On June twenty sixth of the year 2002, thirty six students from Trabuco Hills and Northwood High School in Irvine arrived at Los Angeles International Airport to depart on what may be their wildest adventure. After months and months of Madame Keith’s notices and reminders and what was most likely a week of packing, unpacking, and trips to Target for last minute necessities, the excited students hopped on an American Airlines flight direct to London’s Heathrow airport. As the plane took off, everyone lucky enough to be sitting by a window seat stared out their windows to watch California grow smaller and smaller, and remembered Madame Keith’s advice to take a good look around, because what we would behold in the next few weeks would be completely different than what we were used to.

Upon arrival in London, we met up with our tour guide, Evelyne and two more students from New Jersey. We soon amused ourselves in seeing all that London Has to offer. We visited St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham palace, watched the changing of the guard, drove by Westminster Abbey, Parliament and Big Ben, Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus. Towards the afternoon, our enormous group split up some choosing to visit landmarks more in depth, and other choosing to shop. The next day we left London for a tour of Oxford, and Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford- upon- Avon. As we returned to London, our group again split up for dinner, and as we were off exploring the city, a few of us even had a chance to see Prince Charles drive by or step into his helicopter. The next day we packed up our things, boarded the bus and departed for Waterloo Station where the Euro Star was waiting to take us under the English Channel and to France.

As soon as we arrived in Paris we took a walk to the Sacre- Coeur along with the Momontre, famous for its artists. Later that evening, most of our group had the chance to dress up and head out for a lavish dinner atop the Eiffel Tower. After dinner, our now well fed group rode the elevators to the top of the tower, and made it down on the last elevator for the evening. We made it as fast as we could to the metro station and luckily caught the last Metro train to leave the station, and the last connection to get to our hotel. The day after our Eiffel Tower adventure, we took a tour of the best of Paris. We visited Notre Dame, saw Les Invalides, The Opera House, Eiffel Tower, and much more. We ended our tour with a free afternoon for shopping or more visiting. That night, nearly the whole group trooped along to the Champs- Elyssees, and had some fun around the Arc de Triomphe, and having some treats at a cafe on the avenue. July second was our Versailles day, and most likely the coldest on our trip. We explored the famous palace and its extravagant gardens for a bit, and were soon back in Paris for the rest of the afternoon. The next day we headed away from Paris, and visited the town of Rouen, where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake. Later in the day we visited the house and gardens of Monet, ending the day in Normandy, in a town call Bayeux. The fourth of July soon rolled around, and we visited the beaches of Normandy, and the sight of the D- Day Invasion. The sights, the cliffs, and most of all, the American cemetery, got to many of us emotionally, and we can now better understand what sacrifices people gave to make the world what we know today. The next day we visited the medieval monastery of Mont St. Michael, an island completely cut off once high tide rolls around. The weather was pretty dreary, but we still enjoyed our visit back inland to the Loire valley, and the Chateau of Chambord. The next day we stopped in the city of Chartes on the way back to Paris to visit the famous cathedral. Once we were back in Paris, we boarded TGV and rode on the “bullet train” to the South.

The south was much different for us, and we immediately died with our numerous sweatshirts because we finally discovered where the warm weather was hiding. On the next day, July seventh, the group took and unexpected stop at the artsy village and ruins of a castle at Les Baux de Provence. We traipsed on farther to the Ancient Roman Aqueduct at le Pont du Gard, and later visited Madame Keith’s hometown of Arles, and its Roman arena. As the next day began, we stopped by the medieval walled city of Carcassone which took us back in time until a little French car came driving down the narrow streets. We soon approached the Mediterranean, and had some free time to swim at the beach of St. Marie de la Mer. After our dip we visited Madame Keith’s father in the National Park of La Camarague. The next few days flew by fast as we visited Aix- en- province, and the Riviera cities of Cannes (famous for its film festival), Nice, and Monaco. Before we knew it, we were saying our last goodbyes to our fabulous tour guide, Evelyne, our new friends from New Jersey, and boarding our plane that would take us to Frankfurt, and finally home.

Even though we were so glad to finally be home, our experience in France was one in sure no one would trade for anything. The new friends we made, the culture and history we lived, and the experiences we shared will stick with us forever, I’m sure. May it be through photo album, inside jokes or random memory popping into our heads one day in French Class, our trip to France has made France a part of us and the world traveler inside all of us can’t wait to return!