Hey, Mac!

We had the chance to go to Italy a month ago, to get away from school and all the things which make up our daily lives...
Look at this photo of our two friends, what do you see behind them? Yep! An ad with a big golden M! In Italy, just like in Aurillac, it's simpler to eat at Mc Do's than to eat in a good local restaurant. It's awful, you want to escape by travelling, but, globalization catches you up, thanks to Mc Donald's! Standardisation will fatally catch you up, wherever you are!

Fantasmi...

When I saw this photo (by Clémence) for the first time, I was dazzled. Because of the two fabulous monuments, but not only that. When I look at this photo, there is something mystical about it. The light and the darkness make me think that antique Rome isn't finished, that the gladiators live on, that just for one night, armed combatants will put on their armor and show me an extraordinary spectacle in the middle of a raging crowd, that chariots will criss-cross the streets of Rome!
For me, this photo is full of sensations and it brings back strong memories of my journey.

By Pauline

Roman recipe...

Hi guys!
I'm going to give you an excellent recipe, not to have a delicious meal, even if that would have pleased you !
In fact, I'm going to give you an excellent recipe to have a good time and lots of marvellous memories.
A bit like this gorgeous photography on the Colosseum, with its incredible Term girls : Marion Delorme, Mélanie Chalchat, Pauline Gaillard, Esther Rousseau-Piot and Marion Labrunie !
So, first, take friends and wild teachers ; that way you will be in stitches all day long.
Then, choose a fabulous place to go with them to, such as... Italy!
There, don't hesitate to visit all the magical places like the Colosseum, Pompeii and, why not, a Limoncello factory.
Well, this is not realy magical, but « Limoncello babas » are terribly good!
Finally, and the most important, don't forget to have fun and to enjoy all activities you do. Even if it implies a six-hours wait in the middle of nowhere!
Friends and mythical places are the key ingredients to achieving this extraordinary feast.
And that's how you get unforgetable memories of a sensational week!
An incredible trip with those you have shared so many things with during the years.

By M A R I O N

Roman antics!

In response to Peter's nice article (check out here), this photo is my way to evoke the subject of love in romantic Rome (or Rome-antique Rome, haha).

This photo has a story... It shows a couple in front of the Trevi fountain. I was dying to take a picture of people kissing in front of this amazing monument. So I sat on the steps and waited, my camera ready, for some strangers sufficiently in love not to care about kissing in front of all those tourist cameras...

But no one seemed to want to kiss! It was only when I was about to leave that I saw this handsome couple. I raced down the steps and sat in front of them!

I had time to take just one shot, this one... Yes, they kissed in the very second just before I pushed the shutter button!

I was disappointed at first, but finally I like this picture; the girl's grimace is kind of cute!

In fact, when you think about it, it's not because couples are in Rome that they look romantic... you can be in love anywhere and show that you are in love (but the Trevi fountain does help)!

COACHMARRE!

A photo taken from our bus of the motorway entrance near the Fréjus tunnels... we got to know it much too well!

Have you ever waited more than 6 hours in the middle of nowhere, without any food or place to pee..? WE did !

Indeed, on the way back from our magical week in Rome, we, all the pupils in terminale of Lycée St Joseph, arrived at the Frejus tunnels at about 6 a.m. Everybody was asleep and suddenly our bus stopped. But why ? Unfortunately, a truck had cought fire in the first tunnel just before we arrived. But we are very couragous pupils and we did not panic !!

We woke ourselves up and ate the cakes we had kept in case of emergency (!), and our dear teachers reassured us, saying that we would leave half an hour later...

TWO hours later, we were still in the bus, hungry, and we really needed to pee ! But our ordeal wasn't finished, far from it !

Worse : even the Italian policemen did not know when the tunnel would reopen.

The result is that we left Frejus and we arrived in France only after midday... where we could at last eat and pee ! At last !!

We arrived at St Joseph carpark at midnight, after 27 hours of being stuck in a bus. What an adventure !

By Pauline

Pompeii, a life buried under ashes...

