Getting home

To those kind people picking us up. We will call or message from a stop along the way from Sydney with an estimated time of arrival.
Arrivederci

Student Thoughts

The Europe Trip 2010 was an amazing experience in culture and aspects of various European cities, witnessing first hand many places that I have wanted to see. I enjoyed every day with friends and got to know classmates in detail. A trip of a lifetime, I highly recommend it to other students - Simon

Best experience ever... would definitely do it again - Roden

The Europe trip for me was a completely worthwhile experience. Everything from Paris to Florence and Venice, the things we saw and cultures we experienced were incredible - Lena


A trip of a lifetime with all my friends seeing things I never thought I would see, especially with them - Taylor

I enjoyed the new experiences, such as travelling on the Metro, trains and the plane. I also loved Lausanne in Switzerland because it was so beautiful and I really enjoyed it - Alison

Got to eat amazing food, see wonderful and thrilling sites and walked a hell of a lot. Super-awesome!! - Shannon

Highly recommend the next year 12 group to go! Loved every bit and didn't want to leave... EVER! Amazing experience :) - Caitlin

Had the best experience ever in another culture, with all of my friends. 5 stars - Dylan

Trip was fan-tastical! 2 thumbs up :) - Jess

An experience of a lifetime where I made new friends and saw beautiful places. I want to come back again - Heather


Had the time of my life in this once in a lifetime experience. If you don't go next year you will regret it. Worth every dollar! :) 1 Up! - Emily

I got to see everyone's true side and I hated it, as well as seeing my $5000 could have been better spent - Ryan

Italy was my favourite country. And I loved Switzerland because of the mountains. Can't wait to get home - Courtney

This has been a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to explore Europe with all of my friends. I know that I am never going to forget it and I know for sure that I'll come back one day. All in all, I must say my favourite place was Florence - Emma xox

Had a great time in Europe, especially Italy, but can't wait to be back home - Claudia

I loved seeing paintings and statues that I've learnt about in class, and also visiting ancient places. I loved experiencing the different cultures, and seeing the great landscapes that are so different from Australia - Kirrilee

I enjoyed Florence because it had the most free time - Regina

Haggling, Florence and Switzerland was where it was at, yo - Conner

Billet Family!!!!! - Xavier

The Eiffle Tower glittering at night and my host family were my favourites - Hayley

I enjoyed the sightseeing in Paris and Italy and my time with my host family - Breanna

Good experience, have seen lots of different sites that will be remembered - Ben

It was a good experience and met a lot of interesting people - Jake

Made new lifelong friends, was a good trip - Matthew

It was great, made new friends and had fun - Nick

Can't wait to touch down in Sydney - Jenna

Day 17: The Vatican

Roden Hung and Caitlin Day

Hey people, this is the last blog that individual students will be writing.
Waking up at various times we left the hotel at 7.45 am. After a short walk to the metro station, we all packed into a train and headed off to the Vatican... :) The line was huge to get into the Vatican museum... luckily for us we were able to skip these lines and laugh at all the 'average' people that we passed... :)
At the front entrance we met our guide Mr. Francesco Marini for a guided tour of the Vatican museum. All the students were amazed at the brilliant historical value of the extraordinary site... :o

Francesco then took us inside the Sistine Chapel, where the students saw Michelangelo's famous frescos on the ceiling, such as, 'The creation of Adam' and 'The last judgement'. It was a marvelous experience for all concerned...
A tour of St. Peter's Basillica was next on the agenda for the day. There the students and teachers saw Bernini's famous artworks and marveled at the size of the church.
It was huge. :O
The tour guide left us in St. Peter's square where we got free headphones... :) There individual groups set off for a fine luncheon.
At precisly 12:20 all parties ;) met Mr. Tim Fisher, the ambassador for Australia in the Holy See (Vatican). Students and Teachers were all delighted by his extensive knowledge and humour...
Later, 21 students had the oppurtunity to climb the dome of St. Peter's Basillica which consisted of more than 500 stairs. All the students were amazed and awed by the stunning views of Rome from the top... :)

Everyone then had a excellent :S walk back to the hotel to have a nice nap before consuming an evening meal.
Cya back in Oz soon
Love Caitlin and Roden xoxo :) :)

Day 16: Exploring Roma

Regina Russell & Conner Spicer
Buongiorno!
We woke up at 7:15 to go to a delicious breakfast in one of the smallest breakfast rooms I have seen in my life.
This was followed by our long walking day touring the sites of Rome with our exciting guide Mr Francesco Marini.
Our group walked up the Palatine Hill which provided us with a great view of the Colosseum. Going inside the Colosseum gave us opportunities to take some pictures with friends.

