Our Two Days in Strasbourg

We went to Strasbourg from 4 to 5 April 2011 thanks to the Comenius project. We were invited by Malika Benarab Attou, a Member of the European Parliament who belongs to the Green Party. The trip was financed by the European Parliament and partly also by the school bursar, so no money was demanded from students.

We left the school at 5.00 am and arrived at 11:30 in front of the cathedral in Strasbourg in order to eat ‘Chez Yvonne’ where we ate a typical Strasbourg meal. Then in the early afternoon, we took a boat on the Rhine where we listened to explanations about the city. I liked taking the boat because the explanations were very pleasant and there was the sun which shone a lot.

Then at five o’clock, we were received by the European Parliament where we listened for an hour to a debate between MEPs...

Around six in the evening we met Malika Benarab Attou and we asked lots of questions about the parliament and it role. There are 736 members in the European parliament. Its seat is in Strasbourg but there are plenary sessions in Brussels and also offices and other plenary meetings.

After all these questions, we saw a slide show to explain how the parliament operates.

At the end of the day, we went to sleep in a “youth hostel”.

The next day we woke up around 7am. The morning, we visited the city of Strasbourg with a guide where we learned that before Strasbourg was part of Germany and currently belongs to France.

Then, we visited the Kronenbourg brewery, a beer factory. Now we know how beer is made. The day ended with the return by bus to Chambery. For me, the most interesting thing was visiting the town of Strasbourg because the guide was very pleasant and it’s a beautiful city. I had a very good trip!

Salomé SIMON-CHAUTEMPS 1ES2

Our Two Days in Strasbourg

Monday, April 4^th

We began with a 6-hour bus journey, so we left at 5:00 am. We were all very tired but we slept in the bus. We arrived in Strasbourg around 11:30 am. We ate in a famous restaurant in the city : "Chez Yvonne" where a lot of famous people have eaten like Nicolas Sarkozy, Jacques Chirac.
After eating, we visited Strasbourg on a pleasure boat. It was wonderful: we saw Strasbourg and we learnt a lot about the city (it was easy because we chose the children's recording).
As the afternoon ended, we visited the European Parliament: it was impressive! It's huge and the people who work inside look very serious ... We attended a debate about migration.
After, a guide explained to us how the Parliament functions and Malika Benarab-Atou (the MEP of our constituency) came to speak to us about her job and the European situation.
Finally, we went to the youth hostel to eat and sleep because another day was awaiting us.


Tuesday,5th April

After having lunch and getting ready to go to Strasbourg, we took the bus. We visited Strasbourg again, the Cathedral, history, important monuments...

After, we had 2 hours of freedom without teachers but we didn't do whatever of course!
And we visited ... The Kronenbourg brewery. It was very interesting because beer has its making but its history too. And we finished with some beer tasting.
Finally, we went back home and were back in La Ravoire at 10:00 pm.

Nelly FUSIER 1ES2

Our Two Days in Strasbourg

First Day

We left Chambery, Monday at 5 in the morning. It was so hard to wake up. When we arrived in Strasbourg we were tired, and some of us were hungry. We were invited Chez Yvonne, a restaurant, where famous people come to, like Johnny Halliday, Mr Sarkozy and others. The meal was impressive, the meat most of it. After that, we walked in the city to take a boat trip down the Rhine which introduced us to Strasbourg’s history. It was very pleasant and the weather was great. The commentary on board the boat with the pirate, the child and the parrot was wonderful. We saw the parliament that we visited some hours later. About half past five, we entered the European parliament. In the middle of the building, we were surprised because the center is empty and we didn’t expect that. Then, we had to pass through a control, the same as in an airport. We had to go upstairs with the aim to see a conference with some European members. After twenty minutes, we met a man who explained how the parliament functions. Malika Benarab-Atou joined us and stayed with us for an hour. We talked more about Libya. Thomas was interested because he asked a lot of questions. Then, we had a photo with Malika.

Second Day

In the morning, we had breakfast, packed our suitcases and at 9 o’clock, we left. We visited the old city center. We had a very pleasant guide, and the visit was very interesting. After that, teachers gave us free time. With Myriam, Clemence and Nelly, we ate at Mac Donald’s, and we bought some presents for our family. We were a little bit excited about the visit to the Kronenbourg factory.

So to finish our short trip, we visited this brewery. We learnt how to make beer, what we need to make it. I think most of my classmates awaited the beer tasting with eager anticipation!.

Charlotte HOLUB -1ES2

Strasbourg Trip 4 to 5 April 2011

During our trip, we saw a lot of amazing things. We visited the European Parliament and we met Malika Benarab-Attou. This visit was very interesting. We attended a debate where several deputies. We could see an immense debating chamber which looks like a very large amphitheatre and all the deputies spoke with each other about a precise subject. What I liked about this visit was the debate in the debating chamber. It was unbelievable and I can't realize the importance that these people have. Because they work for Europe and it's very difficult to imagine this. The most interesting thing for me was speaking with Malika Benarab-Attou too. She taught us many things that I was unaware of like the war in Libya, or how the Parliament operates. She also taught us some things about her work.

We also went on a cruise which was very pleasant and instructive because we had information about buildings that we could see at the same time. And during the visit of the city the next morning, we walked past these buildings again. This visit was fascinating. We learned many things about old houses and the city's history. We visited also Strasbourg Cathedral which is one of the most beautiful in France. The visit to the “Brasserie Kronenbourg” was interesting too. We learned a lot of things about beer that I was completely unaware of before. What I particularly enjoyed was visiting the city. Because I learned much information about Houses of the Tanners, about the Cathedral, about house structure, architecture etc..

This trip brought me a lot because I learned very many things about the Parliament and the deputies' work. And I discovered some things about Strasbourg too. I liked this trip so much, so Thank You Mr. Watts!

Céline Ferreira De Oliveira 1ES2

Trip to Strasbourg (4 and 5 April 2011)

During this trip we went to visit the city of Strasbourg, the European Parliament and the Kronenbourg museum.

This trip was just amazing because we could visit the city of Strasbourg (it was wonderful because I had never been to this city before) and we took a boat on the river to discover all the monuments in Strasbourg. Finally we visited the European parliament which is a huge, very impressive building.

This afternoon in the parliament, when I entered the chambers I was amazed by the size. We attended a debate during which the deputies discussed a project concerned with technology… and it was very impressive to see this chamber because it is immense and we were able to follow the debate with head-phones and choose the language that you wanted to listen to. After leaving the chamber, a man took us to a room in the parliament where we talked about how debates are organized. He told us they are present for a week every month (that we were there) and that members came to parliament to discuss the projects. After we had a meeting with Mme Benarab-Attou who was kind enough to answer our questions. In these questions we talked a lot about current events such as Libya and the role that the parliament plays in this kind of decision.

The European parliament was my favorite moment because I really appreciated discovering this universe that I didn’t know about. It was really interesting and rewarding.

And to complete this journey we visited the Kronenbourg Museum. It was really interesting too.

In conclusion this journey allowed us to discover a city that I didn’t know, that it also allowed us to discover the world of MEPs and the importance, they have in different projects. What is unfortunate is that in our society, we do not give enough importance to MEPs as they are of great importance.

And finally I would like to thank Mr. Watts for having made us discover all that thanks to the Comenius project!

Steffy Bron 1ere ES2