Our private transfer will pick us up this morning and take us to Heathrow Airport. (B/IF)
Day 16: Friday, October 14, 2016: Depart
Our private transfer will pick us up this morning and take us to Heathrow Airport. (B/IF)
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Day 15: Thursday, October 13, 2016: London After breakfast at our hotel, our bus will take us to Westminster Abbey for a self-guided tour, followed by free time for the rest of the day, using travel cards. We will attnnd a performance of Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theater. Our bus will drive us back to our hotel at the end of the day. (B) Updates from the travelers: It was a wonderful last day, and we had beautiful weather. We managed to see more than I even would have thought possible--Abbey Road crossing, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, walk through St James and Green parks (picnic lunch on the grass), Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross, walked by The Tower of London and Tower Bridge, dinner at the George Inn (oldest remaining coaching inn in London), quick stop at the Globe, some shopping in Picadilly Circus, and ended with Les Mis! The musical was a perfect end to our trip. Updates from the travelers (Danielle): Today we began with a more restful morning and good breakfast. After receiving our day passes for the tube, we boarded our bus and drove to Abbey Road for that classic street crossing picture from the Beatles album. Once we had snapped that picture, we walked to our first tube adventure that brought us to Westminster Abbey. While there we walked around the church and saw graves of famous captains, queens (like Mary queen of scots and Elizabeth I) and lastly the iconic poet's corner where famous poets like Edmund Spenser and Alfred Lord Tennyson are. We even saw Shakespeare's memorial and Charles Dickens' grave. Upon exiting the church we then tubed over to Buckingham Palace to get lunch in a park and walk past a multitude of species of birds. After all of this we finally were standing in front of the palace gates. In the circle drive outside of the place is a beautiful gold statue and inside the gates, the classic red coated guards stand to protect the palace. Another tube ride brought us to Platform 9 3/4 where some of us waited in line for an iconic picture with the platform 9 3/4 train station sign and then spent some time perusing the official gift store. Those who stood in line were able to make friends with the workers from the store who got very into the idea of us being from Hawaii and gave a little hula attempt. On our next tube ride we had a bit of unfortunate luck by getting separated on the train. The first group only had to wait a few minutes before the second group's train arrived and we were reunited. Post reunitement we strolled through a famous farmers market smelling delicious aromas and admiring dainty desserts. After the farmers market we made our way to London Bridge and walked beside the river Thames. Staying with the trend of bridges we next walked down to Tower Bridge which is commonly mistaken for London bridge. Across the bridge is the Tower of London which we didn't have time to see on this trip but inside it houses the Crown Jewels. For dinner we ventured back up the Thames to The George Inn which was frequented by Charles Dickens. Once we finished our meals we quickly hurried to the gift shop of the Globe since we didn't have time to see the theatre itself. Personally I really enjoyed being able to get some souvenirs from the gift shop. Then we quickly hurried to a bus stop where we got a taste of riding a double decker bus. Upon exiting the bus we ran down back into the tube for one more ride to Piccadilly Circus where we explored around until our West End show. While exploring we did a bit of shopping and then went to the theatre. Oh the West End, from all the people piling in to different shows to sparkling marquee signs it truly is an interesting place. Even thought it was on the smaller side, the theatre was beautiful with decorative wall paper and ornate gold designs around the door. The chairs were a beautiful red color that were very plush and comfortable. The set was very appropriate for the time period of the show. Writing from intermission the show has been amazing. The actors are having an amazing night with their emotions in all their songs. Everyone is giving this show all the energy that they have. The stage has a rotating platform adding to the dramatic affect causing the audience to be on the edges of their seats. Every time the audience claps it feels like the theatre is shaking. Post show I believe the entire audience was purely and utterly dazzled. Whether roused by the fighting spirit at the barricades or tearing up during characters' songs of true and raw feelings, there couldn't have been an unsatisfied soul in that theatre. The casting was perfect, the sounds and lights hooked the audience, the costumes completed the characters (as they should), and the music left lasting impacts on us all. After the cast had taken their bows the audience rewarded their spectacular show with a standing ovation. This was the absolute perfect way to end our grand tour