Hardelot - Day 3

Hi everyone!  Firstly, thank you so much for all your blog comments over the past few days, it means a lot to us and we love hearing from home.

Today started when Mrs Pape came a-banging on our doors at 7.30 - not only were we soundo until this point, but all the teachers had been too!  We think we're tiring them out - maybe they're getting old!

After a hasty dress (the boys STILL found time to gel their hair though!), we headed to breakfast where we were greeted by the taste of croissants and lovely hot chocolate.  Once we had all finished and the girls had moved their stuff into smaller rooms (apparently loud giggles at 11p.m are frowned upon by the teachers!), we set off to Boulogne market.  Theo is now sporting a new hairstyle thanks to the creative genuis of Ned and Jake!

When we eventually got there, we walked down the hill and into the Market.  We grouped up and went off to buy our lunches - the language proved difficult for some of us!  Thankfully, the teachers (and Theo) were around to give us a helping hand and we managed to buy an array of food - from baguettes to stinky cheese to a whole rotisserie chicken (well done Theo and Frank!)!  Luckily, we all managed to keep hold of our wallets this time, even Roo!

Once we all had everything we needed, we headed back to the coach to eat as it was very cold outside.  Bob, our fabulous coach driver, is very understanding and doesn't mind the crumbs!  He took us to a great spot where we could see the sea while we ate.  It was also right by Nausicaa too, so we didn't have too far to walk.  We bought quite a lot of food to share between us, so many of the boys named their sandwiches 'Man-wiches'!

After we ate our enormous lunches, we all piled into Nausicaa aquarium.  When we first entered, we were confronted by a large pillar filled with jellyfish - they were hypnotizing!  While in there, a few of us made a quick stop off at the Seychelles - the flight was a quick one and we were soon relaxing by the beach, sipping fruit juice!

We had to return to reality with a bump, although we really weren't bothered as we were able to continue our journey round the aquarium.  Next stop was the Galapagos turtles and the Shark tank!  Jenna took this opportunity to further her budding career as a marine biologist - at one point we were sure she was going to end up in the tank WITH the sharks she was so excited!  Lucy, ever the animal-lover, was equally excited and there were small squeals coming from them every time a shark broke the surface of the water!  We were all stunned by the immense size of the sharks.  It wasn't until we went downstairs that we realised there were little pods where we could see the sharks and other fish up-close - this was amazing and we all loved it.

However, the real highlight of all our days was the Touch Tank, where you could actually put your hands in the water and touch the rays, plaice and fish.  We all loved this part, other than Elise, who wouldn't actually touch any of them!  The rest of us were surprised at how soft the ray's fins were though.

 

At this point, we thought the tour was over and we headed out of the exhibition, only to find that there was still more!  A new exhibit had opened showing us the effect we have on the world thousands of miles away by dropping litter here - it wasn't very nice and made us all think.  This was also where all the penguins were, they were fab!  Luke, Mia and Olly were very excited to find that they shared birthdays with some of the penguins!  By the time we got out of seeing the penguins, we all were pining for our beds and some sleep!  The journey home didn't take long, despite the road works and we were soon back at the Hardelot Centre.

The ever-wonderful Mr Fuller took us out to play in the games room while Miss Salmon uploaded photos from the cameras (as the school one ran out of charge half-way through the day!) and Mrs Pape got her well-deserved rest!  Lots of the girls were tired though and decided to chill out in their rooms - the giggles and laughter coming from the bedrooms suggested they weren't quite tired enough to sleep though!

We forgot to mention that yesterday Mr Fuller had a rather embarrassing moment...
Some of us wanted to go and play on the rope course, so Mr Fuller took us. We manged to get it out of Jenna and Mia (the last two there) that Mr Fuller was showing off  his gymnastics skills by climbing up the cargo net and was doing quite well, but it had been raining and the ropes were slippery...before long, it all changed! Mr Fuller climbed up to the top, got stuck and ended up spinning round the net!

We are currently watching Diary of a Wimpy Kid and drinking chocolat chaud, then we're heading off to bed.

Good night for now, more to follow tomorrow after we have been to the sweet factory, made croissants and visited the ceramics museum (we've been told its more fun than it sounds!).

~ Cameron Class & the teachers

Tonight's blog was written by Becky & Elsie, with a little help from Miss Salmon again.

Erin being 'attacked' by a Megalodon jaw!