St Joes on Tour

Greece, Italy and "a Little Bit of Paris"

From Wednesday 16 September to Wednesday 30 September (a little later than planned, thanks to some delays getting home), Mr Bartle, Mrs Mahoney, Mrs Saillard, Mrs Carroll, Mrs Pearson and Mrs Oliver took 29 excited Year 10 and 11 students on the cultural trip of a lifetime. Over 14 days we heard inspiring stories and visited remarkable places, including several UNESCO World Heritage Sites. We ate fresh, delicious Mediterranean food and enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of the Greek and Italian people.

In Greece we learned that an acropolis isn't only the famous site in Athens. Many Greek cities had one. At Mycenae and Delphi we saw how deeply Greek mythology is woven into the landscape, and at Ancient Olympia we even bumped into some "tour guides" from Channel 9!

The good times continued in Naples, Sorrento and Rome, where we indulged in lemon gelato and delicious pasta. We explored Pompeii and Herculaneum, the ancient cities destroyed by Mount Vesuvius, and visited Vatican City. In Rome we saw all the famous sights, including the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Pantheon.

The "extra" part of our tour gave us one day in Paris. We dined in a gorgeous Parisian neighbourhood famous for its catacombs, climbed the majestic Eiffel Tower (what a view!), visited Notre-Dame Cathedral and enjoyed French food in the Latin Quarter.

The memories we made, the sites we saw, the food we ate, the people we met- all unforgettable! We are proud of our group for embracing new things, stretching themselves out of their comfort zones, their courage, resilience and good vibes! Thank you to our school community for giving all of us - staff and students alike- such an incredible opportunity we will remember for the rest of our lives!

Mrs Jess Oliver