Today we got up very early – 6.30am!! We had breakfast at 7 and then went by tram to our partner school in Hoenheim. In France they start school at 8 o’clock and at the platform the teachers and children greeted us with Irish flags and a big cheer. It was so nice. We then boarded a coach to visit the Fort of Schoenenbourg. It was the most heavily bombed fort on the Maginot Line in World War 2. The French hoped the Line would prevent a German invasion but the Germans went around it through the Ardennes forest. We had a tour which lasted over two hours.

Afterwards we went back to the school where we were given lunch. We introduced ourselves to the other children. We played basketball and soccer with them. We painted plastic Easter eggs and made some bunnies with marla. Then we sang a French song we had learned with the French children. Everyone clapped. The vice-Mayor of Strasbourg was also there to visit us. The Mayor will come on Thursday to say hello. Strasbourg is in Alsace and the French children did a traditional Alsation dance. Tonight the teachers are taking us out for a traditional Alsation meal. Their traditional dish is like a type of pizza so we’re looking forward to it! 🙂

Wow @gortskehy off to Paris and meeting partner sch in Strasbourg! Great to see another 2 teacher sch doing so much!! gortskehy.com

— Fiona Farry (@ffarry1) March 22, 2013

The Irish Embassy, Paris

With Rosaleen Kavanagh, the wife of the Irish ambassador to France.

With Paul Kavanagh, Irish ambassador to France.

With Meg Laffan, cultural attaché at the Irish embassy.

Mona Lisa (La Joconde)

At the Musée du Louvre.

Sandie and Rachel at the Louvre.

With our teacher at the Louvre!

On the TGV to Strasbourg!

On the TGV to Strasbourg!

On the TGV to Strasbourg!

On the TGV to Strasbourg!

Today we checked out of our hotel and went to the Irish embassy by metro. The Irish ambassador and his wife greeted us. In case we didn’t know he told us that Mayo had beaten Donegal yesterday. We were given a tour of the embassy by Meg Laffan, the cultural attaché. She is from Limerick. The rooms very big with very high ceilings. The carpets and rugs were made in Donegal. There were lots of old paintings and old-style furniture. There are four floors and twenty-two people working in the embassy. We were told all about the work of the embassy. In February, our president Michael D. Higgins was there and last November the Taoiseach visited. Today, the minister Róisín Shorthall was arriving for a meeting in the afternoon.

Afterwards, We just had enough time to visit the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa. There was a huge crowd of people taking photos and looking at the painting. The painting itself was quite small. The picture opposite was massive but not as many people were looking at that!

Then we went to Gare de l’Est to take the TGV to Strasbourg. It’s our first time on the TGV. We can see on the teacher’s laptop how fast the train is going. The fastest was 320km/h which is 200 miles per hour! We can see what the French countryside looks like. All the fields are very flat and there aren’t any stone walls! We saw a tractor ploughing a huge field. When we got to Strasbourg the French teachers met us at the station and took us to our accommodation.

At the entrance to the Palace of Versailles.

Having fun at the huge mirrors near the ticket office.

Having fun at the huge mirrors near the ticket office.

The Gardens of Versailles.

The Gardens of Versailles.

The Gardens of Versailles.

The Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.

Leaving the Palace.

Chocolate Mousse. Yum, Yum!!

Enjoying dessert!!

Justin and Enda about to sink their ice cream boats!

Today we went to the Palace of Versailles. We got the metro first, then the RER train.

The carriages on the train had two floors. We went to the top on the way to Versailles and also on the way back.

We had to queue for a while for tickets. Then we walked around the gardens. The queue for the Palace was huge so we went to get something to eat.

When we got back the queue was gone and we went straight away to see the Hall of Mirrors which is one of the most famous rooms in the world. We saw other rooms with huge paintings and tapestries.

Then we went back to the hotel on the train and metro. We had pizza for dinner and dessert afterwards. We all had a great day – Amy & Rebecca.

At the Arc de Triomphe

A lamborghini.

A ferrari.

Yesterday after the Eiffel Tower we went on an open top bus tour of Paris. We got earphones and when you plugged them into the bus you could hear all about the buildings in English. We saw Notre Dame and got off at the biggest street in Paris called the Champs-Élysées. It is over a 1000 metres long and 76 metres wide. It was very busy and there were lots of people sitting outside having drinks. We saw the Arc de Triomphe and went into some shops. We saw a huge Easter egg. We also saw some really cool cars. Then we got back on the red bus and went home. We had pizza and chips for dinner. Then we went to McDonald’s for McFlurrys afterwards. We had a great day.

At the Eiffel Tower

Almost there!

Looking down on Paris

Au sommet de la Tour Eiffel.

Hi from Paris. Enjoying the nice weather. Did some shopping at the top of the Eiffel Tower. – Rachel

I saw Dior, Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Louis Vutton, Cartier and so many other shops. – Amy

Enjoyed the tour of Paris on the open top bus. – Rebecca

Had a great tour. Took lots of photos. – Marie

The ice-cream is lovely! – Enda

Hi Jessica, could nearly touch the sky! 🙂 Justin