Washington Latin Public Charter School France 2026
Thursday, March 26
Today was our first day in France. We were all tired but got our day started right after we got off the plane. After getting our baggage and meeting with global works we got on a bus for our drive to Paris. A lot of us were super out of it and some even knocked out in the car. The jet lag was very real. However, despite this jet lag we had to keep going otherwise we would never get used to the time difference in France. An hour later we got off, left our bags at the hostel, and immediately started touring Paris.
We first stopped at a bakery to get lunch. Following the bakery we split up into groups to take a look around the Notre Dame, after that we took a look at Paris’s oldest museums for history such as the oldest clock in Paris, oldest church in Paris, and oldest bridge in Paris along with city hall which is supposedly haunted due to the absurd amount of beheadings from the French Revolution where the French people were very done with the monarchy and decided that the only logical solution was to behead both the king and anyone who supported the monarchy. Before we got to city hall though we saw a beautiful flower market which was super photogenic and great for pictures.
After that we were all super hungry from all the walking we did so we went to the hostel to gather ourselves together and freshen up just to go get dinner at a Moroccan restaurant. All the people in my group really wanted to stay in and crash because of the jet lag but we still came down anyways. After dinner we had a meeting for what we were going to do the next day. We all had to be in our hostel room by ten and lights out was 30 minutes later (so 10:30). We all fell asleep way before lights out though. We were way too tired and we had to wake up early. Bonsoir from Paris mes amis!
By Saron and Lyra
Friday, March 27
We woke up well rested from our sleep in the hostel getting ready for the day and then went down to have our French breakfast. The French breakfast was delicious and the bread was very sweet. They also had Nutella! We then took the metro heading to the arch Triomphe which is hard to get to so we had to take an underground tunnel.
When we finally arrived we were coming up from the ground and we witnessed the eternal flame that apparently was once burnt out by a fan whose team had lost to France. We arrived at the champ eleysee to have our lunch and after our lunch, then we explored the champ eleysee department stores and I bought my self some nice designer sunglasses. I had also adventured to Zara so now I am able to look Parisian.
We headed to the Eiffel Tower after a peruse on the champs élysées. We arrived, took our pictures, then walked to buy our tickets and started to climb up. Let me tell you, this was a workout; even more than I thought it was going to be! We climbed our way up to the first floor and then stopped to learn some history.
After, we climbed our way up to the second floor, then took an elevator to the top. Once we got to the top we got to walk around and see the view from the top of the Eiffel tower, it was breathtaking. When we finished we took the long trek down the elevator, and down the stairs twice. Lastly, we ended the night at dinner and took the metro home. Au revoir!
By Kiersten and Sanaa
Saturday, March 28
Today we saw so much from all sides of Paris. Our day started with a breakfast full of conversation and laughter. Everyone was fully recovered from our jet lag and was excited for our jam packed day!
Next we took a trip on the metro to Cimetière père-lachaise. This huge cemetery was
the same size as the Vatican, and we spent our morning taking an amazing walk in great weather with tour guides who told us about all things Pere Lachaise. The tours were completely en francais, so it was a cool opportunity for us to practice our listening skills. Our tour turned out to be a very animal-filled one: some of us spotted a black cat along the way, as well as a green parrot in a tree leaving the cemetery. A lot of us said that this tour was our favorite part of our Paris trip! After this we hopped back on the metro and road to lunch. We had lunch at a buffet style place where we all chose what we wanted and then sat down and engaged in conversation.
After lunch, we took a nice walk in the Tuileries past the Louvre and snapped some pictures on our way to Musée d’Orsay. While there, some of us chose to do a guided audio tour, while some stuck with the self guided, free roam approach. We saw beautiful paintings by artists like Van Gogh, Monet, and Renoir, and got to experience the architecture of the museum itself, which used to be a train station.
After metroing to Montmartre, we strolled through the shops. Some of us got souvenirs for our families and friends and themselves, and some of us got a croissant to munch on. After this, we climbed all of the stairs to see the beautiful view of all of Paris and we saw the huge Sacré- Coeur which was stunning. The view was stunning and the city of Paris was seemingly never ending. We continued walking down the hill and saw many painters and artists at work. After navigating through crowds of people, we sat down at our restaurant for dinner. We dined in the presence of a king: the tiny Chihuahua named Toto who sat across from Mr. Vernarsky. All in all, it was a super eventful day that we were all tired at the end of, but it’s one that will go down as one of many people’s favorite parts of the Paris trip.
By Alice and June
Sunday, March 29
For our 5th day in France, we woke up early to catch the train to Avignon from Paris. We enjoyed lunch from the train station boulangeries on the train watching the beautiful French countryside go by as we changed locations for the first time during our trip. The train ride to Avignon took 3 hours and was a relaxing break from the steps of the Eiffel Tower! Many of us napped, shared snacks, or just enjoyed the view. As we got to the station, we stepped out and immediately noticed the wind, as it was a very windy day! From the train station, we took a short bus ride into the outer city, since buses can’t go all the way into the city, before walking the final distance to our hotel.
