Study Tour 2019
Italy/France Study Tour 2019
During the Easter holidays, 20 students from Year 9-12 studying Italian or French embarked on a study tour of these amazing countries for 2 weeks. For these 2 weeks students were able to immerse themselves in these cultures speaking the language, trying and eating delicious French and Italian foods, plus also visiting very famous and well-known monuments and landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, The Lourve, the Colosseum, The Trevi Fountain or riding a gondola through Venice. After the Italian students spent 4 days exploring the sights of Paris with the French students, we travelled across the border to Italy via an overnight train and arrived in Florence where we would spend the next 10 days making the most of Italian life and culture by visiting Italian cities like Pisa, Venice, Florence and ending our travels in Rome. Everyone had such an incredible time and created life-long friendships and memories. Throughout the study tour, students blogged about their adventures and attached amazing pictures of things that they saw and experienced. Below are a couple of examples from our blog:
Day 7 - City of Rome
Today (17, April), we left our hostel at 8am for an early start to the Colosseum which is the largest amphitheatre ever built. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in AD 72 and was completed in AD 80 under his successor and heir, Titus. Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian (81–96). It hosted many gladiator fights, against exotic animals (lions, elephants, giraffes and leopards), the Romans captured these animals from North Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
The arena housed 40-76 thousands spectators of all classes (men and women separate) & (upper,middle and lower class also separate). It was mainly slaves and criminals who fought as well as public executions (crucifixion, exotic animals, burned) to teach spectators that, if you commit a crime, this will be an outcome.
We also visited Palatine Hill. Rome has its origins on the Palatine founded by emperor Augustus who also built his palace there. Excavations show that people have lived in the area since the 10th century BC.Excavations performed on the hill unearthed many huts believed to have been used for funerary purposes between the 9th and 7th century BC approximating the time period when the city of Rome was founded.
Day 6
Our day began at 10 am, with a walk to the Vatican City and tour around the museum. We got a chance to explore the Sistine Chapel, where we learnt about Michelangelo and various other famous Renaissance artists such as Raphael. The rooms of the chapel were breathtaking, as if we were walking back in time and nothing has changed at all. Some of us got an invitation to see the Pope as we came out of St. Peter’s Basillica. We then walked to the Pantheon where we saw one of Rome’s oldest structures. The architecture was inspired by Pagan Greek buildings, the front of the building was riddled with bullets due to World War, it was a clash of the past. Inside the Pantheon we saw the famous open dome, highlighting the architectural difference between different periods in time.
During the 2 weeks of the French/Italian study tour we had a fantastic time. We spent the first 4 days together as a group in Paris before the Italian students and teachers left for Italy. In the first 4 days, we saw and visited many of the famous and historical sites of Paris such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and The Lourve (where we saw the incredible Mona Lisa). We also were able to experience Paris at night and see it all lit up during the twilight cruise on the 3 night of our stay. We left Paris after 5 nights for Blois where we stayed for 3 nights and experienced another incredible and beautiful French city, did some shopping, tasted more amazing French cuisine and did some sightseeing of castles and French landscapes. Most of us Frenchies felt that it was better than Paris! During the trip we also visited the Catacombs, Musee d’Orsay and Versailles – these places are culturally and historically famous and we enjoyed ourselves so much!!
Being able to experience and immerse ourselves within the French culture and lifestyle was an unforgettable and phenomenal experience plus being able to speak French and eat the amazing/interesting food (baguettes, croissants, macarons, snails, frog legs!) during our trip 😊
Ms Lauren Morrison
20 students and their teachers completed a successful study tour around France and Italy during the Easter break this year. After flying 22 hours to Paris, we arrived at our hostel and immediately visited Notre Dame and later on, the Louvre.
Onwards over the following days to the Eiffel Tower at Sunset, shopping in the Marais district, boating along the Seine river through the heart of Paris, and visiting a variety of cultural icons, galleries, castles, museums and monuments.
Students had a truly magnificent experience, including being some of the last people to see the beauty and witness the 850 year history of the Notre Dame before its tragic fire. We look forward to its restoration in the future.
Students blogged much of their trip, and below is an excerpt from the stay at Blois, to the South of Paris:
Eating – OMG THE FOOD THERE IS SO GOOD. On the first night there, we had pizza at La Scala while on the second night, we had savoury crepes!!! On the third night however, we had a little pizza party in our rooms.
Sightseeing – Blois is quite the sight and indeed to most us Frenchies is better than Paris. From the rivers, castles and to the Mona Lisa painting imprinted onto the stairs, we had much to see and ponder on. That’s pretty much a summary of our days in Blois!
Ms Elena Mackintosh
To view the Study Tour blog and pictures click below
https://sasceuropetrip2019.edublogs.org/
Ms Piera Biondi, Mr John Coulson and Ms Lauren Honeycombe