Starving, we went to the supermarket and then had a long walk to the Piazza Navona where we ate lunch.
We then visited the Leonardo Da Vinci museum where we all had a well deserved break. From then on we continued walking down to the Fiume Tevere and then on to Spanish steps.
On our return to the Piazza dei Cinquencento we had dinner in the Restaurant L'Orsetto for the second night, before blogging and having an early night in preparation for tomorrow at the Vatican.
Ciao!

Day 15: from Napoli to Roma

Breanna Neville and Hayley Duncan
The day started with a wet tour of Naples with our guide Nino. We splashed through the puddles and dodged traffic in the busy city as we saw the sights. The highlight of the tour was the dry, warm Galleria where we sat and ate donuts and cafe nutellotto. We also had a strange cultural experience when we were surrounded by another school group who formed a circle and ran in at us screaming!
After our sugar fix and little scare, we set off for the train to Rome with our feast from the supermarket and our soaking wet shoes. Mr. Deitz, as usual, gave us a lecture about our security and safety before leaving the train station.
We got settled into our motel where we put on dry clothes and got ready for another 'Mr. Deitz's guided tour'. This tour took us to the ancient ruins of the Forum and the Trevi fountain where we all threw money over our shoulders into the water in the hope that we will travel back here some day. By this time we were all tired and hungry so we made our way to L'Orsetto Restaurant where we enjoyed pasta, veal and beans, and a delicious chocolate tart.

Day 14: Pompeii and Herculaneum

Matthew Priem and Jacob Shaw
Well, hello there gracious community of Tumut (and Batlow), its Matt and Jake typing away here. Today, day 14 of the Europe trip was started with a rather delightful breakfast consisting of croissant filled with cheese and ham with a side of cocoa pops and juice. Shortly after breakfast at 7.30 we jumped onto a bus that took us to the ancient city of Pompeii which was covered by falling ash and pumice to over 10 metres deep.
Here we found our tour guide Nino who pointed out the major buildings and artefacts such as the Forum, Amphitheatre and last but not least the many Brothels.
After the guide left, the Ancient History students accompanied by Mr Boyd continued to explore the site taking many photos needed for the course. After a selected few had lunch, the bus then went off to the next archaeological site of Herculaneum. Herculaneum unlike Pompeii was covered by a pyroclastic flow which covered the town with 20 metres of mud and molten lava. After about 3 hours of wandering the ancient streets of Herculaneum we headed back to our bus which took us back to the hotel where we chilled for 20 minutes until being summoned to perform the almighty act of blogging.

Love to all the family back home can’t wait to see you soon.
This is Jake and Matt signing out.

Day 13 - Napoli, Buffalo mozzarella and Monte Cassino

Jenna Mitchell
Today, at 8 am, we set off on our six hour long bus ride to Naples.
We saw some of the lovely countryside of Italy and the Monte Cassino Monastery. We also got to experience some buffalo mozzarella cheese at a cheese factory in Cassino.
Once we arrived in Naples our bus dropped us off at the Grand Hotel Europa and from there we made our way on foot to the Naples Archaeological Museum where we were greeted by our tour guide Nino. There we got to see the larger than life statue of Hercules and some ancient Pompeii frescos. The ancient history students really enjoyed getting to experience these artefacts up close and couldn’t stop taking photos of them.

Day 12 Leaning Tower of Pisa

Courtney Barratt and Claudia Germantse
Today Saturday the 10th of April we woke at 7 o’clock to have breakfast at 7:30 and split into 2 groups. One group went to the Galleria degli Uffizi to look at the Birth of Venus, a painting that was a movement of its time. The other group went to the Museo di Storia della Scienza where they saw many demonstrations that were fascinating.