After we dropped our bags at the hotel, we got rose-shaped gelato at a small shop just down the road. Then, we split into groups to explore the small inner city! As it’s Sunday, many shops were closed, but we still got to see small parfumeries and other Avignon businesses! Some of the group decided to take a small field trip to a nearby bridge. Though we were unable to go on the bridge due to the high winds and unsafe conditions, we did get a beautiful view of it, along with the rest of the water that surrounds the city. The rest of us stayed to keep enjoying the walled city, and many of us took a spin or two on the city center’s carousel!
Once we regrouped, we took an individual guided tour of the Palais de Papes, a 14th century castle used by various popes and their cardinals over the years, in French! We wandered the beautiful stone halls, inner courtyards, and gardens, and marveled at the murals and architecture of the Palais! Afterwards, we went back to the hotel for a quick nap before a homestay debrief and dinner, which we enjoyed at a restaurant just around the corner! Many got to try traditional French dishes like various forms of tartare as well as tarte tatin for dessert. We ended the night back at the hotel, where everyone stayed in their homestay pairs, ready for tomorrow’s meeting of homestay families!
By Nora and Emma
Monday, March 30
We woke up in Avignon, and this morning Ms A.M took a couple people who needed some things (like celsius, an essential) to Monoprix. It’s pretty crazy how prominent this one store is throughout France. I went with the group because I overestimated the weather and packed too many shorts and needed to buy some pants. After Monoprix, we stopped at a bakery on the street to grab our lunch for after the trip. Then we got onto the bus to go to the Pont du Gard.
For our picnic lunch, we journeyed to the Pont du Gard. We were able to hike up to the area around the bridge and see the incredible view. We even met a family from Fairfax who were friends with a former Latin Alumn. After the climb, we all gathered and ate our lunch on the rocks surrounding the Pont. There was also a nearby beach area that we were able to venture out too and explore where we met a very friendly and wet dog. Afterwards, we were able to explore the museum and learn more about Roman French history before boarding the bus in anticipation of meeting our host families!
On the bus ride, each student had a quick check up with our counselor before taking some nice long naps to catch up on the hours missed by daylight savings. Before long we had arrived in Carcassonne and were about to meet the host families. Once there, we dropped off our things and then had a potluck dinner with all the different families. It ultimately was very fun to meet everyone and get to practice our French, even though it was also a little stressful too. We also got to sit on the roof and enjoy a lovely view of the old city. Then, we all went home with our respective families and ate a second dinner.
By Camille, Mira, and Thalia
March 31, 2026
We awoke in Carcassonne with our host families to tasty French breakfasts of croissants and other sorts of bread. Afterwards, heading out to meet the others at the local high school for our day’s adventures, we boarded a coach bus and passed endless grape fields and rolling hills of the beautiful French countryside. We sped through the thin and windy country roads to make it to our morning destination: Antoine Courriere Middle School.
Once we arrived, we walked into the school yard, being passed by a middle schooler arriving on a motorcycle, and sat down in a room with about 20 French students. We began our time by playing a name game, called “Zip, Zap,” where we had to ask and recite the person to our side’s names. A few of us got our left and right confused or had to ask again for names, but that was the point of the game! After a few rounds we got the hang of it and each other’s names. After a few more games, like telephone and charades, the bell rang, and it was time for break!
During break, we got to chat with the French students, getting practice using our French out loud, in person, and with native speakers closer to our age. We also got to play outside with some of the students and challenge them to games of ping-pong and soccer, and generally get to know each other better. After the break, we went into the gym for another round of icebreakers. Our favourite was an English and French trivia game, where we had to answer questions and run back and forth across the room to guess. After a few more games, we had lunch in the cafeteria of chicken or fish. We then had recess where we went and practiced our French and played some ping-pong a little bit more. In the end, we all left with some new international friends and lots of unique memories. As fun as it was, we unfortunately had to say goodbye to our new friends and head back on the bus to Carcassonne.
When we returned, we had a little bit of free time to go explore a small section of the city on our own. Some of us went to the local creperie to experience the making of an authentic French crepe first hand (tres delicieux!) After we were done shopping and exploring, we met up to walk to our next location, La musee du Beaux-Arts. In the museum, we looked at a large variety of art from the 17th-21st centuries, with lots of stunning depictions of people and landscapes. After our visit to the museum, we walked back to the chaperones’ hotel where we played some card games and waited for our host families to pick us up for the night. Once home we had a delicious dinner and went to sleep, ready for tomorrow’s adventures.
