Hey everyone! I am back from our wonderful European adventure and now that the jet lag has worn off I am feeling pretty refreshed and ready to knock out some of the design projects we have in house....but first I thought I would share some of details of our trip with the Troy Christian High School Seniors & ESM students!
Our first leg of the trip was the bustling metropolis that is Paris, France. Here we spent three days basking in the glory of the Eiffel Tower, perusing the Louvre, observing a mass at Notre Dame Cathedral, touring the Palace of Versailles and of course stuffing our faces full of decadent pastries and Gelato.
From Paris we took a 5 hour high speed train to Nice! After a couple rainy days in Paris the sight of palm trees and the smell of the Mediterranean was oh so fabulous! With the abundance of nice weather and the gardens in full bloom we spent a lot of time outside walking and seeing the historic towns, shopping at local markets and eating lunch by the ocean.
From Nice we made our way across the Mediterranean stopping at a quant little town called Eza. It was nestled up on the mountain side and was filled with tons of old world charm and gorgeous views! From Eza we continued on to one of the smallest countries in the world, Monaco. This is the richest city per capita in the world and boy could you tell. From the pristine streets and fabulous yachts it was royalty all the way! We even got to witness the changing of the guards in front of the palace. From Monaco we caught another train to a small town in Italy (I honestly forget the name) and shared some Pizza while overlooking the sea and bought a box full of Italian pastries, which lasted a whole hour on the train ride back. haha
After our day traveling through France, Monaco and Italy, we moved on to a town called Arles. Here was saw some amazing roman ruins, including a aqueduct and arena. On our last day in the town we spent the morning walking through the open air market tasting some delicious, fresh foods and most importantly Macarons.
From Arles we continued on to Carcassonne, one of the only remaining fortified cities in the world. The fortress was a fully functioning city complete with a mote! We totally felt like we were in one of those medieval movies.
From Carcassonne we loaded up on a bus and headed toward our final destination, Barcelona, Spain. On our bus ride we saw the gorgeous Pyrenees Mountains and the beautiful countryside of southern France and Spain.
Once in Barcelona, we took a bus tour of the city, saw the olympic stadium, visited the cathedral, and one of the most famous basilicas in Spain, La Sagrada Familia, designed by Antoni Gaudi. And since our flight got delayed a day, we spent the final day shopping along Las Ramblas.
We are beyond thankful we were able to join in on this group trip! It wouldn't have been possible without the staff from Troy Christian High School, the tour company World Strides, our amazing guide Amanda and of course our family. It was so nice to get away a appreciate other cultures, but it's always nice to come home! I wonder where we will go next? Any suggestions?