of Europe though I have to say I wish it wasn't over because we have made such amazing memories and seen incredible things. Day 14: Wednesday, October 12, 2016: Dover, Canterbury, London Before we leave Dover, we will visit the Castle, which played a pivotal part in the war. Our tour will include the Secret Wartime Tunnels. We will then stop in Canterbury (30 minute’s drive) and have a guided tour of the town with free time to enjoy shopping or Afternoon Tea. We will end the day with dinner at our hotel by Heathrow Airport. (B/D) Day 13: Tuesday, October 11, 2016: Calais, Dover After breakfast we will drive up to the port of Calais for the ferry ride over to England. We will see the famous White Cliffs as we sail into Dover. We will stay in Dover this evening, in the Ramada Dover Hotel. We will dine in our hotel. (B/D) Notes from the travelers (Isabella): Today after a classic French breakfast of cheese, croissants , and coffee we dozed through a four hour bus ride from Bayeux to Calais. In Calais we boarded a Ferry and waved au revoir to France as we began crossing the English Channel. Whilst on board, we took advantage of the duty free shopping to buy souvenirs and lots of Cadbury chocolate! Soon the White Cliffs which Dover, England is so famous for began to appear out along the horizon. It was a stunning view as we approached the Dover Harbor and sailed along the coastline of England. Our bus driver picked us up in the harbor to take us to our new hotel, but Dr. Wilson convinced him to stop off on the cliffs so that we could see the view from the top. The weather was fantastic as we hiked up the cliffs: cool, crisp, refreshing sea air and warm sunshine. Soon we got carried away picking fresh blackberries and running through the fields on top of the cliffs. Picture the classic adorable English countryside of rolling meadows and picket fences and add the magnificence of a 180 view down the coastline with sunlight filtering through to illuminate sparkling white cliffs. After trailblazing for a while, we found a narrow pathway that led down a cliff to a small ledge area where we could sit and see straight down the cliffs. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of our surroundings and the grandeur of God's creation. I could see His power in the strong elegance of the white cliffs, His painterly strokes in the varying shades of blue in the sea below, and His love in the camaraderie of our class as we all explored and climbed the cliffs . After a few hours of running around the little trails, we reluctantly headed back to our bus. Our bus driver was really patient and nice about us being quite late. We then checked in to the Hotel Ramada, and ate a wonderful four course dinner with bread pudding for dessert. Later during our evening devotionals, Dr. Wilson introduced an activity started by Ms. Leong on the senior trip last year. We went around the room and each person said something that they appreciated about every other person in the room. While it ended up taking about two hours, the activity turned out to be a really wonderful time of fellowship and a good reminder for us of the things we truly appreciate about each other. While today was really just a traveling day, where we didn't actually see any monuments or crazy cathedrals, it ended up being one of the highlights of the trip for me. After seeing so many ornate and masterful works of art in Europe, it was really special to still be blown away by God's beauty in nature, the ultimate painter and master sculptor. I think that sometimes it is the small things in life that are the sweetest, like fresh wild blackberries while sitting on a cliffside with your best friends. I am excited for the last few days of our trip coming up, and will always cherish the memory of our afternoon adventures in beautiful Dover! Day 12: Monday, October 10, 2016: Paris, Caen, Normandy This morning we will board a train to Normandy, where we will visit the Caen Memorial, and have the opportunity to learn more about World War II from its origins to the Battle of Normandy. Our local expert guide, Col. James Scott-Clarke, will then take us out to the Normandy Beaches to see where the battles took place and to the American cemetery. In the Bayeux Tapestry Museum, we will see the ancient 230 ft embroidered cloth that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England. We will dine in our hotel in Caen this evening. (B/D) Notes from the travelers (Makana): Caen and Normandy The class met up the the Mercure hotel lobby at 5:15am to head out a train to Normandy. We were provided a box of many items by the hotel for our breakfast. As the class reached its destination, most of who exited the vehicle had their minds filled with the thought of freezing cold temperatures. The class continued on fighting through the cold to find our tour guide and bus driver where we drove to the Memorial D-day Museum. There we explored the different levels and objects held within the walls. Shortly after that we headed over to the Airborne Museum where we continued to learn about the history of D-Day and strategies taken in the war. Continuing on, the we drove over to a battle sight that was taken place durning D-Day known as La