ITC Trip #3- London, Paris and Rome 2018

The planning for this trip began during the 2015/16 school year. As usual we had a lot of eager and excited students. As we began fundraising we had more and more students back out or succumb to the demands of meeting their $3300 fundraising goals. By the end we had a group of 6 travelers. We had 3 adults, 2 students and 1 former student (Tavion is the one lucky student who has been able to take part in all 3 trips so far). We raised $12,000 for this trip which takes our three trip total to an amazing $75,000. We joined with 2 other groups in order to form our final group. We had a group from San Antonio and one from Dallas for a combined 23 travelers. For this trip we changed our tour provider from EF to Explorica. This was honestly done for one main reason which was that the cost was cheapest with Explorica for the same trip EF offered. When we tend to fundraise all funds needed for the trip the cost is our bottom line.

Our tour guide was Chiara Corsetti, who was born in Italy and has a wealth of knowledge of many European countries. She can speak fluent Italian, English, French, German and Spanish. She was an amazing tour director. She was always attentive to our groups needs and did her best to make sure we got to see everything we wanted to. I hope we get to travel with her again.

This trip took us to London, Paris and Rome during Spring Break of 2018. We arrived in London and had a slight delay finding our group as we walked by them originally as they had arrived a few hours before we did. After a few phone calls and orientating ourselves to London Heathrow Airport we found our group. We quickly boarded our bus and was off to our hotel to drop off our luggage before we went out on our first day of sightseeing. While in London we got to experience the RER (subway system). I am glad our group was not any larger as it was hard enough getting us all on and off together. We got to see Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, PIcadilly CIrcus, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben (however it was under renovation) and Westminster Abbey. The only negative to London was the first day it rained a lot so Trafalgar Square and PIcadilly Circus were not as fun as they could have been. The food in London was amazing and our group thoroughly enjoyed the authentic Fish and Chips meal as well as the deconstructed pot pie. It was a great time to get inside and get some souvenirs before we were off to our next country.

On day 4 we headed to Paris by way of the Eurostar Chunnel Crossing which is a speed train that takes you from London to Paris super quick. We had an easy transition from bus to train and after a few hours we would be in Paris. Paris is truly the CIty of Lights and an amazing place to witness firsthand. I had the pleasure of being in Paris a few years prior on a group leader tour with EF but was excited to go back. After about a 45 minute bus ride we arrived at our next hotel and were able to drop off our luggage and get ready to leave out again as our rooms were not ready just yet. During our stay in Paris we got to see the Notre Dame Cathedral, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees and got to take a Seine river cruise that took us by the Eiffel Tower at night. Another awesome experience we got to have was Candous (my other group leader) had a friend who lives in Paris and she met us on a day we had some free time and she took us down to the Louvre and were able to get some pictures of the iconic pyramid associated with the Louvre. Thank you Claudia. We got to see an amazing display of lights on the Eiffel Tower.

Before we knew it we were off to our third and final destination of Rome. I would say this transfer was the one that caused the most discomfort as we took a sleeping couchette train to Rome. It was an overnight experience were we had six of us crammed in a rather small car with pull down beds. My other group leader who has back issues prior to this had an awful time getting to sleep and awoke with some real discomfort. However, being the fighter that she is it did not deter her from seeing all of the sights and sounds Italy had to offer. We saw the Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Roman Forum, the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. I had the pleasure of studying a lot of these places when I was in HS in my latin class but being able to see them first hand is life altering. It also puts into perspective how large and immaculate these buildings are especially when you take into account the rudimentary tools they had at the time to build them.

By the end of the trip I think we were torn about wanting to stay and get home to our own beds and our normal schedules. I would of loved to stay for as long as I could as I know there is much more to these cities and countries besides the main tourist locations. This trip was worth the blood, sweat and tears it took to get us there. I can not wait to see where ITC goes next.

Hint: Barcelona, France, Italy 2021

Louvre