Europe

In the early morning on June 12, I was off for my trip to Europe. I was able to have an experience of a lifetime traveling with some of my best friends to some of the most beautiful places in the world.  I realize now how grateful I am for going on this trip, but when I was there, I did not think of it as any big deal. Traveling brings a joy to me, like I am experiencing something new for the first time.  During this trip, I met many new people and I learned the culture of each country that I visited. 

Once landing in London, every student could not control their excitement. We were able to meet our tour director, Gwen, which we quickly fell in love with. Gwen took us through our first day of our ten day trip that we were spending it in London.  During the first day, we traveled to the London Eye, took a walking tour of the city, and scoped out the Big Ben.  We had most of this day to explore by ourselves.  Being up in the London Eye, I was able to see the whole city. We were able to see every possible aspect that London had to offer.There was nothing more beautiful than seeing a city from way up high Unfortunately, the weather on this enthusiastic day was not the best. The weather in London is not anything crazy.  It’s not too hot or too cold; the only temperature in London was around the 50s and cloudy.  The next day, we explored St. Pauls Cathedral Church. The view of this church was indescribable; the building was sky high and had windows everywhere you looked. Most of the buildings in London were made of marble, which made it look classy.   But, most of the buildings, clothing, and weather were grey.  But soon enough, this day had to end.

The next few days flew by.  We took a train to the city of fashion, Paris.  Paris is not what people would expect.  I expected a big bright city with huge buildings and lights everywhere; that was false.  Paris is dingy and has old fashioned buildings.  Here, we learned about the rulers of Paris back in the day, and how Paris was built.  Also, we toured through the Notre Dame, which was breathtaking. Unfortunately, I was not able to go inside, but a few of my classmates went through.  They described it as looking through kaleidoscope; it had stain glass windows that covered the wall from head to toe.  The Cathedral was built in the Roman Gothic ages.  The building was made from stone and had gargoyles at every corner, which back in the day had meaning behind it. The gargoyles were meant to fight off evil spirits and to protect the ones inside during the night. But during the day, they were used as water fountains to keep those on the outside cool. Being in the city of fashion, we just had to go shopping.  We spent about a full day shopping and buying souvenirs for our family back home.  Shopping in Pairs is very different than shopping here in the United States.  The sizing chart is different and not very many of the workers speak fluent English.  Being in Paris was an experience; we ate many different foods that I would not try at home.  It was unusual, but fun!

As we traveled by a night train to Italy, I grew more anxious to see how beautiful the land was.  Compared to London and Paris, Italy had the most beautiful scenery.  When we reached Italy, we were able to stop at three of the most famous spots; Florence, Assisi, and Rome.  In Florence, we visited the Duomo. The Duomo was placed in the middle of Florence so people traveling could spot it easily, because of its huge dome like roof.  While staying busy in Florence, Assisi was more of a laid back city.  Assisi was a smaller and on top of a giant hill, which we had to walk up to reach St. Francis.  In Assisi, we were able to shop around in the little stores and eat where we wanted.  Walking around, I was able to find many restaurants that smelled delicious.  Sometimes I was able to smell the garlic from outside the door; it just made my mouth water.  After spending our day in Assisi, it was time to travel to Rome.  Personally, Rome is my favorite.  It was more of the Ancient Rome, which interested me.  Everywhere I looked, I saw buildings made of stone that were tumbling down from being so old.  The building that interested me most was the Coliseum.  The day we went to tour the Coliseum was one of the hottest days in Italy that week. The temperature reached up to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which compared to London was scorching.  Because Rome was my favorite, I want to be able to visit there again.  I was not able to see everything Rome had to offer. 

Going on this trip really did open my eyes up to how different life is in different countries.  Learning about the many various cultures and how people live their lives in the European land fascinates me.  I am very excited that I am able to share the things I know to others just from going on this trip.  This trip was an experience of a lifetime and I would beg to go on it again.  Being able to learn so much and have so much fun in ten days is a remarkable thing to do.