Friere. After what felt like to be a long day, we went on to lunch at Le Roosevelt and walked over to Utah beach, driving over to Omaha beach next. After learning about what happened in our modern history, we traveled back in time, observing the Bayeux Tapestry depicting historical events from nearly a thousand years ago. To end our night, we checked into our hotel in Caen, having a unique dinner in the lobby. Day 11: Sunday, October 9, 2016: Paris We will have travel cards today to explore the city. We will visit the Louvre in the morning, then we will have a picnic and journaling time in the Luxembourg Gardens. We will attend Evensong in Notre Dame Cathedral, then head to Montmartre for dinner. We will end the day with a visit to the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower. (B) Notes from the travelers: It was a sunny day in Paris! We did everything I had hoped to fit in based on what the students wanted to see--we went to Montmartre in the morning and rode the carousel outside of the Sacre Coeur, spent several hours in the Louvre, journaled in the Luxembourg Gardens, took photos of the Eiffel Tower from Trocadero, attended Sunday evening mass in Notre Dame while sitting beneath the Rose Window, and ended the day with a climb at night up the Eiffel Tower. Whew, long but lovely! Notes from the travelers (Grace L.): Today we began our adventure in Paris. We woke up to a delicious Parisian breakfast complete with an array of cheeses, meats, and fresh squeezed orange juice. After our breakfast, we hopped onto the train to go to the beautiful French carousel. The horses were immaculately pained to perfection and adorned with ornate details, indicative of the eye to detail that many European structures possess. The carousel was perched before a beautiful castle-like building on a steep hill, crowded with many brides and grooms, tourists, acrobats, locals and an impressive exercise group. We strolled through the hillside, stopping by food vendors and appreciating the view of the city as we made our way up and down the tree-lined stairways. Next we once more headed to the train station to catch our metro to the Louvre. Navigating many tunnels and hopping aboard many trains, we finally reached our destination, thanks to a joint effort of the class to navigate our way to the museum. Before making our way into the Louvre, we had a few moments to enjoy the premier shopping destination of the world, picking out souvenirs for family and friends. At the entrance to the Louvre, we were greeted by a massive all glass pyramid supported by metal beams, a mere hint of the artistic beauty that awaited us inside of the museum. The Louvre was shockingly massive, beautiful both on the inside and outside. The outside strongly resembled a palace, complete with bleached stone and extravagantly carved details. The inside featured endless rooms filled with paintings and artifacts from every era. Some rooms were transformed from floor to ceiling, making it seem as though one was walking into history itself. A group favorite was the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. Some other unique areas included ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, Greco Roman statues, the code of Hammurabi, and jewels from the French royalty. We were also able to enjoy a view of the Arc de Triumph from the windows of the Louvre. After a lengthy walk through all the amazing works of art through history and some difficulty navigating the huge museum (it's very easy to get lost in the Louvre), we stopped by for lunch in the shopping mall adjacent to the museum. Some of us feasted on McDonald's, missing our American cuisine from home. The rest feasted on macaroons in every flavor imaginable. Afterwards, we hopped onto the metro again and made our way to the Luxembourg Gardens. Basking in the sunlight, we journaled under the trees overlooking a sprawling lawn surrounded by beautiful pink and purple flowers. In the distance, the Eiffel Tower was visible, and we appreciated the beautiful historic French buildings surrounding the lawn. Once more we rushed to the metro and headed towards a gorgeous viewing place for the Eiffel Tower. After taking time for many pictures, selfies and taking in the full glory of the tower, we headed towards Notre Dame cathedral for mass. Walking towards Notre Dame, we were greeted with a cold blast of air as evening began to set in. The sheer size of the cathedral grew as we drew nearer and the impressive carvings in the stone grew in detail. All of us were awestruck with the beauty of the cathedral as we walked into the mass. Unlike most masses today, the mass at Notre Dame incorporated a significant amount of Latin, a fun way to test out Latin knowledge as Trinity Latin scholars. The singing was in perfect harmony and the architecture and stained glass windows added to the beauty of the mass. Every corner of the church reminded us of God's amazing creation and how we are made in His image to create beautiful things for Him. As we walked out of the church, the air sent chills down our spine as we were met with an unexpected coldness. We grabbed a quick meal at an outdoor panini stand and began our trek to the Eiffel Tower itself. Although