Le Quesnoy

Even a quick look around this town reveals the close connection it has to New Zealand. The main square is the Place de Cambridge and there is the Place des All Blacks, Rue Aotearoa and Rue Nouvelle-Zélande nearby.

There is always a warm welcome here for Kiwis from around the world and each Anzac Day brings back both old regulars and new faces. The NZ/Le Quesnoy Association and the town is very generous in hosting all New Zealanders to these commemorations each year.

Herb Farrant, President of the New Zealand Historic Military Society, has been leading tours to the Western Front for 10 years. He was generous enough to include us in his programme of talks and visits to cemeteries throughout Saturday and we learnt more about the history of the area and the town’s liberation by the Kiwis in November 1918 which, despite British orders to flatten whatever was in their path, was achieved without any loss of civilian lives.

Many of the New Zealand soldiers who died here were only a year or two older than our kids and Herb left us with a great sense of pride in those young men, who were so highly regarded for their resourcefulness, compassion and courage, and for the fact that they had come from the “uttermost ends of the earth” and had sacrificed themselves to save the lives of those whom they had never met.

While most of the kids were lucky enough to be taken ice-skating in the evening (and some went to Belgium for dinner!), we teachers were hosted at a dinner for about 150 people, NZ and French. What a great celebration and reunion of old friends this was, with plenty of laughter and singing, and the food was excellent.

The warmth of the French people in Le Quesnoy reflects what, for me, has been the best thing about our trip. From Nice to Avignon, St Rémy to La Rochelle, Le Quesnoy, and yes, even in Paris, everyone has been kind, helpful, patient, tolerant and friendly towards us, a little bemused by the scale of our journey, amused by the antics of the kids, amazed really that we should have attempted such a thing, but overall, more than anything else, honoured, that we have come from so far at such cost to see, experience and appreciate these people and their country.

La France, the pleasure was ours. À la prochaine!!

Final days…

Dedicating a whole day to Versailles was worthwhile. We arrived early enough to avoid the big queues but still ended up crammed in amongst the tour groups as we tried to navigate some of the 700 rooms of this vast and famous palace built to house Louis XIV’s court of 6,000 people. It was shuffle pace only going through the ‘Galerie des Glaces’ (Hall of Mirrors) and the King and Queen’s bedrooms, but even so, we couldn’t help marvelling at the immense wealth which created it all.

The gardens and grounds provided a bit more space to breathe and the rain held off long enough for us to have a good walk around and visit the pretty palace of Marie-Antoinette and the village of quaint little buildings she created in her gardens.

Back in Paris, our ‘last supper’ as a group went down well at a local restaurant where the kind waiters looked after us so patiently as we indulged in fondues of various sorts together with the prize-giving for the best participant in the Mission Impossible challenge won by Jesse.

The evening wound up with a concert on a boat on the Seine where the kids were the youngest there by some years. The band was the Great Lakes Swimmers from Canada and, when they eventually played, everyone, even us oldies, enjoyed the music. We didn’t quite get stuck in the Métro station when the train we were returning to the hotel on stopped running, but it was after midnight by the time we got ‘home’.

Paris in the rain…

Queueing up is inevitable in Paris if you want to see the most obvious sights. Unexciting at the best of times, in the cold wind and rain, it’s not much fun at all. What’s more, when it takes an hour and a half of this just to see a heap of old bones, you start to wonder if it’s worth it. But most seemed keen to experience the Catacombs, old quarries beneath the streets of Paris which were filled up with the bones from the cemeteries when they became overfull in the 1800s. At least it was a chance to get in out of the rain.

Afterwards we enjoyed the chance to warm up over a hot lunch at a typically Parisian café with red and gold- striped chairs and views of the street, thenwe were off again to the Montmartre area for a look at the Moulin Rouge and the Sacré-Cœur, and to rub shoulders with all the tourists at the Place de la Tertre  where artists paint your portrait for as much as they think you’re likely to pay, and tourist shops sell tacky souvenirs and ‘I LOVE PARIS’ t-shirts.

Montmartre is a quaint bohemian area with steep cobbled streets which aren’t much fun in the rain. We managed to have a look into the Café des Deux Moulins, where Amélie (in the film the Year 13s are studying) worked, but with a freezing wind howling into the front of the Sacré-Cœur, the only really happy people that afternoon were the umbrella salesmen.

