We were invited into the private Catholic school called Collège Saint Colomban. The English teacher Sarah Lindemann had organised a welcome breaktime for us while we got to know each other and met the French penpals. The BASFC students presented a video of the activities that take place in our school in Bangor and we compared the educational systems and the opportunities available.

Our students then bravely attended classes in full immersion French, learning History, Maths and PE with their French counterparts. We went for lunch to their canteen and watched how they measure waste every day.

We were guided around the pretty town of Luxeuil which is a spa town and has been famous for this since Roman times. We were met by the Mayor and his adjutants in the Town Hall. The radio asked us questions about our trip and Francesca Mason spoke eloquently as Mrs Coulter translated. It was exciting to be on French Radio Comtoise. We were given another guided tour of the magnificent Cathedral and the Abbey which dates from the 7^th century when Columbanus and many other Irish monks settled here for 20 years, before some of them moved on to Germany, Switzerland and Italy. We were told that 42 saints have gone through the abbey! It is in the middle of a  30 million refurbishment with a private owner who is fixing this palatial building up to standard. Everywhere we went there were plaques, paintings and signposts pointing out the importance of Bangor.

Everyone in Luxeuil was so excited to meet us as we are the first school from Northern or anywhere in Ireland to visit. They are enthusiastic about coming over to Bangor to continue our collaborative project.

We were taken to a fascinating museum which was the burial ground for Romans and monks from the abbey. There were many sarcophagi which were pointing towards that of the abbot. The interactive screens were interesting and focussed a lot on the contribution of the Irish monks. It made us feel relevant and important to learn of our ancestors from Bangor Abbey and the amazing impact they had on continental Europe.

We were also taken up to the remains of a small Columban monastery in Annegray. There were signposts there which pinpointed other important places with links, eg; Bangor and St Gallen, Bobbio and Leinster.

The grotto and spring where he used to withdraw for peace and quiet was interesting too and reminded us of Tollymore. In fact, the weather was similar to ours. Columbanus always settled where he felt like home.

On Wednesday 21^st May, the French school was off, as they do not go to school on Wednesdays. We took off by ourselves to explore the region. We were close to the fabulously famous church building by the French architect Le Corbusier in the 1950s. Roncahmp la Chapelle is such an iconic building, but there were only a few German students about so we had it nearly to ourselves. We were spellbound by this modern chapel which was so influential to later 20^th century architecture. But when our teacher Mrs Marcus started singing Amazing Grace, that was spectacular! The acoustics were fantastic.

We drove on to the picturesque Alsatian town of Colmar. It was like a Hansel and Gretel picture book. We learnt about the history of Alsace after the 2^nd world war. It is close to Strasbourg, capital of Europe and relevant to our exploration of different European countries linked through the pilgrimage of St Columbanus, the Via Colombani. (There is an app of this name which is free to use for pilgrims across Europe).

The idea of the EU (or CEE as it was first) was hatched in Luxeuil by the French Secretary of State, Robert Schuhman on the feast of St Columbanus, 23 November 1950.

It was the first time for all the students to visit France and they loved the people, food and buildings.

Emma Coulter, International School Coordinator, teacher of French and Head of Learning for Life & Work at Bangor Academy & Sixth Form College.