CHOATE été à We successfully survived the heat wave and are back to cool evenings in the 60s and gloriously sunny afternoons, perfect for meandering through the streets of Paris, grabbing a coffee on the terrasse of a café or heading out for a morning run along the . Last week started off with a visit to the Cluny museum, the National Museum of the Middle Ages. Here students worked individually as they studied various religious relics and were given further lessons on the gothic architecture of this hôtel particulier and the thermal baths. We also enjoyed a morning visit to Notre-Dame de Paris to learn more about the gothic architecture of this colossal cathedral. The early group was able to walk right in to tour the inside, appreciate its grandeur and magnificent stained glass windows before the tourists woke up and got in line. Unfortunately by the time the second group finished their tour around the exterior of the cathedral, the tourists had lined up to see this most highly-visited monument in France (over 20 million visitors a year!) and given the heat, we did not expect those students to wait in the blaring sun. Hopefully they will take the time some Sunday morning to pop in before it gets too crowded. We had our final visit through the on Friday. Renovations on the wing exhibiting the 19th century French paintings in small format meant that we had to alter our visit to study the more overwhelming and well-known large format 19th century French paintings, including Jacques-Louis David’s Oath of the Horatii and Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon. (See photos below.) Though it can often be difficult to give a lesson in such huge rooms, packed with tourists and buzzing with conversation and noise, it was a welcome change of plans to have to study such great works. The heat got uncomfortable enough that we postponed our plan for a historical walk on Thursday to go to the movies instead. While Les Profs, 2 was not a great cinematic achievement, the kids found humor in its complete ridiculousness, and at the very least it challenged them linguistically and provided some highly coveted air-conditioning. We made up our postponed historical walk through on Saturday morning where students learned to identify remnants of the medieval architecture that’s peppered throughout the city, and how and why certain streets get their names. Some students are starting to realize how little time we actually have left, how quickly our time in Paris passes and are hopefully making plans to check off everything they have on their to-do lists before we head back to the states on the 22nd. Visits to the Musée d’Orsay and Versailles to look forward to this week, along with much cooler weather!

Musée Cluny

333 christian street, wallingford, ct 06492 www.choate.edu Asha and Fiona were lucky enough to go away with their host family for the weekend. Here’s what Asha said: This weekend, I was able to visit a small, French island on the Atlantic with my host family. We arrived late on Friday night, so the activities really began on Saturday. We biked all over the island to get to a cute port. There, we bought ice-cream, did a bit of shopping, and climbed the local church’s steeple to get a full view of the island from a high point. Then, after dinner, we watched the sunset on the beach. Sunday, we did a bit of work and then relaxed on the beach for a couple hours. L’Ile de Ré is a really cute island with everything under the sun- beaches, sailing, biking, shopping, farms- anything one can think of! Not only was the island super fun, it was also really amazing to get some quality time with my host family. I do feel that this trip helped me get closer with my family. In all, I am really grateful I was invited to go!

And from Alex on her 2nd week in Paris: My 2nd weekend in France was really fun. I got to see some friends from home and take a walk along the Seine at night watching the sunset. Last night I went to a barbecue with my host family and their cousins. They had French kids our age, so it was really interesting exchanging cultures; they showed us their favorite American songs! Overall I’ve loved learning both about and in Paris.

À bientôt!

Studying Notre-Dame

Le Louvre

333 christian street, wallingford, ct 06492 www.choate.edu Le Marais:

Passage; remembrance of deported Jews Eglise Saint-Gervais

Place des Vosges: taking off for lunch at the end of their tour

Asha and Fiona with their host sisters on their weekend in the country.

333 christian street, wallingford, ct 06492 www.choate.edu