Projects for 2022

Posted on April 10, 2022 by La Giraudiere

Interns & Volunteers projects

The principal project for 2022 for those participating on an Erasmus granted internship is to be the creation of an online “click collect” and “click and send” shopping experience. The name of this online shopping experience will be Brossac Bradery. 

This project will introduce our Erasmus interns to project management, the creation of an online shopping website, international and local marketing, sales, budgeting and accounting. Interns will have direct contact with the local community and volunteers will be encouraged to help with the project.

project management

This project provides an ideal opportunity to show new webmasters how important the content is of any new website and interns will be learning how to optimise for both search engines and people friendly websites. 

Learning how to use marketing tools such as social media, blogging, CMS programs and how important some of the old marketing tools are and how they still work in today’s high tech environment.

Volunteers and Interns will jointly experience setting up the project at exterior events such as traditional French markets, Brocants and Vide Grenniers. These events will present an ideal marketing opportunity to advertise the online shop to our local market. Furthermore this project presents an ideal opportunity to make new contacts and again be involved in local community life and commerce.

French Market
Chalais Market

The principal aim of this project is to provide interns with an opportunity to manage a project from foundations to finishing. It encompases Marketing international and local, Accounting and budgeting, Improvement of French & English language is included within this project.

Other projects are planned for 2022. Keep in touch with this blog for information on what is planned.

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Séjour linguistique pour apprendre l’anglais en France

Posted on November 1, 2021 by La Giraudiere

Séjour linguistique pour apprendre l’anglais en France. Vous souhaitez apprendre ou perfectionner votre anglais, sans quitter l’Hexagone, tout en faisant partie d’un groupe de travail international? Si la réponse est oui, adressez vous à La Giraudière où nous vous offrons l’occasion de le faire! Visit http://www.lagiraudiere.com/fr-france/

learning English in France

Learn English in France

Language holiday to learn English in France. Do you want to learn or improve your English, without leaving France, while being part of an international working group? If the answer is yes, contact La Giraudière where we offer you the opportunity to do so! Visit http://www.lagiraudiere.com/fr-france/

Different programs for learning English

We have many different ways for you to learn or improve your English. Check out the volunteer project at http://www.lagiraudiere.com/volunteer-france/ or maybe you like to intern as an erasmus intern then check out http://www.lagiraudiere.com/erasmus-internships-france/ for university accreditation there is the self funded internships read more at http://www.lagiraudiere.com/internships-in-france/

French australian volunteer in France
Australia and France learning English and French

No matter what your age, your nationality we have something to suite all backgrounds so come learn English or improve your knowledge of the English language at La Giraudiere.

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Volunteer and intern go on a trip to Toulouse

Posted on August 18, 2021 by La Giraudiere

La Ville Rose

Toulouse is a capital of a region called Occitanie on the south of France. It’s the fourth-largest city in France (after Paris, Lyon and Marseille). Toulouse is located about 150 km away from the Spanish border. The city was founded by Romans and in the 5th century it was the capital of Visigothic Kingdom. Its unique architecture made of pinkish terracotta bricks has earned Toulouse the nickname La Ville Rose (“The Pink City”). Toulouse is also famous of being the center of the European aerospace industry and having one of the oldest universities in Europe (University of Toulouse founded in 1229).

One of small streets in Toulouse

Three-day French journey

We arrived to Toulouse on Sunday afternoon and immediately started exploring the city. First, we ate a late lunch in the city center and then we headed to Toulouse’s main square – Place du Capitole. Since it was Sunday and pretty much everything was closed, we decided to walk around in sunshine and spend the rest of our evening that way.

Monday started with delicious coffee and some shopping. Buying souvenirs and gifts is a must! Many of local stores enchanted us with their originality. Next, we visited Salle des Illustres inside the Capitole which contains 19th century works of art. Then we went to see the biggest remaining Romanesque church in Europe – la basilique Saint-Sernin. We weren’t disappointed at any moment. The day was long but great. It ended with a delicious dinner in a fantastic atmosphere.

Ceiling painting in Salles des Illustres

We wanted to make the most of our last day and because of that we woke up early and left our hotel at 8 a.m. After a tasty French breakfast we headed to the main point of our Tuesday’s itinerary: Marché Victor Hugo. It’s a historic covered market that takes place everyday and where local merchants sell fresh meats, fish, cheeses, fruits and others. Upstairs, there is a couple of restaurants that serve food made only from the products that are being sold downstairs. It was busy out there, we had to wait for a free table for a while, but it was definitely worth it. An experience to recommend!