Everyone had a great time and when we met at 10:30 we left together to make our way by train to Pisa. This took around an hour, but it was worth it when we were able to see the Leaning tower. After taking many photos of everyone holding it up we had time for lunch and then some shopping as we made our way back to the train. On the way back everybody had a sleep and Mr Dietz took the chance to take photos of everybody looking their best.

When we arrived back at the hotel we freshened up and walked to the Duomo for mass. We all enjoyed the experience as the cathedral was like nothing we had ever seen or participated in before. After mass we made our way to dinner at restaurant Lorenzo Dei Medici once again to enjoy another Italian meal.
We are currently sitting in a laundry doing some last minute washing so hopefully we won’t have to wash again while in Europe. Looking forward to Naples tomorrow and a good night’s sleep. p.s Missing Mum and Dad (Barratt) and Grace and I suppose Murray and Robert p.p.s Missing Mum and Dad (Germantse) and Rachel and Hannah and Nick.

Day 11

Dylan Bourke and Simon Friend
After a delicious breakfast at the Hotel Eden we set off to on a walk to the Accademia Museum where Florence’s most famous artist and sculptures masterpieces such as Michaelangelo. Once we met our guide Mrs Oliveira Stojovic she showed us around the museum telling us about the works of these artists. The statue of David was the main attraction and was bigger than most people thought.
After we had covered the masterpieces of the 16th century we walked to the Duomo where we stopped to hear about the Cathedral. After our stop we walked down one of the streets where a market had been set up in a courtyard where a bronze Boar was also placed there in the 16th century and the visitors would rub its nose in hope that they returned to Florence in the near future.

Once we made our way back to the Duomo we were given 2 hours for gift shopping in the markets where students set out in groups to traverse the markets or beautiful streets of Florence and experience some shopping or Italian cuisine.

Students then had the choice to either climb Giotto's belltower in Piazza del Duomo for a nice view, climb the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore upon the dome for an even more impressive view of the amazing city of Florence, (both with a massive climb up!), or visit the Basilica di Santa Croce, where students saw the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo.

Day 10

Jess Dowell
Ciao from Florence!
This morning we packed up our things had a quick breakfast and left our hostel at Venice to board the train for Florence. We had a few minutes at the train station to grab some last minute gifts and send some post cards home before the group lugged their heavy bags aboard the train. It was a quick trip with most of the kiddies having a short nap to catch up on some much needed sleep. Once we arrived we quickly got our bags, left the station and headed off for the hotel, everyone was really excited to be staying in something other than a hostel and having a shower to ourselves.
Once we’d all settled in and unpacked our bags we set off for a long walk to Piazza Michelangelo. Along the way we were able to have a quick look at some of the busy markets and leather shops. The millions of stairs leading towards the park was exhausting but was well worth the view and nice relaxing picnic we had. We were able to do a bit of sightseeing and buy a few more things to add to our collection of souvenirs.
After we had finished, the group, led by the teachers, went on a Laundromat hunt as most of us were desperate to wash our clothes and getting a tad bit smelly. It felt like we were walking for ages but we managed to spot a few out so we split into groups and excitedly rushed off to do our washing, for some it was the first wash of the trip. One group had their washing and drying done in no time while others did not have as much luck. My group led by Mr Boyd had trouble getting the machines to work so we had to rush like crazy to get everyone’s clothes done then had the quickest dry in history.
When our interesting laundry experience was over we chucked all our clothes up in our rooms and hung out the wet one. Some of the girls set the alarm off as they thought it was a clothes line.
We then went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant the food was beautiful and similar to food we eat at home.
Arrivederci.

