Report: Isabelle's Language trip to Bordeaux

Having visited Bordeaux as a child, I really wanted to explore the city again, though this time with slightly more French under my belt! Every morning, I attended an intensive French course at the Alliance Française, which has put me in good stead ahead of this coming Michaelmas term, when I will continue my studies in French and Italian. I was lucky to have international classmates, with French our only option for conversing outside the classroom.

My conversational French really improved through our lunchtimes spent together after class, where we got to know one another while sampling the traditional bordelais cuisine. We would spend the rest of the afternoon wandering around Bordeaux, a port city which is steeped in history. After Paris, it has the second largest number of world UNESCO sites in France, so we were rarely stuck for things to do. 

I was also fortunate that the Alliance Française hosted various events during my time there. Notably, a French Apéro night, and a visit to the Musée des Beaux-Arts. They arranged for a tour guide to take us around, and I was pleasantly surprised that I understood them almost entirely.

During my time in Bordeaux, I stayed with a French host family. They kindly invited me to dine with them a few times during my stay, where I gained a further insight into traditional French cooking. Their use of the freshest ingredients to produce meals with an elegant simplicity affirmed my love for French cuisine.

Bordeaux is famous for wine, so one day we visited Saint-Émilion, situated in the heart of the Libournais hills. I thoroughly enjoyed wandering around the caves, the small wine cellars built within the hill on which this quaint medieval town is situated, and sampling the best Bordeaux I could find. A short walk from Saint-Émilion, one can find some of the most impressive chateaux in France, a few boasting the highest quality French wine classification of the Grand Cru.

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity that the Gerry Grimstone Travel Grant has afforded me. The language course has filled me with more confidence in my ability ahead of recommencing my language studies this term, and I am very excited to begin planning my year abroad in a French-speaking country with my experience of Bordeaux in mind.