Paris Art and Textiles Trip 2018
An account of their experiences by Bethany Trenchard and Amelia Kang (Y9)
On the 20th of October, we departed at 4:00am for our journey to Paris. The art trip provided us with once in a lifetime experiences and we developed our skills ready for art GCSE in the most artistic place in the world!
Day 1
We said goodbye to our parents and departed for
our journey. Everyone was excited when we reached the Eurotunnel. We took plenty of pictures before we had even got off, as there was so much to observe in France when we got there, such as the colossal buildings and their architecture, the Eiffel Tower (from a distance) and the stalls littered around on the streets where they would display artwork and sell it. When we finally got off the coach, we boarded a boat, on which we saw even more aspects of Paris and its culture. When we left the boat, the sun was setting, and it made Paris look even more breathtaking.
Day 2
Our first stop was an art gallery, called “Musée de L’Orangerie”. There were so many beautiful and bizarre pieces of art; some were three dimensional, and some filled up the whole room- such as Monet’s Water Lilies collection, which was amazing. Our next stop was to visit the world’s biggest Art Museum, called the Louvre; the main attraction was the Mona Lisa. A shopping centre called Galeries Lafayette was where we went next. It was full of expensive brands and high-end items where we just explored until we had to go back to the hotel. We then ate and had a drawing contest at around 9:00pm, where we had to replicate our best picture we took of the Eiffel Tower on a postcard as a drawing. The winners were awarded mini Eiffel Tower key rings.
Day 3
We arrived at the base of Montmartre where we took could take photos of the Montmartre and the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur which was at its summit. We climbed the steps to reach the top of the hill and took photos of the hill and a great view overlooking Paris. We then went to the Place du Tertre where we were able to see a range of artists actively painting and drawing as well as viewing their finished paintings. We were driven to the Georges Pompidou Centre. The Pompidou Centre displayed modern art from the 20th and 21st centuries and it displayed art in many forms of sculptures, paintings, optical illusions, cinema, photography, plastic arts and many more. We then travelled to the Place d’Italie. At the Place d’Italie we were met by two Graffiti Art tour guides, who took us to see 12 graffiti art walls which were graffitied on by some of the worlds’s top graffiti artists. After the graffiti art tour, we went back to the coach which then took the group to Flam’s restaurant which is where we all dined for the evening meal. In the restaurant we were given pizza to eat for our mains and then for dessert we were given pizza again only with a special chocolate topping! After the meal we went to Paris’s tallest building called The Montparnasse Tower, which is 56 floors high. The group took the elevator up to the top of the building where we were able to take photos of Paris at sunset in the open-air viewing platform. We then went back down to the coach which then took us back to the hotel to spend the rest of the night at our own leisure.
Day 4
This was our final day in Paris, so in the morning we
packed our bags and cleared our rooms out, we then boarded the bus ready to go to the Museum of Modern Art. On the way to the Museum of Modern Art we passed the Eiffel Tower and took a short break whilst admiring the Eiffel Tower for the last time, before then travelling to the Museum of Modern Art. When we arrived at the Museum the group was lead to the entrance and then we could explore the gallery by ourselves in small groups. The gallery was a collection of photos and paintings painted by few famous artists including Picasso. in the gallery we also had the opportunity to buy some souvenirs. When the group met again we walked back to the coach ready to leave Paris. A few hours later we reached the Eurotunnel where we boarded a shuttle and traveled back to the UK. At 9pm we reached the picking up point in Gloucester to meet our parents and our fabulous Paris trip officially ended.