The Journey to
France!
To blatantly plagiarise Miranda Hart: ‘Hello and thanks
for joining’. My last post left me fairly stressed at the prospect of the year
abroad but I can now report that I am here and at the time of writing
(Wednesday night), I am alive and well.
On Saturday 15th, I travelled down south with
my family, heading first to Southampton for a lovely meal at Banana Wharf in
Ocean Village (if you haven’t been, go! Now!) and then on to Portsmouth where I
would be catching the ferry to France. Portsmouth ferry terminal was apparently
opened in 2011 which would explain it looking all shiny, modern, new and just
generally different from what I was expecting. At 10.25 I boarded the ferry. At
10.30, “Parlez-vous anglais?” came out of my mouth – not exactly the start I’d
been looking for! I didn’t like myself very much at that moment and I made sure
I spoke French to everyone else on board during the crossing – probably a good
call as every member of staff on the ferry was French.
After eight long hours in my cabin, I eventually arrived
in Le Havre where I was greeted by a lovely teacher (without whom I would have
gone insane this week) and her equally friendly other half. After some food, we
dumped my bags in my new room at the lycée and then headed to the ‘jardins
suspendus’ of Le Havre. I think this probably translates as hanging gardens but
if you can do better, please send your answer on a postcard! The gardens
themselves were beautiful but the best thing about them was the stunning view which
they gave over the city. From the top, you can see more or less everything
right out to sea. The big spire in the middle is the St. Joseph Church which is
crazily high.
We then headed to the forest for a bit which was also
incredibly picturesque. After this, it was back to my room with a very
generously provided picnic to contemplate my surroundings and my new life in
France. I had a hunch that unpacking would make my room feel more like home and
it definitely did so I’m glad I did that the first night. My room is currently
being spruced up a bit with some shelves and some painting but when I’m told
that that’s been finished I shall put up some pictures.
All in all, the journey across the channel and the start
of my life in France were awesome and I was excited to see what would happen
next.
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