Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Chasse au trésor !

 Chasse au trésor / Scavenger Hunt

Hello all! We are all doing quite well here in Saumur. The days are becoming a bit hotter (today's high was 95, and tomorrow and Friday will be in the 100s), but our water bottles are remaining full at all times! This Friday, the 17th of June, we will be touring three major castles here in the Loire Valley. Chambord, Chenonceau, and Clos Lucé are quite well known in the region with the latter being rather famous for housing Leonardo da Vinci for the majority of his life. Dozens of his inventions and blueprints remain for all to see. 

Located near the Château de Saumur, this flower arrangement is created every year and is a source of pride among many locals as it depicts the blason (coat of arms) de Saumur (see below for reference)


On Monday, the instructors put together a scavenger hunt for the students to discover various parts of the city. It began at school (which I realize I have neglected to photograph, and will, therefore, do so tomorrow and upload some pictures), and then progressed to the downtown area and the various landmarks that the city is known for such as the theater, the city center, the large church, and it ended with everyone climbing up to the castle! 

At each stop, the students took a selfie with a landmark and then answered a question. Some questions were easy and the students could find the answer by looking around, but several involved finding out who, for example, the famous fashion icon born in Saumur was, who Molière was, and who wrote a famous piece of literature. To answer these questions, students had to ask passersby who may have known the answers-- a daunting task to be sure, but the students managed it flawlessly and put their awesome French skills to good use!

The church at the center of town located in Place St. Pierre 

I meant to take a picture of every group who found me on the third leg of the scavenger hunt, but we became a bit pressed for time with the last two groups, so I do not have a picture of every single group, but fear not, the students had a great time! 

Christian, Avery, Grace, and Mara

Evie, Summer, Katrina, and Monick

Annalyse, Jean-Luc, Dawn-Cheryl, and Abby

Yara, Rachel-Claire, Victor, and Emily

Cassie, Brooklyn, and Aminata 

Here, Evie is helping a group to find the correct location that they need to photograph

During the last leg of the hunt, we all climbed to the top of the city to meet up with Shane and Evie waiting at the castle. 

Château de Saumur, first constructed in the 10th century




At the top, we relaxed for a little bit in the shade (for some) and in the sun for those that wanted to work on their tan, enjoyed some cold water that our fantastic on-site coordinator brought up, and we all took in the panoramic view of the city.



Before heading back down, we took a group picture!

Classes started officially yesterday and the students have been learning quite a lot about French literature and culture, linguistics, and grammar. Almost everyone seems excited about the prospects of learning this summer! 

You can expect 2-3 blog posts a week here, more if I can manage it. This first week and a bit into the next is incredibly busy and I know that many parents have been patiently waiting for my next update, so I apologize for the delay. For the last four days, the instructors have arrived home between 8 and 9 pm every evening as there is much that needs to be arranged for the coming weeks! In any case, you can expect another update sometime Saturday (or Sunday at the latest) as we will not return to Saumur until around 9 pm Friday evening after our visits to the three castles in the Loire Valley.



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