“If you can navigate in the Tube and Metro, you can anywhere.” Eleanor, an Educational First (EF) tour guide explained in the ‘Europe at Leisure’ tour she gave to a group of Gig Harbor High School teachers and students.  Mrs. Allen and Ms. Yeaman, along with eight other GHHS students, traveled all over Europe learning about its history and visiting beautiful attractions. They flew out June 24 and came back on July 8, visiting London, Paris, Lucerne, Florence, Assisi, and Rome. Their trip included seeing Wicked while in London, seeing Duormo in Florence, visiting the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Paris, and visiting the Colosseum in Rome. While they were in Florence, the students also watched a World Cup match on a massive screen set up on the Arno River’s beach with hundreds of Italians late at night.

Senior Lindy Madsen explained that she learned a lot about different countries’ culture. “I learned how to navigate Britain’s left-side-of-the-road laws, and how to avoid dying with the lack of any road laws in Rome. I learned how to speak a bit of French, and the knowledge that French people honestly don’t dislike Americans (instead, they just dislike tourists in general). Lastly, I learned that things aren’t always as expected. Italy, supposedly the most beautiful place of all Europe, was also the most poverty-stricken. Rome was filthy and filled with tourists trying to avoid masses of poor beggars.” She also explained that her most exciting part of the trip was seeing the Eiffel Tower at night. “It doesn’t just glow, but every hour it also sparkles for a few minutes, as if stars came down from heaven and danced upon the tower. The incredible beauty was such a surprise to me.”

GHHS students have taken trips to Europe before but this was the school’s first time doing it with EF.