Équipe Saumur 2023: Week 4

When I did IUHPFL in Brest, as part of the culture class, I always included a trip to the boulangerie. There was one literally steps away from the building where we had our classes. Although there is one just two blocks away from Institution Saint Louis, I hadn’t really thought about it this year.

But Estelle suggested it last week. (I think Estelle may sleep late sometimes and skip breakfast. She always thinks the boulangerie is a good idea.) I stopped by there, and the boulangère (the woman who does all of the work) said we could stop by as long as it was before 11 AM.

I should explain what a boulangerie is. To call it a bread store conjures up the Wonder Bread store in the US. Nothing could be farther from that than this. Yes, it sells bread, but bread in more forms than you could ever imagine; loaf bread (sliced upon request), baguettes, croissants, pain au chocolat (bread with chocolate pieces in it), viennoise (sort of small baguettes with other stuff in it), tartines (sort of small fruit pies), and more other things than you can imagine. Just Google boulangerie.

Tuesday was July 4, American Independence Day, and virtually no one in Saumur paid any attention. It is just another day here. I don’t know if that was why our students became suddenly patriotic. Elli made a paper flag and clipped it to her shirt. Kids drew pickup trucks and guys pumping iron on our white boards. They watched trailers for American animated films (in French) on the teachers’ projected computers. They made the most of the holiday.

Les Rouges

Les Bleus

Wednesday was the day of our last community service project. We visited the EPHAD Saint Hillarie, a retirement home. It began as a service for a community of retired nuns but has expanded to include lay people as well.

The students met several of the residents and took them for a walk through the beautiful gardens on the campus. The home is situated on the site of a former convent and a former local farm. The views from the top of the hill were extraordinary.

After the walk, the students shared some time over refreshments with the residents. It was a delightful time for both residents as well as the students. I think the students found the residents very forthcoming with stories of their past and life in Saumur. And I think that the residents found that the students understood quite a bit more French than the imagined.

When we took our leave, the students realized just how much they had gained from the experience. Mary even cried.

Overall, it was a very successful afternoon.

Though left over from the former farm,
the grapes look quite healthy.

Thursday and Friday were our excursion to Normandie. Our first stop was the WWII memorial in the city of Caen. The battle for Caen was decisive in the days following the D-Day invasion.

The memorial takes one through the pre-war era, through life under occupation, the Resistance and finally the D-Day invasion itself. It is a comprehensive investigation of the time period.

After our lunch there, we headed for the American Cemetery at Coleville, situated on the cliffs above Omaha Beach, the most important landing beach of D-Day. It is a solemn place with stark, white crosses (and stars of David and crescents) marking the graves of over 12,000 American soldiers who gave their lives on D-Day and in the subsequent months of battle. It’s not really a place to take photos of happy students.

But the cemetery brings home to the students the idea of the cost of liberty.

Next, we drove down to Omaha Beach itself. In years past, this has also been a place of solemnity. However, in recent years, it has become more of a place to enjoy the sun, sand and sea. The striking monument reminds one of the price that was paid for freedom, while being able to enjoy that very freedom.

We also had the opportunity to visit the German military cemetery nearby. It has a very different ambiance about it. One is not allowed to place flowers on any of the graves. All of the information in the visitors' center was in German, so we didn't learn much about it. Nonetheless, the differences were striking.

Our evening brought us to a youth hostel in the small village of Bernières-sur-Mer. After dinner, the students went to the beach, many with the intention of swimming in the cold waters of the Channel.

It was low tide, which in this part of Europe is saying something. It was a walk of at least ¾ of a mile over sand, much and sharp stones just to get to water deep enough to swim in. Several of the students made it all the was there. Others were like me and headed back before crossing the expanse.

It made me think of the soldiers of D-Day who disembarked at half-tide on a cold, stormy morning wearing 80 lbs. on their back and a rifle in their hands.

Friday morning saw us arriving at Mont Saint Michel. This is a rocky island just off the coast, in the English Channel. There has been some sort of Christian monument there since the year 709. The current abbey, which sits on top of the steep incline, was built in the early 1100s.

All of our hikes over the last few weeks seem to have paid off, as the students didn’t seem to suffer climbing the over 1,000 steps in the sunshine leading up to the abbey. On the top, we did a group photo.

The views of the Channel and the nearby estuary are amazing. It was a bright, clear, sunny day, and we could see for miles.

The interior of the abbey is rather dark, and the students were free to explore in their groups of three-plus, so it was difficult to get photos of them as they experienced the abbey.

Mont Saint Michel is the second most visited tourist site outside of Paris in the world. Naturally, there are tourist shops, restaurants and ice cream stands. Our students took advantage of the shops and the ice cream.

Our last stop was a visit to Saint Malo. Saint Malo was a strategic city during WWII. It is also known as the home of the explorer Jacques Cartier, who “discovered” Canada.

For our students, it was more of a relaxing stop, to shop and eat pastries.

As we were about to depart, there was a group of Argentine dancers and musicians performing just outside the walls of the city. Several of our students got caught up in the reverie.

It was a fitting end to a very busy two days.