Paris has been the place for everyone to choose a dinner to their own taste at a very reasonable price. The Rue Mouffetard/Place de la Contrescarpe area, where students, writers and poets have for years sat, eaten and debated the ways of the world, offers many little French restaurants where those who still wanted to could try ‘escargots’, ‘jambes de grenouilles’ (frogs’ legs) or other local delicacies.

Paris….

City of lights, city of love, city of rain, wind and hail!! Yes, we’ve been unlucky with the weather but it hasn’t stopped us for long. The views might be a bit grey and the wind bitingly cold, but a crêpe and hot chocolate soon improve the spirits.

Our hotel is 2 minutes from the local market and métro station, 3 minutes from the Séverin area packed with cafés and restaurants, and 5 minutes from Notre Dame. Kathy and I are in the roof up 168 winding stairs but it’s OK because we have the boys to carry our cases! With a very helpful owner, and free Wifi, laundry, kitchen and breakfast, it’s a good place to be.

It didn’t take us long to hit town when we arrived and within 5 minutes we were gawping at Notre Dame, its sheer size, its intricate carvings, its huge stained glass windows. After dinner was a cruise on the Seine while the sun set. The bridges and buildings were beautifully illuminated and we got our first look at the Eiffel Tower, lit up like some kind of dazzling jewel. We had to pinch ourselves to realise we were really in Paris.

Since then, it’s been the Eiffel Tower again, up the 689 stairs, the Eternal Flame at the overpass where Princess Diana died, the Arc de Triomphe from the top with a fantastic view of the 12 avenues which radiate out from the roundabout, the unbelievable traffic manœuvrings on that roundabout, the Champs Elysées in the wind and pouring rain, and, dare I say it, McDo there for lunch. Quelle horreur! Then the Louvre and, of course, the Mona Lisa (why?). Ollie reckons we climbed and descended 2349 steps on our first day here!

Today, the local market at Place Maubert where a stall-holder found out we were from NZ and decided his son (23 years, an injured rugby player but rich ((lies, we assume!!))) should marry Ashleigh; the Notre Dame Towers (one of my favourite things – up amongst the gargoyles seeing what they have been watching over for hundreds of years, and reading Victor Hugo’s descriptions of the city); the Pont de l’Archevêche covered in padlocks declaring couples’ love; dancing to the tunes of an accordionist; the Jewish Memorial; the Île St Louis with its classy buildings and chic shops where we fitted in some gauffres au chocolat and the manager got so excited to discover that we were from NZ that he started telling everyone in the restaurant; the Hôtel de Ville (immense town hall); the Marais area with the immaculate and elegant Place des Vosges, the oldest square in Paris; the Centre Pompidou; and, of course, shopping in the Forum des Halles (where will they fit all they have bought? I hope they still have enough money to pay the excess baggage.)

This is only two days. As you can see, we don’t sit around!

Dinner here has so far been in the Séverin, the party area of Paris since the 1400s which now has many touristy but cheap restaurants. Here we can work our way through a 3 course fixed menu for as little as 12 euros, including for example, escargots (which most of the group has braved by now), steak and chips, mousse au chocolat; or pizza, dessert and drink for 15 euros. A bit tacky, but still very good value.

Au revoir but not goodbye!

Even though we had fitted so much into the week, Sunday came around quickly, all too quickly for most. All the NZ kids, the French kids, and their parents, wished it had been longer. They were just getting to know each other, they said.

Everyone turned out at the station to see us off. We felt honoured. When the train doors closed, our kids howled. The tears flowed, and continued to, long after the train pulled out.

Why was our stay so successful, I now ask myself as we glide through fields of yellow mustard on our way to Paris? Was it because our kids did themselves proud? Or because the host families were SO warm, kind and generous? Or the teachers SO welcoming, interested, patient and empathic, so willing to give their time to us all? Was it because we tried so hard to speak French, not always successfully? Or because of Eric’s fantastic organisation in matching kids with families, and coming up with such a great programme?

This was the first time most of the families had hosted an overseas student, the first time any of them had ever met a New Zealander. We had come from so far, right around the world, as one Mum said, to see them. They felt honoured that we’d done so.