By Ben and Zane
April 1, 2026
In the morning, we started off by completing our service project. We went to the countryside, where we were instructed to cut off the branches of two fallen trees on the path so that they can be cleared more easily later. Some of us were given saws while others received branch clippers. Afterwards, we were able to eat our picnic lunch that was prepared by our host family. Then we walked around the smaller village there, where we got to see some old churches, hospitals, and a castle, accompanied by a cat.
On the way to Carcassonne, where the castle is, some of us were able to experience some amazing views of the green scenery while others caught up on sleep. Once we arrived, an old Washington Latin exchange student came to visit some friends. Then we were able to walk around the city and some of us even bought some souvenirs along with coffees and crêpes. Then we met up in front of the castle and had a tour of the historic significance of the castle’s different levels and also the general history of the city. Our tour guide was quite funny, a comedian even, and made jokes about how the ground was the same size as his apartment and that Americans didn’t know geography.
On the way back we enjoyed a nice walk back in the rain and learned that sometimes the scenic route is not always the best as we walked through the mud. Then we met back at the hotel and each of our host families picked us up. A group of us decided to go bowling where we were able to connect more with our friends and host parents as well as talk to other native French speakers.
To finish, it was an activity filled day with lots of volunteer work, exploring and connecting with others.
By: Francesca & Zoe
April 2, 2026
Today we bid farewell to our homestay families and embarked on a 45 minute bus ride to La Grotte de Limousis where we had time to purchase some souvenirs before participating in a guided tour of the cave, on which we saw their wine cellar and learned much about the geology of the area.
We then got back onto the bus and drove roughly one and a half hours to Toulouse, also know as “la rose.” After dropping off our bags, we had time to explore the city center in small groups. During this time many of the students purchased snacks for the plane, as well as some souvenirs or gifts for their families.
Before dinner, we had our closing ceremony, which included sharing our favorite moments, and showing gratitude for our peers, guides, and chaperones. For dinner, we went out for crepes near our hotel, where we would spend our last few hours as a group.
By: Ben B. & Neri
April 3, 2026
Washington Latin’s 2026 stay in France was one packed with moments of joy, laughter, and support to build a better trip for each other.
Thursday morning we arrived exhausted but got right to sightseeing. Highlights included lunch amidst the hail, the Notre Dame, and the best night of sleep ever following a delicious Algerian dinner.
On day 2 we hit the Arc de Triomphe and, not to forget, we ate a hunk of watermelon at the top of the Eiffel Tower after practicing our pickpocketing skills on each other in line. That night, we returned to the Eiffel Tower after Italian dinner to watch the lights sparkle.
Onto day 3 and we visited Père Lachaise, the famous cemetery, with a fully French tour, which was a favorite memory for many. Then we hit Le Musée d’Orsay. Some could even grab a coffee there if they needed it, and then we hit our steps for the day with a long walk up many stairs to get out of the metro in order to see a gorgeous view of the city from Montmartre.
On day 4 we zipped by stunning views of southern France on a high speed train to Avignon. The ride was filled with sleep, music, and sharing candy. After arriving in Avignon, some went to see Pont d’Avignon and others souvenir shopped. Then, everyone checked out Le Palais des Papes with a self-guided tour.
Halfway through the trip, Day 5 we headed to Pont du Gard where we all enjoyed each others company with a picnic lunch (+ a very adorable dog that popped on by). Before we knew it, we were back in the bus heading to meet our homestay families in Carcassonne. We had some refreshments and chatted and then it was time to say bye to our friends and head home. That night, some of us had dinner, played with pets, played board games, and just chatted but all of us missed hanging out with our friends a bit.
We’re already at day 6. We woke up in our homestay families and have a delicious breakfast. We meet back up with our friends and head to visit a middle school where we get to play games and eat lunch with local students. The students tried to practice their English while we tried to practice our French and we got to see trends that exist in the US that have made their way to France. Then we got to do some souvenir shopping in La Bastide and visit a museum before heading back home for the night.
On day 7, we woke up early to get hard at work on Pouzols-Minervois. After attacking two fallen trees, we took shelter from the wind and cold in the bus for lunch. Then we toured an ancient village and La Cité de Carcassonne, where we souvenir shopped and bought the socks that are all the rage with French youth right now. We also completed a tour in advanced French (+ a southern accent).
Before we head home, it’s day 8 and we head to La Grotte de Limousis where we got to explore a cave and witness a spectacular light show within. Then after lunch we headed to our final stop, Toulouse. We got to do some souvenir shopping where some were forced into buying a kilo of candy and others tried on clothes. Then we got a guided tour around the city and finished our adventures with a creperie and a matzah party for Passover once we made it back to the hotel.
Finally it’s day 9 and there was no better way to end our trip than sprinting through the Charles de Gaulle airport to make our connecting flight (cue “Run Run Rudolph”). Now we’re back home, but with stronger bonds forged and fulfilling memories to last a lifetime.
