EUROPE TRIP
Rampants Take on EuropeBY SCARLETT ANTHONY ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2013
Nineteen Rampants and three adults traveled all over Europe for 21 days this summer. They visited Greece, Italy, Paris, England, Turkey, Switzerland, France and many Greek islands on a cruise.
“I was in Mrs. Hayne’s class when she was talking about the trip and I thought it would be amazing so I went for it,” senior Caroline Nifong said. After all the meetings and information, many other students decided to go as well. Junior Paige Skinner said, “I wasn’t planning on going, but my mom told me it would be a great opportunity so I went and I am so glad I did.” Both Nifong and Skinner said Europe was not like what they expected. “I was expecting Europe to just be a lot of nerdy tour guides, but instead we had a specific tour guide and a lot of freedom,” Skinner said. The students had many times when they were allowed to visit places on their own and try different restaurants so that they could explore. “Some things were very different than I expected,” Nifong said. “Italy was very mountainous and old but other countries were just like I expected.” The last part of the trip was a cruise around Greece for three days. "This was definitely my favorite part of the trip because we got to see so many different islands and amazing places in such a short amount of time," Nifong said. Senior Alex Nagy went on the trip because many of his close friends were going and like many other students, his favorite part was the food. “I loved trying all the different foods in all the countries, but Switzerland was the best because everyone there is very wealthy and has very nice restaurants,” Nagy said. Also, during the trip, a few students got to visit junior Rice Van Coutren's family in Greece. "We got to eat dinner with them and try lots of great food, and they were so sweet and cute," Skinner said. Spanish teacher Sara Dunham was thrilled to have the opportunity to travel with many students all over Europe and try so many different types of food from different cultures. "I enjoyed every part of the trip and I loved taking in a whole cultural experience with a different mindset," Dunham said. She would definitely recommend it to any student or teacher who has the opportunity to go. “I got to travel to many places that were on my bucket list and now I definitely want to go back,” Dunham said. The students that went on the trip really enjoyed it. “I would definitely recommend this trip to everyone and even if you don’t have the chance, make the time for it because it is the trip of a lifetime,” Nifong said. Freshman Keegan Moloney traveled with his family to Ireland over the summer. They decided to visit Ireland because of their Irish heritage. “We flew into Dublin and spent a few days there,” Moloney said. “Then we traveled down the southern coast of Ireland and drove the Ring of Kerry, which is a scenic route.” As they drove they would stop to hike around castles and mountains. This enabled them to see more of the coast and the islands. “Hiking was definitely my favorite part of the trip because all the views at the tops of the mountains were amazing,” Moloney said. The Moloney family stayed in Ireland for a total of eight days and even visited the house their great-grandfather was born in, located in downtown Dublin. They also visited the Blarney Castle and kissed the legendary Blarney Stone. While in County Clare, they researched their family history back to the 1850s. “Another one of my favorite parts of the trip was exploring the old castles because there is nothing like that in the United States,” Moloney said. They would often just see a castle on the side of the road and stop to climb it. “Ireland was for the most part what I expected, but I didn’t expect to see as many castles as I did and it was really fascinating,” Moloney said. HTML Comment Box is loading comments...
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