Day 9

Shannon Ferguson and Taylor Gorman
Buongiorno from Italy.
We left Switzerland at 8:30am on train to head to the wonderful world of Venice. The 6 hour long train trip involved card games, catching up on that much needed sleep and enjoying the scenery through the Alps. We arrived in Venice expecting cloud and rain but were welcomed by booming sunshine which we hadn’t seen for quite a while and finally it was warm enough to take off our jumpers that we have lived in since our time in France.
After arriving in Venice, and doing our 26 person count off, we made our way to the ferries (vaporetto) to head to our hostel. Getting everyone on the boat proved to be a challenge with our backpacks. The boat became full very quickly and half the group missed out on boarding. Once the group reunited at the hostel we found out that the 16 girls were all in one room and all the boys were also in a room together. We headed off to meet our tour guide at Saint Marks square at 4pm, but arrived there at 4.30pm. Mrs Sabine Benoit our guide, was very welcoming and cracked a few jokes to lift our spirits. We set off for Saint Mark’s cathedral, and learnt about the mosaics which we discovered were made from 1cm cubed pieces of pure Venetian glass. Our tour then took us to Saint Mark’s Square where pigeons swarmed to be fed which is strictly prohibited and involves a 700 euro fine.

A request from the students was to purchase the famous Venetian glass. This gave us the chance to watch the glass being shaped and formed into magnificent creations. Gifts varied and were tightly wrapped, with hopes to make a safe travel home. After leaving the store, students had the chance to go on the much anticipated Gondola ride. 11 Students and Mrs Marley jumped at the chance and after a wonky step into the boat we finally headed off into the canals. In two separate boats we were guided through by our gondola driver and were told about the many bridges and canals throughout the city. While the 11 students and Mrs Marley were enjoying and relaxing at the site of Venice the remaining teachers and students had the chance to go shopping.
After the gondola ride, we met in a large group and discovered that it is quite easy to become lost in the streets of Venice. Whilst looking for our restaurant we lost a few teachers but they quickly caught up with us outside the restaurant, where we would enjoy a traditional Italian meal. After consuming our three course meal and discussing the afternoon we all had, we made our way back to the hostel with nearly every student carrying a bag of gifts ranging from glass ornaments and masks to small mementoes. After arriving at the hostel, the line up grew in the need to call home and talk to the much missed family and friends :).

Day 8

Ben Harris
We went to the Olympic museum that overlooks the French Alps in Switzerland. There we saw many different things such as the many different torches and medals. We also saw equipment for various sports such as bobsleds and some strange looking bikes. We watched some videos of great accomplishments which impressed all. Topped off with some very expensive cokecola this was not a bad place to visit.
For dinner we went to a place called ‘les brasseurs’. Here we enjoyed a pizza each, whilst watching some women weight lifting and watching Mike Tyson fight. A short trip home and the day was over.

Day 8

Nick West
We woke up nice and early about 6 in the morning after we grabbed some brekkie we caught a couple of inner city trains until we finally caught the train that would take us to Lausanne
It was a nice smooth trip to Lausanne with many students grabbing as much sleep as they could without much success at about half way to Lausanne we could see snow all over the ground and on mountain tops we arrived in Lausanne at about midday we then had a bus trip in the smallest bus we have ever seen and had a tour of the city we went to the Lausane Notre Dame Cathedral and looked at the beautiful paintings that where representing the cathedral and we looked at how the cathedral was weathering away ,the chapel was on a hill and was a great advantage point to see the city we then walked down a couple of small little streets to our bus where we then went along the Lake Geneva and saw a number of difference shops and we also could see the snow on the mountain top above the lake which was a real picture moment. All and all the tour around Lausanne was a great experience by all on the trip.

Day 7

Emma Ramsay

We had spent a massive day walking around Paris looking at numerous buildings and monuments, we were all exhausted. At the end the day though we all got the chance to climb the Eiffel Tower.

We arrived there at 6pm and all lined up to catch the elevator to the 2nd floor. The views from there were breathtaking but we hadn’t yet reached the top. We were waiting for a while around the platform for the lift and got a few scowls from people because many of us had to push in to the front due to Tumut High having to go in together. We got up the top and took in the panoramic view. We could see for miles.



We all walked around the platform outside two or three times and took many photos, then had to go down because we were all meeting under the Eiffel Tower at 7.15pm.

This experience is one that I know I’ll never forget and I feel so fortunate to be able to share it with all my friends. It’s one that I know I’ll be talking about for a while.