we were supposed to take the train all the way to the tower, our train unfortunately stopped part way and we had to exit the train and walk the remainder of the way to the Eiffel Tower along the Seine River. Everyone was eagerly documenting the walk to the tower on their phones, eagerly anticipating the sight before our eyes. Once we got to the tower, we were all breath taken by the glowing golden tower. Strolling below the tower, we looked up to see the levels and levels of wrought iron bars intricately laced together to form the structure. After a quick elevator ride up, we looked over the railing to see a full panoramic view of Paris, streets of lined trees and gorgeous buildings rich with character and unique architecture. We soaked in the view of the city from the second floor of the tower and throughly enjoyed our time at the Eiffel Tower. Occasionally, the building would light up with a blinking light show, sparkling and dazzling our eyes. The evening came to a close as we made our way down the Eiffel Tower and said goodbye to our beautiful view of the city. We took our final ride on the metro for the day and headed to our hotel for some much needed rest. Everyone enjoyed our full day as we attempted to experience all the sights of Paris in a day. Day 10: Saturday, October 8, 2016: Florence, Paris We have a free morning in Florence to visit the Duomo, Baptistry and Bell Tower independently. In the early afternoon we will have a private transfer to the Florence Airport to check-in for our flight to Paris. A local representative will meet us at the Paris Orly Airport and escort us to our bus. We will be staying at the Mercure Paris Bercy Bibliotheque. Dinner is at our hotel this evening (B/D) Notes from the travelers (Jordon): After a day full of sightseeing, walking, and gelato in Florence, we were excited for another morning in this beautiful city. After a lovely breakfast at our hotel, we headed for the Duomo and prepared ourselves to make the arduous climb of over four hundred steps to the very top. After making our way through what seemed like a never-ending spiral staircase, we emerged inside the church and had a moment to admire the beautiful, intricate artwork on the roof depicting heaven and hell before continuing our trek to the very top of the dome. While we were gradually climbing the stairs, it was amazing to think about the architecture of the whole church, how they had been able to nestle the stairs in between the walls of the dome and build the dome without any scaffolding or cranes. Finally, with sore feet and tired legs, we reached the top of the dome, and the view from the tallest building in Florence was not disappointing. The vast city sprawled out before us, a maze of red-roofed buildings stretching out towards the horizon. After the Duomo, we entered the baptistery and viewed the gorgeous artwork covering every square inch of the building. Like the Duomo, the roof displayed an interpretation of heaven and hell. One couldn't help but be amazed by the intricacy of the patterns on the columns, be awestruck by the beauty of the gold leaf designs on the walls, and be overwhelmed by the complexity of the paintings on the roof. After a couple days of being inundated by impressively beautiful churches, cathedrals, and basilicas, I was struck by how much time and effort people in medieval and renaissance times dedicated to creating these exquisite architectural masterpieces. Each building possessed a mind-blowing level of detail and quality artwork that must have taken years and years to finish, and yet there were hundreds upon hundreds of these buildings all over Europe. Comparing this to the fast, quantity-over-quality, materialistic mindset of America, I was sad thinking that no one worked like this anymore. We as a society seemed to have lost the drive to create beautiful, long-lasting works of art for the purpose of glorifying God and instead have turned to making cheap, efficient products that "better" our lives. After some shopping and walking around in the cold rain, it was time to say goodbye to the city of flowers and head for the city of love. Watching a very beautiful Parisian sunset, we made it to our hotel just in time for a very French meal of meat and potatoes. With stomachs full and hearts happy, we went to bed excited for a full day in the city of Paris. Day 9: Friday, October 7, 2016: Rome, Florence This morning we will have a private transfer to the train station travel by train (1st class) to Florence. Our local guide will meet us at the train station and escort us to the Best Western Palazzo Ognissanti Hotel, where we can drop our luggage. Our afternoon walking tour of Florence includes the Academia, the Cathedral, the Baptistry, Piazza della Signoria and Ponte Vecchieo. We will dine at a local restaurant this evening (B/D) Note from the travelers (Jordon): Day 8: Thursday, October 6, 2016: Rome We will board the bus this morning to visit the world’s largest museum in the world’s smallest country. The Vatican is a vast complex where we will see some amazing art, both in the museum and in the Sistene Chapel, where Michelangelo spent four years on the ceiling alone. St. Peter’s Basilica was built over the