France Summer Seminar 2023

Ce jour-là, nous avons visité une chocolaterie. Nous avons d'abord appris comment le chocolat est fabriqué et les machines utilisées. Nous avons ensuite essayé différents chocolats de différentes parties du monde. Nous avons terminé l'activité en achetant du chocolat.

  Today we went to a chocolate shop. Afterwards we walked back to school and stopped at a cool looking staircase. When we got back to school most kids were done with classes for the day since it was a half day so we went home and got lunch.

  Today, we went to a small market and we got to try some food samples. First was cheese, and alone it was alright but it went very well with bread. Second was more bread with meat inside of it, which was incredible! Afterwards, we went to a mall that was above one of the train stations, having some time to shop. It was massive and had stores for everything.

After an exciting, yet dizzying visit to La Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière and all of its incredible views, we descended down a steep staircase into the Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon) district. Built during the 11th century, this area is home to some of the city’s most charming past. Apart from the colorful buildings, cobblestone streets, and restaurants filling them, the traboules are what really make this place so special. Traboules are the small and quaint courtyards behind all of these buildings, hidden to the public eye. We were lucky enough to get to walk through a few of them, but were sure to stay quiet as these are still the homes of people today. 

After spending the morning in classes and in Chapelle St. Marc, we visited « la Basilique de Fourvière, » a basilica in Vieux Lyon. We were given a detailed tour of the 19th century chapel and we were able to explore every public room of the architectural wonder. Our tour even brought us to the top of the basilica which gave us a full view of Lyon. After the tour, we walked around Vieux Lyon, the oldest district in Lyon and returned to school.

  Accrobranches: Today after visiting the museum and location of ancient Roman artifacts and ruins, we made our way to an accrobranches site, where there are numerous ziplines and obstacles courses high in the trees. This location on a hill overlooking much of Lyon with some amazing views. We ate lunch in the forest together then geared up with our harnesses and gloves to get ready. Everyone kept clipping their harnesses to each other which was hilarious. After passing through the practice area of the course, we were allowed to explore the various courses. They were divided up by difficulty according to color, with some easier ones, and some much more difficult ones (gray was the hardest). Most of the courses had areas of obstacles you had to get across while other sections had zip lines from tree to tree. The best zip line was definitely the one at the end of the gray and black courses, as it gave an amazing view of Lyon as you flew between the trees. Seeing people struggle and deal w

 We had a small break on Friday as we visited a zoo inside the great Parc de la Tete d'Or in Lyon.  It was fun to see all the students take a break with games and a picnic. 

 The Jesuit Chapel right near the school has a beautiful crucifix which is similar to one at Marquette University housed in the Chapel of St Joan of Arc. The similarity was striking as the Chapel of St Joan was brought from France (obviously disassembled and reconstructed) by a wealthy donor. It was wonderful to see the same style of crucifix in this place. It is also impressive to see the Jesuit influence throughout the world. We are fortunate to be educated by them.

  On Thursday, we went to the "Musée des Confluences," a museum about Human History located inside a gorgeous modern building in the southern part of Lyon--specifically where the rivers that surround Lyon split into two. Then we went on the anticipated boat tour of the city where we not only went to see the museum again but a great part of Lyon on a very relaxing journey. Lastly, we got some ice cream as well as did some shopping before heading home. Stay tuned, Juan  

  After seeing Perouges, we traveled to the hills just outside the city, where we arrived at les Grottes de la Balme. We were given a tour of the giant cave system, and learned about its long history of failed exploration attempts, hidden treasure, and parties. At some points, the cave got pretty tight and we had to squeeze through two labyrinths, one by one. The cave had plenty of bats, awesome views, and even an underground lake that was more than 3 km long.

 Today was a busy day of sightseeing.  We began the day with a trip to the medieval town of Perouges, just outside Lyon.  It was a beautifully preserved town with an old church, much of the outer walls of the town and original buildings showing where craftsmen worked. We walked around this town, and also went on a Scavenger hunt ; this forced out to noticed the difference among many things : for example styles of gardens and wells (des puits) in the town.