On Friday we traveled about an hour to the east to visit the medieval fortress of Chinon, where famous names like Henry II of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Joan of Arc all once laid their heads. The guide of the castle took place outdoors, but the guide had pity on us in the cold and wind and let us explore the castle after 45 minutes. Fortunately, the castle had great video installations which explained key moments in French history, such as the passing of the crown to Richard the Lionheart, Henry the III or John Lackland. By the time the teachers were done with the visit, we found all 27 students keeping warm in the giftshop trying out the bow-and-arrow sets for sale!
Next we drove a few kilometers down the road and had a nice picnic in a park, followed by an intense game of tag under a strong February sun. Mr. Kimball was quite sore after the game, and was accucsed by some of being too competitive :)
After lunch, we took a tour of the Fontevraud Abbey. It must be said that the Brookline students were getting every question about medieval French history correct (at what age did Eleanor of Aquitaine die, how many children did she have), and then the guide finally caught on that we'd just visited Chinon and therefore the answers were fresh in our minds. In addition to seeing the tombs of the most famous of the medieval kings and queens of France--and England, at the time!--we learned a lot about monastic life between the 12th and 15th centuries. Needless to say, I don't think we have any future monks or nuns in our group.
Lastly, we stopped for a quick walk around the small city of Saumur. The forty-five minutes we planned were long enough for 24 of the 27 students to find the one café in town with free wifi, and then we were back on our merry way back to Angers.
Next we drove a few kilometers down the road and had a nice picnic in a park, followed by an intense game of tag under a strong February sun. Mr. Kimball was quite sore after the game, and was accucsed by some of being too competitive :)
After lunch, we took a tour of the Fontevraud Abbey. It must be said that the Brookline students were getting every question about medieval French history correct (at what age did Eleanor of Aquitaine die, how many children did she have), and then the guide finally caught on that we'd just visited Chinon and therefore the answers were fresh in our minds. In addition to seeing the tombs of the most famous of the medieval kings and queens of France--and England, at the time!--we learned a lot about monastic life between the 12th and 15th centuries. Needless to say, I don't think we have any future monks or nuns in our group.
Lastly, we stopped for a quick walk around the small city of Saumur. The forty-five minutes we planned were long enough for 24 of the 27 students to find the one café in town with free wifi, and then we were back on our merry way back to Angers.