On Wednesday 13th June 21 Upper Fourth students and three members of staff set off for the South of France. Our destination was Nice on the aptly named Côte d’Azur, and we were soon able to marvel at the beautiful light-blue colour of the Mediterranean Sea.
We enjoyed an action packed programme of events, starting with a guided tour in French of Nice Old Town, when we marvelled at the stunning panoramic views of the coastline and the beautiful town squares with their distinctly Italianate flavour. On Thursday and Friday mornings the group attended French language lessons at the language school Alpha B, and were encouraged to work on their pronunciation and oral skills, as well as tackling some reading comprehension passages. On Thursday afternoon we enjoyed a fascinating tour of the Confiserie Florian, a traditional sweet and chocolate making business by the port of Nice. It was difficult to resist buying goodies in the factory shop!
After the language classes on Friday we visited the Musée Marc Chagall, where the students worked in groups on writing a presentation in French on their favourite painting in the museum. Saturday saw us heading for the tiny city state of Monaco where we visited the celebrated Musée Océanographique with its fascinating aquarium. After lunch in the narrow alleyways of the Vieille Ville (seeking shade from the extremely hot sun), we ventured on to Larvotto beach, beloved of the international jet-set and with the backdrop of the luxury apartments of Monte Carlo stacked like decks of cards on the steep hills. Sunday morning was spent exploring the market stalls of the Cours Saleya in Nice Old Town and marvelling at the vast array of fish, cheese, fruit, vegetables and Provençal produce on offer. After a final ice cream from the famous Fenocchio ice cream shop it was time to head back to the airport and a rather less sunny Birmingham.