Thank you, Collège Jean Guiton, Lycée St Exupéry, Lycée d’Oriole, Éric, Brigitte, the two Oliviers, Stéphanie, Yannick, all the host parents, the ‘correspondants’ and friends for everything you did. We take with us memories we will treasure always and leave behind new friends. A piece of our hearts will remain forever in La Rochelle. À la prochaine!!

Last days in La Rochelle

Brigitte, who teaches Commerce at the Lycée d’Oriole that three of our ‘correspondants’ attend, is hoping to lead a school trip to New Zealand in March next year, so some of us were invited there on Friday morning for ‘un pot’ and a tour of the school. We were impressed with the art on the walls and how modern the school seemed. Our students particularly liked the classroom that was set us as a supermarket, complete with shelves of ‘food’ and a check-out.

The ‘pot’ involved all of us around a table in a meeting room with the Principal and Brigitte where we were offered huge platefuls of  ‘canapés’ which are little savoury bites with cheese, paté, prawns etc, followed by sweet treats in the form of small éclairs filled with caramel or chocolate. While the kids drank juice or fizzy water, the adults were all given a glass (or two) of Pineau des Charentes. This a popular local ‘aperitif’, a fortified wine made from grapes grown on the nearby Île de Ré, sweet, delicious and very alcoholic. This wasn’t even lunch – that came later! How the French manage to stay so slim is completely beyond me.

The kids were then taken to meet 60 of the lycéens (kids at the school) for whom they performed the haka, and with whom they spent a good part of the afternoon. In fact, Brigitte had to change her plans for the day’s activities because the kids were getting on so well and didn’t want to stop talking. The day seemed to be more of a success than anyone had expected and, happily, resulted in the Principal giving his sanction to Brigitte’s proposed trip.

That night the Collège hosted what we would call a ‘pot-luck dinner’ where all the families, and teachers, brought along something to eat and drink. The Principal and Deputy were both there, along with the teachers who were most involved with our stay. The kids did the haka and waiata again, for the parents, and speeches were made on both sides.

Kathy and I felt very proud of our kids. We were told over and over again by the Principal and the parents how wonderful they had been, how respectful, well-behaved and involved in everything – ‘the best group they had ever hosted’ said M. Rogeon, the Principal. We were plied with gifts, which seemed odd when it was we who were trying to thank them for being such marvellous hosts, for looking after us so well, and being so warm and welcoming. We could not have asked for better.

All sorts of things…

“Trempé” was a word everyone knew by the end of Tuesday. It means ‘soaked’, and that is what we were during and after our walking tour of the old part of La Rochelle. It poured, it blew and it was cold, but, despite the weather, it was still easy to see what an attractive city it is and how well they have managed to preserve the many beautiful buildings and cobbled streets.

The city was founded in the 10^thcentury and became an important harbour in the 12^th century. In some ways, it is similar to Nelson - about the same size, an important fishing port and a picturesque setting. It is great to see all the cycleways and pedestrianized areas keeping the cars out and the people in.

Wednesday’s outing to Futuroscope proved a great success. A bus took 35 of us (New Zealanders and some of their ‘correspondants’, teachers and helpers) to this futuristic theme park near Poitiers where we were entertained by rides, simulators, 3D, and even 4D films. But for some, the best part was the interaction between the French and Kiwi kids on the bus on the way home. By this time, it seemed, they were really starting to get to know each other.

 

 Although a bike ride to an island across a 3 kilometre long bridge into the wind with rain forecast seemed that it might be a bit too much of a challenge, Eric was determined to go ahead with it and he was certainly proved right. The cycle paths were fun and the afternoon turned out to be fine, if windy, which made the climb up the bridge tricky for some, especially those with short legs. Sadly, we ran out of time to go as far as intended, but, with its pretty beaches and little whitewashed houses, it was easy to see why the Île de Ré is such an attractive holiday destination for the rich and famous.

The Kiwis appeared determined to launch themselves into the freezing water, but were able to be convinced that they would have to return another time in warmer weather in order to make the most of what is available there. After a too brief stay, and the wind now behind us, we almost flew back to town and even managed to get home before the next shower.