On the 15th of February I woke up at 3.00 am in order to get ready and pack for my trip. We had to be near high school at 3.45 am. When everybody had arrived, we finally left to go to England! We had a few hours in the bus and we arrived in Caen at around 6.30 am. We had to wait for the departure of the boat. Around 8.30 am we crossed the Channel. On the boat, to kill time, we listened to a lot of music, we had a tour in the little shops, we ate our picnics, we went outside on the deck  and we had fun and laughed together. We arrived in Portsmouth, really tired but still excited. We had to travel more  to arrive to our final destination.  Finally, the bus brought us to Newton Abbot where our host families were waiting for us. Sofia, Cloe and I met sandy who drove us to her house. Then, she introduced her husband Mark who was immediately really funny. We also met their funny little dog*. We had a little bedroom with a    bunk bed and a single one. Our room was reassuring and welcoming. We all had dinner, Mark had cooked a typical English meal which was a roasted. He explained that English people usually have a roasted on Sunday night, it’s composed of beef with some vegetables like carrots, spinach and also sweet potatoes, it’s served with a little choux pastry. We chatted a lot with Sandy and Mark who were extremely sweet, I really liked them from the beginning. We got to know each other and I think we chatted for an hour or more! We were really tired so we got to our rooms, had a shower and went to bed, we fell asleep really quickly, we were exhausted!

Monday the 16^th of February was the first day of our trip, we woke up around 7.00 am and had breakfast. Cloe, Sofia and me were so surprised when we got downstairs and saw so many boxes of cereals, cookies, chocolate spread and juices on the table! Mark was waiting for us, smiling and really glad to take care of us. It was a perfect breakfast. We got ready, took our lunch boxes and were excited to start the day. In the morning, we had lessons for 2 hours in a little school, we were dispatched in three groups. I first had an hour with David who was a very joyful teacher, unfortunately I didn’t have another lesson with him on the next days. Then I had a lesson with Calvin, who was an incredible teacher. We talked with him about the vision that we had of life, our first dream and more… That was a really big disappointment for me as it was the only lesson that I had with him whereas some other groups had plenty of time with him on the other days. I remember that we were really hungry that morning, we left the town to go to Exeter. We had our lunch in front of the cathedral, it was a pleasant place. Sandy and Mark had prepared a very nice meal. We then visited the cathedral, there are some  cathedrals that I don’t really enjoy but to my mind this one was beautiful and very bright. Then normally we should have visited the Royal Albert Memorial museum but it was closed! We then had some free time, I had a really great time in there, it was an afternoon that I really enjoyed! We had some free time so I did some shopping with Sofia. We went to Topshop and Urban Outfitters, which are our favorite shops, we then had a walk in the city and we came across the other people of the class and hanged around with them. We got back to the bus and went back to Newton Abbot. Sofia, Cloe and me were happy to see Sandy and Mark. We had a huuuge dinner! We were extremely full after dinner, we had some pizza and chips (which was a strange association) and for dessert Sandy had bought some cheesecake for us. The girls and I are all right to say that it was one of the best dessert we ever had. Sandy and Mark suggested to us to watch tv or play a game! We finally played Uno, I lost every single game. We then slept to start another day in the morning.

The next day, on Tuesday, we got up and had our breakfast. On Tuesday night Mark had asked me what French people usually have for breakfast and I told him that we can have some baguette or croissant and pain au chocolat. That’s why we had  some hot croissants ready for us the next morning! That was so adorable. After our very good croissant, we left the house and had some other lessons. I had some lessons with Nicolas and Rosie. With Rosie we read some detective stories and with Nicolas we introduced ourselves. Then, we left the school and had lunch on the road. We arrived in a little place. I really enjoyed the afternoon, I had a lot of fun with everybody, I think that the best memories of our trip were on that day. We first went to a room where we could disguise ourselves with some typical clothes. We then sat in an old classroom which dated back from the Middle Ages. A woman with another typical outfit showed us the punishment that the pupils could have, we also wrote our names on some tiles and learned about the attitude that a pupil should have at that time. Then, we walked to the forest where a little train was waiting for us, this is a very good memory, the train took us into a very dark cave, everybody enjoyed that moment. We then had a little free time before going back to our host families. On that night, Sandy and Mark had cooked some pasta with chicken and vegetables, as we were a little tired we went to our rooms to sleep and be ready for the next day.

on the way to Tavistock

With our typical outfits

In the little train

On the Thursday, we didn’t have any lessons, we left the town immediately to go to a little village called Totnes. Totnes is a typical little village, with a hippie atmosphere that I really liked. Sofia and I really enjoyed walking around the lanes. Even if some people in the class didn’t really like Totnes, I think that it was a really great area for the morning and it was different from the other things that we could usually see. When we arrived Sofia and I decided to go to all the little shops that were there. We found some rings and stuff and we walked in all the little streets that we saw. Then, we ate our picnic with everybody and it was time to leave Totnes. 

 

a little shop that we liked

a thing that I found and enjoyed

After that, we had a ride on the bus and at the beginning of the afternoon, we arrived in Plymouth and had a little moment near the harbour, I think it was called the Barbican. Then, we moved to the Drakes Circus shopping center, we had approximately 2 hours or more. We did a lot of shopping because of all the shops that were in this place, Lucia and I tasted some cinnamon bretzel and also got a cookie and a hot chocolate. Let’s be honest, that was the best hot chocolate ever. Even if Drake Circus was the thing that everybody was waiting for and that even if I think it was the afternoon that they liked the most, I preferred Exeter for the shopping because it was smaller and in the open. Even so, I did enjoy this moment. When time was over and we had to go back to the bus, I was with Hocine and Sofia who was buying a smoothie, we ran to the exit of the mall but didn’t remember where we had to go! Obviously, we found our way to the bus and even if there was no seat left for me next to my friends, my day ended well. On the way to our host family’s house, Mark wanted to buy some food at Mac Donald’s, so he did it. I wasn’t really hungry, so I didn’t eat so much. Then, Sandy proposed to us to watch TV with them and after that, we went to bed, it was a well spent day!

On the way to Drake Circus

My beloved cookie and hot chocolate