Senior Spring Break Trip Recap
by Haylee Newman
There is incredible value in learning new things, experiencing new places and talking to new people. Each year, secondary students are giving the opportunity to do those things through school-sponsored spring break trips. The senior class in particular embarks on an amazing 10-day trip across multiple European countries. Senior Haylee Newman was kind enough to share the group’s itinerary along with her photos from this once-in-a-lifetime trip. Each train ride, guided tour, piece of art and authentic dinner offer unique moments of growth, education opportunities and memories that last a lifetime.
Sunday, March 19: On Sunday we began traveling to Europe. We were on the plane for almost 12 hours! It was not a lot of fun.
Monday, March 20: We traveled through the night on Sunday and into Monday. We finally landed in Paris and immediately began our tour. We saw Notre Dame and the Latin Quarter. We had dinner at a restaurant called Flam. It was AWFUL. It was a good but busy day (minus the flam).
Tuesday, March 21: On Tuesday we started our day with a bus tour of Paris. On the tour we saw the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, the square that once held the guillotine, and many more places. We then went and toured Versailles which was gorgeous! Tuesday night we made our way to Montmartre by the metro (so confusing) but at Montmartre we got to see the Eiffel tower sparkle at night!
Wednesday, March 22: Wednesday was our last day in Paris. We started by going to the Louvre where we saw amazing works of art like the Mona Lisa, Venus, Winged Victory, and much more. We had a lot of free time at the Louvre to just wander around which was a lot of fun. After the Louvre it was time to get on a train for 6 hours and head to Nice. The train ride sounds like it would be awful but it was actually so much fun. Everyone loved the train.
Thursday, March 23: On Thursday morning we woke up in Nice and began our tour of the French Riviera. We toured a perfume factory and then went to Monaco. Monaco was absolutely amazing and became a lot of people’s favorite place from the trip. Thursday afternoon we went had free time in Nice and had time to explore, shop, or hang out at the beach. Although the water was freezing, some of our group decided to jump in the Mediterranean. We ended our night with a delicious dinner then headed back to the hotel.
Friday, March 24: On Friday we left France and headed to Rome. We stopped in Genoa for lunch and it was the cutest town ever. After lunch we continued traveling to Florence but made a stop in Pisa first. We saw the iconic tower, took our pictures, and then continued traveling until we reached Florence.
Saturday, March 25: We woke up early to take the bus into Florence. We started the day with a three hour walking tour of the city. We also attended a leather demonstration where we were taught how to determine what was real leather and what was fake. Many people had tickets to see the statue of David during the day so we had around 5 hours of free time in Florence. Florence was such a fun city with a lot to do. It also had AMAZING gelato which our group ate insane amounts of every day.
Sunday, March 26: On Sunday morning we left Florence and headed to Rome. As soon as we arrived in Rome we went straight to the Colosseum. We took a tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum. Both were very cool, it was awesome to actually see the things you learn about in history class. After the colosseum we had free time in the Vatican—we sadly did not see Pope Francis— before returning to our hotel for the night.
Monday, March 27: Monday was our last day of the trip and we spent it exploring Rome. We started the morning with a guided tour of the Vatican and from there we went to Piazza Navona and The Pantheon. We had a lot of free time here before heading to the Spanish steps. While we were at the Spanish steps it started to hail so we had to take cover at various locations during our free time here. We ended the night by going to the Trevi Fountain and then had free time to explore Rome. All in all it was an eventful but awesome day in Rome.
Tuesday, March 28: On Tuesday we went home. While it was very sad to leave Europe, I did miss my home. We had a little trouble with timing but American Airlines was the champ and held the plane for us while we sprinted through the Dallas airport. I highly recommend any younger students to go to Europe if you are able. It was a truly life changing experience that I will have life long memories from.