Day 7

Emily Day


Our 8:15am start saw the 26 students off to a full day tour of the beautiful city, Paris. From the hostel we made our way on foot to the Jardins Des Tulieries, one of the most visited gardens in Paris. After enjoying a relaxing walk past the many statues, contemporary artworks and water fountains we met our guide Marie-Laure Barat. From here, the students excitedly hurried to the entrance of the Louvre Museum and we were greeted by the famous inverted glass pyramid.



First on the agenda was a variety of marble statues and sculptures by Michelangelo, but as the students began to notice signs leading to the Mona Lisa, the anticipation to visit the famous painting grew. From Michelangelo’s array of works we were led through a giant collection of 18th and 19th century French paintings. From Marie Antoinette to Napoleon these were more than paintings, they were masterpieces. Students gazed in awe at the giant artworks on the wall, some almost as big as the wall itself. Whilst making our way to the Mona Lisa the crowd thickened and we were all very excited. On entering the room we were greeted by a large crowd and camera flashes.

Security guards kept a close eye on the famous ‘Mona Lisa’ by Leonardo Da Vinci which was sealed in a large glass case. Whilst quickly weaving through the crowd, the students made their way to the front of the barrier which was keeping everyone at bay. Caitlin and I were the first to meet the beautiful gaze of the Mona Lisa or ‘La Jacconde’ in French. Most do not know but the Mona Lisa is barely half a metre tall and half a metre wide. Our guide pointed out many small unnoticed features of this painting, the Mona Lisa does not have an outline around her face and the painting was bigger on the right than on the left, many conspiracies have been raised from these findings, including its mention in The Da Vinci Code.

From the Mona Lisa we split up into groups. My group ventured around to the ‘Venus de Milo’, a classical Greek sculpture. Standing on a large block was the armless ‘Venus’. Through the ages her arms had fallen off and were lost as well as her earrings and bracelet, but this added extra authenticity to the famous sculpture.

After 2 hours of venturing through the giant gallery containing the most famous paintings in the world the students sat down to enjoy lunch, but all the rave was about the toilets. For one euro the door was opened for you, seat cleaned and perfume sprayed. The toilet rolls were patterned with artworks as was the walls, and your hands were cleaned and dried, everyone who didn’t go was envious of the ones who did. After souvenirs were purchased it was time to leave. Visiting The Louvre was the highlight of my week, and seeing The Mona Lisa was amazing I loved every bit of it.



PS: Hey Mum!

Day 6

Lena Hetherington

After the train ride back to Paris we arrived at our new hostel at 11 am. All the students were very excited about the spacious rooms and showers with doors. After dumping our bags and checking out the area we were off on another endeavour.

Our first stop would be right around the corner at the bakery where 26 students would pile into the smallest shop in the world. We chose from the varied selection of French cuisine. Stopping to eat at the pigeon infested park. Students then were entertained by the many birds taking interest in our food.

Our coach and guide Marie-Laure Barat met us at 1pm for a half day guided bus tour of the famous icons of Paris. After everyone got there camera’s set for some clicking we were off. We first headed down the famous road ‘Champs Elysee’ where we spotted the beautiful fountains and ‘obelisk’.

The bus then travelled down the road towards the arc but turned and we saw the classic beautiful old buildings. After travelling down many various streets we came across venues like Moulin Rouge, the headquarters of Louis Vuitton, many high class restaurants and even a McDonalds with a gilded ‘M’ sign. After that we came across the Arc de Triomphe which shocked everyone with the sheer size of the construction.


The next stop after the arc was the Sacre Coeur. The view of this icon was unbelievable, looking as if out of a movie, the students were in awe. After the hectic climb to the top we had a breath taking view of Paris. The classic church was a highlight of the week for me.

Day 5

Heather Wortes

Bonjour from the train from Villers Bretonneux (Amiens) to Paris!

We’re all very tired and sad because we just waved and hugged (and some cried) to our host families. We had the best three days with them, their hospitality was just amazing; giving us presents, taking us to dinner, shopping and the beach (I’d never walked on sand with joggers and 3 jumpers before).