Pompeii, a prosperous, growing, very-well planned city in the Campania, Italy, near the Vesuvius volcano... The volcano erupted on the 24th of August 79 and buried Pompeii under 20 meters of ash and volcanic stones.
The city was lost for nearly 1,700 years before it was accidentally rediscovered in 1748. It was in an amazing state of preservation which allowed archaeologists to find very interesting proof of the way Romans lived during the Empire period. Pompeii's excavations delivered a real story of the city but also of the inhabitants, who died asphyxiated and were turned to stone under the ashes. What a rich and tragic story! Today, Pompeii is a UNESCO world heritage site. It is one of the most popular tourists attractions of Italy; that's a wonderful homage to this city and to all its victims.

Posted by Mariion

The Dark Side of Italy !=)

Hi guys! Ciao tutti!

I'm going to reveal some of the craziest moments we had during our trip to Italy.

On the teacher's side, everyone distinguished themselves!
Mrs Fayol was amazing, for instance singing "Le lac du Connemara", "La chanson pour l'Auvergnat" and other such songs in the bus. To wake us up in the bus, she used the well-known "Il est l'or, l'or de se réveiller" with a sweet and soft voice. Or again : "Tututuuu St Joseph Air Line, good morning!" And imagine Mr Gilbert standing up and starting miming the hostess as Gad Elmaleh does! He was the mediator when we learnt the "freeze" with the dancers.
Our dear Mr Peter was crazy too, singing "My Bonnie" and "Only youoooo" for exemple. Mrs Boutoute made fun of us, Mrs Piganiol sang out of tune, Mr Coutarel danced with us on the plazas of Roma.

And now the funniest (or not) sentences of the pupils translated into English:

Mrs F: "In Rome, you'll be able to see John Paul II's grave!"
A pupil : "Is he dead ?"

A pupil: "In Rome, we'll see the tower of Pisa !"

The guide in the limoncello factory : "Everything is in zee zest!"

A pupil: "Who bombed Pompeii?!"

A pupil: "I'm fed up with pasta!"
A teacher: "Well, when you start eating couscous, you'll know that you are no longer in Italy!"

By Clémence

Italia and Italians because behind a beautiful country there are beautiful people :)

When you think about Italy, you think Vespas, Spaghetti, Tortellini, Buitoni, Ice creams, Boys, Girls. But all these things are clichés. I am going to tell you the sad truth about Italia... (boys, don't cry!)

In France, crossing the road is just a banal fact in your life, but in Italy it is proof of bravery. Indeed, Italians have a very personal vision of "driving"...

In Italy, Ugly people exist!! Monica Bellucci is not the Italian "girl next door". So, stop thinking French people are not attractive, etc., etc... you can start getting depressed, because there are ugly people all around Europe! Girls, if you want to see the most attractive guy in Italy (and of the universe I think) you have to go to Plazza de Espana to buy something (how lucky you are if you can) at Dior's. Warning! You'll fall in love immediately !

Italy is known as one of the countries of romance. FALSE. I didn't find my Valentine (cf. my "Wanted" article ... )

But if Italy doesn't live up to its promises, you will forgive it because it's an amazing country and even more amazing when you are with your friends.

So one piece of advice: travel! it's good for you!

As long as there is the Colosseum, there is Rome..

The colosseum is a huge amphitheatre built in the center of Rome, Italy. It is considered as one of the greatest works of roman architecture. Its construction started under the reign of the emperor Vespasien, between 70 and 72 AD and it was completed by Vespasien's son : Titus. Its inauguration lasted 100 days during which 5000 lions and tigers were killed and as many gladiators! Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. It has been estimated that about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals died in the Colosseum games. The Colosseum is today one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions, receiving millions of visitors annually.
Posted by Pauline.

Ils ont OZé! (CLICK HERE!)

Rome is the city of echoes, the city of illusions, and the city of yearning...

Antique Rome is so "romantique"!

I love this photo of a girl throwing herself into her boyfriend's arms in a passionate embrace, oblivious to the tourists filing past.

They bumped their scooter helmets together before reaching each others' lips, and nearly made the scooter on which they both sat keel over!

Coming soon... tutta la verità! (CLICK HERE!)

The true tale of four girls

on a wild adventure

in the eternal city!

Hundreds of extras!

Gladiators, lions, tourist traps, and awful spaghetti!

Coming to a cinema near you

very soon!