LOTE Grand Tour

It is all a bit surreal being back at home, but I’m missing the bus trips and walking tours already! It’s very good to be off the plane though, and having access to fruit and vegetables again is also a nice bonus It’s hard writing just one post to sum up the whole experience, everything was just amazing!

Rome was so busy, and it was great to see all the things I had only heard about before. The sheer scale of the Colloseum, the intricate paintings and carvings that cover every surface of the Vatican, even the not so nice hospital in Rome (I’ll apprectiate Australia’s ones much more from now on!), they will all stay in my memories for some time to come. The pasta was very good, as I had expected, and the pizzas were different to the ones we get most of the time back here, but like what I make at home; thin base, not much cheese, and not too much topping. Slightly different though, the ones from Rome we got were about sixty centimetres in diameter!

Driving along the coast was just how I remembered it, all tiny houses perched on the side of mountains and thin, winding roads that let the bus driver really show off his skills. Florence was great, so incredibly wet that at one point I had water sloshing around in my boots, but nontheless awesome. It’s quite a surprise to emerge from a little side alley and see a massive church in the middle of such a tightly packed city!

I must admit that I was quite relieved to get to France in the end, being able to communicate easily makes it easier to take in everything else. In Roquebrune we actually got smiles, a nice change after being mistaken for English travellers at nearly every shop, although being a school group probably didn’t help. I really liked Roquebrune, the seaside life mixed with the French culture really appeals to me and I would quite enjoy living there one day. Our hotel was just across the road from the beach, and it was a good thing that there was something between us and the waves, the road ended up covered in sand, rocks and water, it looked just like the beach!

Montpellier was a change, and staying with somebody who only spoke French turned out to be really good, if a bit daunting at first. With the help of my dictionary I was able to say everything I wanted to, and ended up having some really good conversations with my host. She also introduced me to the wonderful île flotante, or “floating island”, custard with a lump of fluffy meringue, all covered in caramel, and laughed when I said that I hoped to find them in Australia, but would really miss them if unable to. The kind I had was packaged, but I have found a recipe here (link) and hope to make it in the holidays, miam-miam!

We only had one night in Paris, but what a night it was! Managed to see the Eiffel Tour, Louvre, Notre-Dame, walk along the banks of the Seine, stroll along the Champs-Elysees, and even do a little bit of shopping at Galleries Lafayettes!

Everything was awesome, but it was the people who made the trip what it was. Latin scholars: eratis optimi. To the French speakers: vous etes formidables. Merci beaucoup and multas gratis tibi ago!

We have just spent 4 days in France with our homestay family. They were extremely welcoming and very willing to help us out with our terrible French. Over the past few days we have been to Carcassonne, Montpellier and Arles, which are all beautiful cities.  The stained glass windows in all the cathedrals were pretty amazing, and they depicted lots of stories from the bible which we thought was a good way of telling stories considering most of the population couldn’t read. Monaco was also a very nice place, so far on the trip we have been to the two smallest countries in the world, Vatican City and Monaco. The only down side to France is that it has been raining and cold most of the time we have been here, over the past couple of days it hasnt really reached over 5 degrees. There is great shopping in all the areas we have been to, its easy to get lost in Montpellier though, because of all the tiny side streets, and unfortunately thats where all the good shops are hidden.  That’s the other problem with all the little side streets, there are so many of them that if you find a shop and want to go back to it, it’s almost impossible because everywhere looks the same, we found that whilst trying to look for a shop earlier.

We have been able to pick up a little French whilst staying at the homestay, it’s easier to read it than it is to speak it though, and easier to listen to them speak it, we have to respond in English even if we understand what they are saying, its quite hard but they are really nice and understanding so its ok. We think they liked the presents we gave them. Alyssa gave them two books with photos of the Australian landscape, and Aly gave them gold from Sovereign Hill and a Rosella Christmas decoration.  We have very much enjoyed staying with our family, it’s very interesting to see how French people live, and what the differences are.

Au revoir

Aly and Alyssa xxx

Hey Everyone,

So far, so good.

We are having so much fun over here.  We’ve just come from Rome and it was a real eye opener. The views here are amazing!

James

Hi this is Gus.  Can’t think of anything to say so I won’t say much at all for fear of boring you!

Yeah this is cool…

See Ya

Gus

Hello everyone,

The traffic is crazy and we have hardly seen any speed signs.

We’ve picked up a bit of the language already and put it into use to find an internet cafe to write this.

A breakfast here is really sweet bread and hot chocolate so we’ll all be huge when we get back.

See you soon!

Grace

It is day 5 now, and we have been to Rome for the past 3 days.  While we were there we saw the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and we went to the Vatican, which was amazing.  I sent a postcard from the Vatican as well to my family, which they will hopefully appreciate=).  Stayed in a room with Claire and Alyssa, and we believe the room may have been haunted, as on the first night Claire mysteriously had her tooth go through her front lip, and then I fell over Claire’s suitcase and hurt my arm, and someone called us at 2 in the morning, which was quite spooky.  Apart from that bad luck we have had a great time, including having a MASSIVE pizza!

We have just spent three days in Rome and had an awesome time! There is so much to take in. The buildings are covered in intricate carvings and everything is just so pretty. We have seen the famous Trevi fountain, and threw in three coins for good luck, we have been to the MASSIVE coloseum, the Spanish steps, St. Peter’s basilica, and sent postcards from the Vatican’s own post office.

The most recent attraction we visited was Pompeii, it is incredibly well preserved. We saw the well known dog preserved in death, and walked the ancient streets. We are looking forward to the rest of our trip, but we have to go now and explore!

Hi all!!!

This trip is so cool. Are we all having fun??

The food here is great. My two awesome room-mates love singing.

Can’t wait to see a movie in France!

Emily

Well, I hope that all participants are packed and ready.  I notice a lot of excitement around the place and after the demands of the recent days, I hope that we are all looking forward to a great trip.  Smiles are getting bigger and people are getting excited. Let’s have a great time!  Try not to forget anything!

See you on the day!

Mrs C

G’day all!

FINALLY got it working. Took ages, or maybe I just can’t blog!  Anyway, 2nd post!  Hoorah.

3 days left guys. Excited yet?? See you all soon!

 - Jackson