After a gruelling 27 hours of flying with a 5 hour stopover in Singapore. The French study tour has finally made the journey down to the south of France following a 4 hour trip on the tgv (french bullet train).
Students are living at the moment with host families in Montpellier. Arriving on the Saturday afternoon the students and teachers slept off their jetlag to make their way to Nîmes by bus the next day.
Nîmes was one of the largest towns in the Roman Empire at the time and the group toured around looking at the ancient amphitheatre, gardens honouring the Roman gods and many more parts of the ancient town. They then continued on, visiting the Pont du Gard that afternoon. An also equally ancient landmark, built once again by the innovative Romans, to transport water through the aquaducts.
On day two of the trip the group made their way to Arles, another town just outside of Montpellier. Arles too is an old city containing much culture and heritage. The group were presented with the settings that Vincent Van Gogh painted during his time at Arles, also visiting the breathtaking cathedral.
The group continued on their day trip to Beaux de Provence, a beautiful provincial French town sitting on top of a hill surrounded by rocky mountains. The group split up to go souvenir shopping as the town is known for its lavender and breathtaking views of the countryside.
Niamh Walsh
