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Day 5

13/11/2014

Today was our last full day at Castel Notre Dame. After rising and showering, we had breakfast (bread again!), and ventured off for a day in Vise. In the morning, we went on a wonderful walk in the woods which had been organised by another class from our partner school. We had to find a number of different sites, and take an exact photo using an ipad. One particularly treacherous section of the walk saw Miss Melton taking a spectacular dive on the wet leaves! Following this task, we took part in a 'parcours' task: an obstacle course which posed problems for even the most active children - and adults (Miss Cooke!)

We took another spin in the bus to our partner school for lunch - hamburger and chips (without the bun), and we experienced the sights and sounds of a Belgian playground. Luckily, the English came out on top in a game of football (6-2), so no national pride was lost!! After our physical excursions, we visited a number of different classrooms to see what life is like in a Belgian school - our favourite being the one in which we sampled a number of Belgian treats and delicacies!

A little time for shopping followed (we'll keep it a secret for now!), and we returned to the Castel to pack our suitcases in preparation for our departure tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing all our families upon our return!

Gros bisous!

Lindsey and Kieran.

Day 4

12/11/2014

Our alarms (Mr Wheatley and Miss Cooke!) went off at 7:30am as usual, and we came down for breakfast, in preparation for a long journey and even longer walk! We were taken by bus to the beautiful town of Spa, to visit a Nature Reserve in 'Les Hautes Fagnes' - an area of beautiful nature and wildlife approximately one hour's drive from our base at Castel Notre Dame. We were introduced to Olivier, the brother of a teacher from our partner school, who showed us round 'La Musee de la Foret' - The Museum of the Forest. We visited exhibitions about wildlife and water, which had lots of information about the local area. In particular, we enjoyed the taxidermy on show - foxes, badgers, lynx, wild boar etc - and we were even given a masterclass in how to stuff an animal using Ella as a willing example!!

After lunch by a roaring fire, we went on a 4km walk around the marshlands of the area, and we were lucky to gain a wonderful view of our surroundings by climbing yet more stairs (!!) to the top of a watch tower. We then made a descent to a natural spring where we all tried the famous ferrous water of Spa - which has an odd colour and taste (because of the iron in the water).

The bus journey home was a little quieter than normal (some of us slept the whole way back!), so an evening of art and animation will be just the ticket! Tomorrow, we will be visiting our partner school, so we will make sure we are on our best behaviour!!

A demain,

Fran and Connor.

Day 3

11/11/2014

Today, we have been learning all about the Great War and the effects that it had in Belgium, and more specifically in Liege. We made a short trip back in to Liege to visit a very unusually-placed exhibition on the First World War, at Liege Guillemin Train Station. Following an informative audio-guide, we ventured through a host of different rooms which covered themes related to the War, for example: the trenches; civilian life; medical care etc. Our favourite room hosted a life-size reconstruction of a WWI trench, complete with sound effects, lighting, video (and realistic fake mud!) which blew us away. It was fascinating to experience what it may have been like for a soldier on the front line during the War. Some of us even climbed the ladders which the young men would have climbed to go 'over the top' once the whistle had been blown.

After lunch with some inquisitive pigeons, we headed off through Liege to the museum of 'Wallone' life - the region of Liege. We perused various artefacts from 1914-18, discovering what life was like in Liege during WWI. We found out that Liege had been severely bombed by the German forces, and that 'Big Bertha' bombs were dropped, causing mass destruction in the city.

After our historical journey, Madame Collette took us to a famous flight of steps in the old town, which we climbed (with great effort!) to uncover a wonderful panorama of the town, taking the opportunity to have a group photo.

Back at Castel Notre Dame, we are now readying ourselves for an evening of dance with our Belgian friends! Tomorrow, we will be heading to Spa - a town famed for F1 (according to Mr Proctor) - to discover more of the Belgian countryside. Check back tomorrow to see how we got on!

A tout a l'heure,

Ella, Poppy and Zak.

DAY 2

10/11/2014

Today we have met our new 'amis' from Lieutenant Jacquemin La Parenthese school.

After a good night's sleep, we began the day with a delicious breakfast of bread, jam and 'chocolat chaud'. This set us up for a busy day of ice-breaking, bonding and trekking together through the Remersdaal countryside. We worked hard to learn one another's names and personalities, and we had great fun spotting the landmarks on a 'photo hunt' around the local village. We have been trying really hard to communicate with one another - in spite of the constant need for translation - with the boys in the group discovering the powers of the universal language of football! Tonight we will be sharing some British board games with our Belgian friends, and they may even share some of their own with us - which we will bring back with us to St Mary's!

Tomorrow, to mark Remembrance Day, we will be heading to Liege to learn how Belgium was affected during the Great War (1914-18). We will update the Blog to show you what we've discovered. A bientot!

Thomas, Charlotte K and Josh J-T.

day 1 - The journey begins

10/11/2014

Day 1

Our voyage began on a rather bleary-eyed Sunday morning, amid late-night revelers and early morning street sweepers at Newcastle Central Station. We set off at 6:30am sharp, headed for the bright lights of the capital – and maybe a hot cup of coffee!

Arriving in to London Kings Cross, we took time to Potter around (ahem!) the infamous Platform 9¾, and Miss Cooke couldn’t help but see if she might find a seat on the Hogwart’s Express rather than the Eurostar! Alas (for her), that was not to be the case, and we did indeed leave for the continent with a full complement of staff and pupils.

Mr Proctor very cleverly tracked our speed via GPS, and clocked the train travelling at 187mph!

So sooner than you may think, we had arrived in Brussels; we all practiced ‘un peu de français’ and bundled 15 rather heavier-than-planned suitcases on and off some rather cramped local trains! We were, therefore, glad to be met by a ‘Special’ bus service from the rather wonderful Liège, Guillemin station, and we were chauffeured to our week’s base: Castel Notre Dame. Madame Collette and Madame Gillon joined us for a supper of Macaroni Cheese (YUM!), and then there was just time to complete our journals then head off to bed! Wonder what tomorrow has in store…

Day 5

Day 4

Day 3

DAY 2

day 1 - The journey begins

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