All of the families and students from the French school and our school (they call it a college over here and teachers are ‘professors’) came together at a local hall in Villers Bretonneux for a party last night. The younger French students sang some traditional French songs as well as Waltzing Matilda, when we got up on stage and helped them sing.



We sat together, French and Aussie, and ate dinner, and then we taught them to Bush Dance. Mr Deitz was on the microphone, giving instructions and Mr Boyd played the Lagerphone (bottle top covered broom) while we danced the ‘Heel and Toe Polka’, ‘Stockyards’ and ‘The Drongo’. There were a lot of feet getting stepped on and smiles all round. I even managed to knock a French man’s glasses off! Emma had the great idea of doing the ‘Macarena’ and it got all of our billets up dancing. Then they taught us how to do the French version of ‘The Nut bush’ called ‘The Madison’.


The night didn’t end until after 1 o’clock, many photos, laughs and new friends later. Waking up at 7 this morning to catch the train was rather hard, but there was a yummy French breakfast waiting as well as chocolates for some.

Overall the billet experience taught us a lot about the French culture, which actually isn’t so very different to ours! I’ll certainly remember eating escargot for the first time, Juliette and Baptiste (ages 14 and 17) could not believe I liked it. They told me French teenagers hate it, but I thought it was really good. Despite the language barrier, with our billets’ enthusiasm and the new French words we learnt, our stay with the French families will be one we will never forget.



Au Revoir for now! And Joyeuses Paques (Happy Easter)

Day 5

Xavier Till

I woke up at lunch time to 10 extra family members and an enormous banquet. The extra family members were excited to see me and treated me better than I could treat myself.

After lunch, the family took me to Amiens, where we went on a row boat around the gardens, cathedral and city. It was an unreal experience.

Day 4 - The Somme

Day 4
Ryan Brettell
We travelled to Villers Bretonneux to the Australian World War 1 Memorial where I had the chance to experience a sense of belonging, of being Australian and to see my relative Stanley Murray listed on the Memorial.
The monument is extraordinary, the sheer size and architecture of the monument is amazing.
 

Day 3 - Villers Bretonneux

Day 3
Caitlin Day
Salut!
It was an early start on the morning of April Fool’s Day, with breakfast at 7:15 and departure at 7:30 from the hostel.
Breakfast was a change with fresh bread and coffee cups the size of cereal bowls! The hot chocolate was definitely ‘tres bon’ (very good in French), and vegemite became a commodity sorely missed.
Leaving the hostel became hectic with the groups walking through the streets and markets to reach the Metro. The metro was crowded and busy, with worried faces soon appearing on various students with the fear they might miss the train.
After 3 train rides, we could finally relax with an hour and a half train trip ahead of us to Amiens.
Upon arrival at Amiens we headed to the Notre Dame Cathedral of the town, which is the biggest cathedral in France and is twice the size of the Notre Dame in Paris.
Students, in their groups, had the chance to see the weeping angel inside the cathedral, a locked box with John the Baptists skull inside and also had the opportunity to listen to Mr Deitz’s short lecture of the cathedral history during World War 2.
Students were given free time in their allocated groups with their teachers and had to dodge a begging gypsy on their way. French chocolate was tasted for the first time by various students with the chocolate stores being extremely busy with Easter arriving quickly.
After the purchase of postcards, snacks, rain ponchos (as students forgot to pack them or didn’t listen to their mums) and souvenirs we all headed back to Amiens train station to travel to Villers Bretonneux.
Upon arrival and a short walk to College J. Brel a large group of school students warmly welcomed us with cheering and the jumping up and down, imitating kangaroos.
We were then shown our host family students and proceeded to lunch in the cafeteria. It was a different experience to eat there as we are solely used to bringing a home packed lunch to school. Many of us were beginning to find it hard to communicate with our host students, and started to regret not learning more French with only a few of the students speaking limited English. Hand signals such as thumbs up, shaking our heads and using google translator on the computer soon became popular, making it easier to talk to our families.
Many Tumut High students had the chance to join the French students in their classes, with other Tumut High students going on a tour of Villers Bretonneux with Mr Deitz and various French students.
In all it was very exciting and definitely a new experience for all.
Au Revoir!