site of the Apostle Peter’s martyrdom and has been added on to many times since Constantine’s original basilica. One of the highlights is Michelangelo’s Pieta, which he carved when he was only 25. Bernini’s Piazza San Pietro holds 300,000 comfortably and is the same size and dimensions as the Colosseum. The rest of the day is at leisure, before dinner at our hotel. (B/D) Notes from the travelers: Wonderful tour of the Vatican Museums and St Peters Basilica today! We had a guide who brought out the classical interest points and who said that he enjoyed having a group who already understand and knew the background when he mentioned places like Troy or figures like Laocoon and Apollo. It was raining heavily when we exited the Basilica, so we took the metro back to the hotel for lunch and a change of clothes, and then set out on our own explorations to the Trevi Fountain, the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Pantheon, and shopping in the Piazza Navona (we got stuck for quite awhile in a leather/stationary shop). Molly, Braeden, and Makana took turns for part of the time and directed the group--they did a great job using a map and figuring out the metro system. Off to Florence tomorrow! Another note from the travelers (Brianne): This morning we headed off on a bus towards Vatican City. We started our tour in a long hall of Roman statues, all wonderfully preserved, which were some of the first pieces to be added to the Vatican Museum's collection. We passed through two ornately decorated hallways one containing newly cleaned painted maps of Italy and the second containing huge tapestries lining the walls. After passing through numerous other elegantly decorated hallways and rooms filled with marble statues and painted ceilings, we made it to the small staircase leading to the Sistine Chapel. We encountered a massive crowd of people in the chapel, which proved to make exiting quite burdensome. But the crowds didn't take away from the superb works of art that were the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Once we left the Sistine Chapel, we made our way to the huge building of Saint Peter's Basilica. Our guide took us beneath the building itself, through what used to be the Old St. Peter's Basilica, but is now used as a cemetery for the popes as well as being where we presume the remains of the Apostle Peter was buried. After braving a comparatively smaller crowd of people trying to climb another set of stairs, we stepped in the main building itself. It's high arches and columns in addition to its huge dome and the smaller domes surrounding it created a surreal effect. We saw what we at first assumed to be huge paintings but ended up being mosaics made with tiny tiles and extreme attention to detail (or as our guide called them "high definition mosaics). As we left the Basilica we saw that it was raining incredibly hard, so we had to cancel our plans to shop on our walk home and tried to get to the nearest metro station as quickly as we possibly could. After our train ride we made a quick stop at our hotel and spilt into smaller groups to find lunch. Unsurprisingly, most of us wanted a taste of authentic Italian pizza and wound up at two different pizza shops. After meeting up again we took the metro to see the Trevi Fountain and once we got off we were guided by Makana, who navigated the Italian streets for us (with some help from Dr. Wilson). After we left the fountain we headed towards the Panetheon. While it wasn't as vast as St. Peter's, the huge building was certainly impressive with it's large statues of Roman gods and high ceiling. We then headed for the Piazza Navona to go shopping and got to go into a leather shop, a gelato store, a pasta store, a jewelry shop, and numerous souvenir shops. On our walk back to the hotel we went into a few other beautiful churches and many stands selling art on the streets. All of the sights and churches that we saw today were breathtaking, and displayed the amazing talents of Italian artists and architects. Day 7: Wednesday, October 5, 2016: Pompeii, Rome We will travel to Pompeii by train today, via Naples. We will visit the spectacular ruins that were covered by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The city remained buried and undiscovered for almost 1500 years until excavation began in 1748. These excavations continue today, providing insight into life during the Roman Empire. After exploring Pompeii, we will return to Rome via train and dine in the restaurant next door to our hotel. (B/D) Notes from the travelers: *** is still not feeling well but he has been carrying on! We made it to Pompeii and back without the guides. The train changes were a bit complicated but it worked wonderfully and made for a much shorter day than the long bus tour last year. We had an adventure in Naples on the way home. *** was pickpocketed but a lady got his wallet back from the pickpocket and returned it to him--God is certainly taking care of us! Braeden and Makana collected everyone's laundry tonight and went across the street to the self-service laundry and washed and dried it. On to the Vatican and sightseeing in Rome tomorrow! |
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