Excellent first day! Despite some rain, the students had a wonderful visit to the quarry and the pottery studio, with some time to play with clay.
In the group picture, the soil they are standing on is “ochre,” which we learned today is a natural earth pigment containing hydrated iron oxide. It ranges in color from yellow to deep orange, etc. We received a sheet explaining that the French scientist Jean-Etienne Astier in 1780s developed process for making ochre pigment. Clay was extracted from open pits like the one we saw today. It was processed and used for artists’ pigments.
The visit to the 3 star Côte Saint-Jacques restaurant in Joigny was exceptional, with yummy munchies. The kids were much more excited prior to the visit when we told them that 3 stars was the maximum number of stars for a restaurant in France, and there are only a very few restaurants that make that rating!!
See also the Jumelage Joigny-Hanover website for more pictures.
