"After a long flight, I have finally made it to London! I am running off of 1 hour of sleep in the past 36 hours, but I still loved every minute of my first day in Europe. I could easily see myself living here som day. Since we did not arrive until 2 in the afternoon, there was not a ton of time to explore, but what little taste I have had so far has held me captivated and mesmirised. This trip is truly a fantasy coming true."
"Bonjour Paris. Today we arrived in Paris and the first thing we whent to see was the Notre Dam. The Notre Dam is one of the most breathtaking sights I have ever experienced. I am instantly falling in love with the city of Paris."
"This trip was amazing, I had the best time and am so glad that I went. The excitement leading up to the trip was so much fun and I loved the feeling of when the day was finally here and we departed on our journey."
"London is an amazing city. Filled with great works of art and impressive building."
"Anything in Rome and Paris just looked so cool, nothing like Buildings and monuments in the states. It was also fun to be in Europe during the World Cup."
"The second day when we went out to lunch, when most of us went to the little super market and ate in the park was another one of my favorite moments. It was a gorgeous day outside and the food was amazing."
A Poem
A diverse infusion of culture struck
The midday monument square.
The silent feathered scavengers resided in the air.
What heed was paid to these relics here.
To pallid platforms forged by fear
Fear of fading, fear of pride
That in their mastery did hide
Radiance streaked behind the dappled clouds
And all the works of mastery were cloaked in shadow
But only the fallen took time to repose.
"It seemed as if the whole world was beneath me. I was 1,000 ft high on the famous Eiffel Tower. I was in Paris, the City of Lights, Love, and full of Life, all I could see was the lights. They shined so brightly in the dark navy blue sky with the stars, almost as if they connected. Looking out everything seemed full of life and entertainment, yet all I could hear was the commotion around me on the tower."
"Traveling really makes you realize how big the world is, and that there’s so much more out there than Wayzata."
"I loved this trip, it’s something I’ll never forget and now that we’re done, I want to go back and do it all over again."
"I will remember this trip for the rest of my life. For me, it was a trip of firsts: my first time to Europe; first time traveling without my family; first time traveling with friends, etc. I loved all 3 cities so much. London was a fantastic start to the trip. I loved the Jack the Ripper tour. It was so interesting to learn that he committed these crimes right where we were standing! Also, the tour guide looked just like my dad! I absolutely loved Paris. The first day started out absolutely terrible and ended up being my favorite part of the trip. It will be so memorable because I threw up in the morning and by that night I was running across Paris to the Eiffel Tower! It was amazing! That was my favorite day of the trip, and the most memorable. I am so happy with the gift I got my mom. I got her a painting of the Eiffel Tower from Paris. It was fun to walk around the backstreets of Paris. I will always remember getting lost with Christa and Haley. I can laugh at it now because we made it back, but at the time it was scary. I think I would have enjoyed Rome better if it wasn’t at the very end of the trip and we had spent more time there. I was just so exhausted. The Colleseum was really cool though. It is amazing to think that people were there that long ago. Oh, and I just remembered, another highlight of the trip was having lunch in the park in London. It was so much fun! This trip was amazing and I will always remember it fondly as my first time traveling Europe."
London
I’m viewing London as the United Nations. Surrounding and filling this entire city are people from all over, speaking their mother tongues. Like its many tube stops and stations, London sometimes feels like a point in between where you were and where you are going. The people here live in the present more than their fellow English-speaking friends from America."
There are classes of school children and their chaperones traipsing around the city each day. A boy with a headwrap gazes up at the blue sky, his Asian classmate enjoys a few licks of from her sucker and a boy named Julio is scolded for his lack of listening skills. In one school class black children, white children, Indian children, East Asian kids, and children of many other nationalities and backgrounds sit on steps eating lunch, chattering in the same charming British accent. This small grouping astounds me with their normalcy. In my Midwest American schools there were a few minorities of different “colors”. Here, I rather doubt that color is a concept that’s thought about much.
In this city where a Roman wall still stands, where an Egyptian obelisk is placed, where churches and historic monuments are cared for and appreciated, modern buildings can be seen in any direction.
There is a respectful understanding of history, culture, and the unique aspects of each and every person. But this goes unspoken. Things are done as they are done and it seems that I am the only person that finds this so remarkable.
If I could live my life as my own person-following my beliefs, my path – in the harmonious way that I view to be possible and if my neighbors and the strangers I’ll never meet could do the same, I feel like we would be capturing a part of London’s energy and essence. We would live in the present each and every day, surrounding us, providing us – reminders of the past, and as a group, working as individuals and as a unit, we would have a glimpse of what “future” is.
"It was great coming into this not knowing anyone then coming out with a lot of new friends."
"My absolutely favorite memory was when we ran through the large garden on our way to the Eiffel Tower. We never really realized how fast Vico expected us to run! We had to book it and I shared so many laughs with people slowly jogging through the garden with everyone looking at us crazy. It was one of those things that you’ll never be able to do with the same people in the same situation so I make sure to remember how fun little adventures were throughout the whole trip."
"The one thing I will never forget was when we took our trip to the Eiffel tower. It was beautiful."
When Writing Can Save
The sun glistened on the structure’s tip. The sunset filled the sky with warm hues of red, orange, and golden yellow. The young man strolled along the dusty, sandy path, observing the immense pyramid gazing down before him. For ages, the pyramids of the Giza stood as a testament to the immortality of human creativity, as the last of the Seven Ancient Wonders.
But lately popular sentiment has grown cool towards the triad of stones. The limestone bricks had fallen, decrepit, alone. And with the population of Cairo booing uncontrollably, any space available was desperately needed. But the young man saw a sort of beauty even with the stone corpses. They exuded a character of strength, pride, and the will to persevere throughout the ages And as the sun descended into the now coal black horizon, the young man glanced one final gaze at the monuments, the thought up an idea for a story.
"It is quite ironic that such a masterpiece and contemporary symbol of Paris, and France itself, was originially slated for the cutting board. In addition to providing France with a rather lucrative enterprise, it stands as a testament to human strength, pride, and creativity. Gustav Eiffel would certainly have been happy with the fate of his brainchild. As for me, all I can say is…wow."
"My favorite part of today … was Vico’s goodbye speech. He encouraged us to keep on traveling… He brought more of the world to us, and now I’m hungry for even more, a sign that he definitely did his job."
