Brentwoodian 2019

19 Normandy At 5am on Friday 5th April, some of the First and Second Years (and some brave teachers) gathered at Courage Hall to board a coach to take them to Normandy in northern France. It was a very early start but everyone was extremely excited. We crossed the Channel by Eurotunnel, and before we knew it, we were driving through the picturesque French countryside. At around 1pm we parked in a pretty little French town called Honfleur. Here we explored French shops and food. Afterwards we continued our journey to the Château where we would be staying for the trip. It was a beautiful big old building with fields around it where we could play. The Château had a tuck shop, dining area, common rooms and many more facilities. We had an early night to prepare us for the next day’s adventures. On Saturday morning, we visited the nearby town of Bayeux. In the morning we saw an extremely pretty, old cathedral. It was elaborately carved and designed and had stained glass windows, statues and memorials. Afterwards we had an hour and a half to explore Bayeux market in small groups. In the market, traditional French food, clothes and items were being sold. It was a sunny day and we all enjoyed walking around the stalls, and trying out the French language. We had lunch in a quieter part of the town, where there were ice cream shops and cafés serving food. Here we asked for different French foods and tasted some delicious ice cream. In the afternoon we visited the Bayeux Tapestry, an amazing piece of art which displays the events around the Norman invasion of 1066, including the Battle of Hastings. It is 70 metres long and just under 50 centimetres wide. It was made from linen and used eight different colours. It displays around 72 different scenes, with Latin words describing the pictures. The tapestry was ordered to celebrate William’s successful invasion. Everyone was captivated by the detail and skill that went into making the tapestry, and the fact that so many centuries later we were able to get so close to this unique piece of history. On Sunday morning, we had an early start. We took a coach to a local goat farm that made goat’s cheese. On the farm they had mainly goats, a few sheep, donkeys and a cute dog. We were lucky enough to sample five types of goat’s cheese. The garlic one was our personal favourite. In the afternoon, we had a long walk down a pier to Mont-Saint-Michel, a very famous island with a large medieval monastery. According to legend, in the year 708, the Archangel Michael appeared in a vision to the Bishop of Avranches and instructed him to build a church on the island. The island is depicted early on in a scene of the Bayeux Tapestry where King Harold visited Normandy and saved two Norman soldiers from sinking in quicksand around the island. We really enjoyed our time exploring the uphill narrow cobbled streets and the monastery. We all bought souvenirs and tasted some more French food. Our last day was Monday, and before we went home, we visited the D-Day landing museum at Juno Beach near the village of Courseulles. We watched two videos and had a mini tour by an excellent guide. The D-Day landing was the biggest invasion by sea in history and took place over an 80 Km stretch of the Normandy coastline. We learnt all about what happened and that servicemen from many different countries were involved. In the afternoon we went to a bakery - la boulangerie in French! The baker was very entertaining and involved all of us by teaching us how to make bread. He explained the scientific facts behind the bread-making process and we shaped our own bread into baguettes. While our baguettes were cooking the baker took us outside and asked us if we would like to meet his pets. He opened a barn door and dozens of sheep ran everywhere! At the end of the visit, the baker explained a story of why he set up the bakery. He was inspired by an African woman who told him that in her culture, everybody shares their food out with each other and makes sure that everyone gets a bit of everything. It was a touching and inspiring story. The food at the Château was delicious. For breakfast we had a selection of bread, pastries and cereal. We made packed lunches for ourselves and took them out on the trips with us. For dinner we had a wide range of hot meals and nice desserts. "We got to taste lots of new foods, such as crêpes (yum!), frogs’ legs (just like chicken) and snails (chewy)."