Our first morning began at the language school, where we were divided into 3 groups. We did a variety of activities and games to help improve our speaking skills and general understanding of the language.

Afterwards, we had an hour-long journey from the centre of Tours to the Château de Chenonceau, one of many in the Loire Valley region but unique in the way that it was built across the river. We had the rest of the afternoon to explore this sprawling estate, with its magnificent gardens and, of course, the château itself.

On the second day, after, we spent the morning at the language school, we headed out of Tours to a town called Amboise. Here, we visited the Château du Clos Lucé, known for having several famous owners, such as the French King Charles VIII and Leonardo da Vinci. It was gifted to Leonardo da Vinci by King Frances I in 1516 and the polymath remained there until he passed away in 1519. Clos Lucé is also connected by an underground passageway to the royal Château d'Amboise. The château had many interesting models of da Vinci’s work, alongside beautiful gardens. Once we had completed the tour of Clos Lucé, we had an opportunity to spend some time shopping in Amboise. Many of us bought the famous rose-shaped ice cream there. 

The third day was our last day at the language school, where we learnt many useful French speaking and grammar skills, and also a lot more about French culture, which is not something we'd covered as much in school. Our teachers were all really helpful and also made learning fun and engaging. We even received our own certificates and are very grateful for the opportunity.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the old town and town centre of Tours and enjoyed a lot of ice cream! We also visited the Basilica of Saint Martin (where he was buried) and the magnificent Tours Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Gatien de Tours). Its architecture, which we learnt took centuries to build, was genuinely breathtaking from the outside, and after having seen the stained-glass windows inside, we truly understood the significance of such a beautiful building.

We spent the last day thoroughly enjoying ourselves at Futuroscope (a theme park based on moving images). It was definitely a great way to end the trip as we were all in awe at the spectacular 4D rides and experiences which we hadn’t experienced before in England. We spent the whole day roaming around in small groups and attempting to cover as many rides as possible. Our overall shared favourite rides had to be ‘Danse Avec Les Robots’ (Dancing with Robots) and ‘Objectif Mars’ (Objective Mars).