Meaning "Sacred Heart", Sacre Coeur is located at the very top of Monmartre, with a total of 250 stairs to climb to reach the opening of the church. Sacre Coeur was built fairly recently around 1919. It is made from travertine stone, a material that constantly excludes calcite. This ensures that the church remains white no matter what pollution or weather conditions it comes in contact with. As we stepped inside (there was sadly no photography allowed), we were absolutely astounded by the illumination of colors lining each wall. Unlike a regular church with windows made of stained glass, Sacre Coeur has tons of mosaics scattered throughout the interior of the building. As our trip to Montmartre came to a close, we took the metro to Notre Dame. Notre Dame, meaning "Our Lady", has an extremely symbolic external structure. The entrance on the right side of the building is larger than the entrance on the left because in the Christian religion, you are born a sinner. All humans will fit through the right door, and will exit through the left door, therefore accepting their religion and purifying their souls. In Notre Dame, there were huge stained glass windows. The church's main attraction is the circular rose window, which has very little structure to it, creating an illusionary effect in the human brain. In the time of Louis XIV, people had to have a relic, which Jesus didn't have. Because of this, he was crowned with the crown of thorns, which now sits in a red box in the back of Notre Dame that is taken out annually on special occasions. We can't wait to see all of the other special things we're going to explore!!
-Sophie and Lucy

Our Arrival in Paris!

Our Arrival:

We arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport around 7:30 am France time, 2:30 am Philadelphia time. All seriously tired and jet lagged, we retrieved our bags and met our tour guide Pamela, who led us to the bus we would take into Paris. Once settled in the bus, she gave us a historical background of the city, but most of us fell asleep mid-way through. Since check-in was at 2pm, we had loads of time to spare, so we made our way to the center of the city. The driver knew we were all utterly exhausted, so we stayed in the bus for the majority of the time, with the exceptions of walking around Champs Elysées, and the Eiffel Tower. Once 2pm arrived, we drove to our hotel, Hotel Cluny Square, anticipating the much needed rest. We were given the option to explore once we were settled, but only a few of us left the hotel. The rest stayed and took power naps. We knew that Ms. Perez told us to try and stay awake to get adjusted to the time difference, but it was definitely challenging!! At the end of the day, we all were excited to get some sleep, and couldn’t wait to explore Paris during the following couple of days! 

-Hannah & Lorna 

Le Musée d'Orsay

On Saturday, the FCS group visited the Musée d'Orsay. Situated on the left bank of the Seine, the museum used to be a former railway station, built between 1898-1900. The museum holds many different styles of art, including paintings and sculptures that date all the way from mid-1800s to the early 1900 by artists such as Cézanne, Renoir, Van Gogh and many more.

The way the museum utilized the old structure of the railway station is amazing. At the front of the building, there is a big, golden clock, beautifully designed; The main hallway was transformed into a hallway dedicated to sculptures, with its surrounding rooms with different paintings, dedicated to different artistic styles. The same layout is used for each floor. The higher you go up, the more modern the art displayed becomes. Finally, when you reach the top floor, there is a staircase with a small balcony, where you can take in the view of the entire inside of the museum.

The visit to the museum d'Orsay was a wonderful experience that truly enlightened us to the art recognized and appreciated by France.


- Jesse and Julianna

All the hot spots!

Tout D'abbord