Polish Erasmus intern and Singaporean-American volunteer

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Week of local events in south-west France

Posted on August 18, 2021 by La Giraudiere

Market of variety

Last week of July was full of local events in Brossac and its surroundings. Participation in them was the best opportunity to immerse in the French culture and practice the language. The first thing that we attended was Monday market in the town of Chalais. That was the unique experience of tasting and buying local specialties, drinking coffee and talking to people, which made us feel as we were locals. You can read a bit more about our visit to the market in one of my last posts.

Picnic by the lake

The next day also did not let us get bored. In the evening we went to the lake to take part in the picnic. Everybody brought some food with themselves and share it with others. Thanks to that, we could enjoy French, homemade dishes. Sitting on the grass, at one, long table together felt like being a part of the community.

Lights on the picnic improving the atmosphere

Walk & eat

On Saturday (31st of July) we had a chance to get a new experience by showing up at the event called “Marche gourmande” in Châtignac – a village 3 km away from Brossac. The idea of it is to take a walk through charming rural area of south-west France and stopping for a meal every few kilometres. The order of eating is no different than French. We started with aperitif in salle des fêtes in Châtignac and after that we set off on our journey. Every next stop was entrée, plat, fromage and dessert. In total, we went around 12 km. We got back to the place where we started just after it got dark. The timing was perfect, just as the whole concept of the event.

Paul – president of the association, Singaporean-American volunteer and Polish Erasmus intern during the event

South-western France is full of interesting events which enrich our interning and volunteering experience at La Giraudière. We will make the most of it and I will make sure that you will stay informed about everything.

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Erasmus Interns in France take time out

Posted on August 5, 2021 by La Giraudiere

Visiting the coastline of South West France

Pons – Charente Maritime

Hi! My name is Gabriela, I’m from Poland and I am an Erasmus student interning at La Giraudière. Two weeks ago together with others in the group we took an outing to the delightful coastline of South-West France. Our first stop of the car ride was for café at the city of Pons. Pons is located in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. The city is known for its numerous national historic monuments dating from the 12th century on wards. One of the most well known is the 33 meter high Keep (or Dungeon) of Pons which is the official symbol of the city. We spent there about half an hour, grabbing a coffee, admiring the old dungeon and wandering around the park.

Dungeon of Pons

Talmont Sur Gironde

Our next stop was at Talmont-sur-Gironde, one of the Plus beaux villages de France. This is the second plus beau village for me as I had the opportunity to visit Aubeterre-sur-Dronne on a previous outing.

Talmont-sur-Gironde is a village in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France. Its inhabitants are called Talmonais and Talmonaises. Talmont is also a small port where sturgeon were once fished for its eggs (caviar).

We saw there the admirable Romanesque church of Sainte-Radegonde dating from the year 1094. A former bastide founded by the King of England and Duke of Aquitaine Edward I in 1284, this small city camped on a promontory overlooking the Gironde estuary was once a formidable stronghold, of which only a few sections of ramparts and the remains of a medieval tower half ruined (white tower) now remain.

St Radegund church in Talmont-sur-Gironde

Meschers and Saint George de Didonne

After that, we took a ride by Gironde estuary, passing by the towns of Meschers and Saint-Georges-de-Didonne. Then, we headed onto Royan, one of the main French Atlantic coastal resort towns. We left our car just north of there and started long, remarkable walk along the coast.

House in Royan
Vaux and Saint-Palais-Sur-Mer

Our walk was accompanied by lots of sunshine and nice sea breeze. Exceptional hotness of that day didn’t bother us, since we were surrounded by astonishing coastal views. During the tour, we crossed the towns of Vaux-sur-Mer and Saint-Palais-sur-Mer. In that second one we had our very French lunch that consisted of crêpes. After a well deserved meal we had time to cool off by swimming in the Atlantic ocean.

In total, we had walked around 14 km. The route from Royan to Saint-Palais-sur-Mer was a bit longer, because we chose the way along the coast. It was about 8 km. Journey back was 6 km long, since we decided to walk the road.

Intern from Poland taking a trip to the coast in south-west France
Polish intern at French coast
Barbezieux Relais – Truck stop

After the long and intense day, we stopped for dinner in Relais de Barbezieux. It’s a restaurant mainly used by truckers who pass the town on their way to Spain or Paris. We ate very tasty food there, drank some wine and with regenerated strengths we came back to Brossac, refreshed and ready to continue our interning the next day.

This was not our last excursion. Stay tuned to find out how we spend our time with La Giraudière’s program.

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