Paris. Madrid. Rome. France. Spain. Italy. Three different countries, two different trips.

This summer, 43 Noblesville High School students, accompanied by their teacher chaperones, ventured outside of the country to visit either France or Spain and Italy.

Both groups held preparatory meetings in which they discussed topics such as packing and cultural differences. The France teacher-sponsor, Mrs. Debbie Pierson, and the Spain/Italy teacher-sponsor, Mr. Kevin Cole, sponsored trips in past years: fifteen trips and three trips, respectively.

France

From June 10th to June 19th, a group of nine students and Pierson traveled from Paris north to Normandy, the Loire Valley, Versailles, back through Paris, south to Nimes, Aix, and Nice through the ACIS education tours company.

Normandy held the scars of World War II, and after walking past ruined bunkers and through bomb craters, the students, “ were dead silent,” Pierson said. “When we go here, the kids are most touched.”

The Loire Valley captivated the group with its grand Renaissance-style castles and chateaus. Versailles, a former royal palace, was grand and ornate, according to senior Joan Seig. Similarly, the Louvre of Paris, another former royal palace, held the group’s attention with its world-class art.

Central France and its cities were very compact with “a very limited amount of area, but about 1,000 years of history put in it,” Seig said.

Making their way to southern France, the group beheld Roman ruins in Nimes, such as the Arena of Nimes. The trip ended in Nice with a flight back home through New York City.

Throughout their stay, the 10 savored the French food, which heavily included seafood in the north and south. Their hotel accommodations were fairly similar to that of United States hotels, with the exceptions being the smaller size of the hotels, different styled bathrooms, and twin beds.

The architecture and history of France was very rich. “Everything had a story to it,” Seig said.

Spain

June 18th to the 29th found 34 students traveling through Spain and Italy through the Education First (EF) educational travel company.

When first landing in Madrid, “we were pinching ourselves,” senior Krista Baker said.

The disbelief slowly faded away and was replaced by amazement as they took a walking tour of the city among the festivities of the coronation of the new Spanish King, Felipe VI. Two art museums, El Prado Museum and the Queen Sofia Art Center, both located in Madrid, hosted the group. Most of the group chose to visit Toledo, a town with many medieval remnants, where they visited a sword-making factory.

Once united in Madrid with those who opted to stay behind, the whole group traveled to Barcelona where they viewed with awe the Sagrada Família, a grand basilica, and rode bicycles through the city.

From Barcelona, the group took an overnight ferry to Rome. In Rome, the group became witnesses to the centuries old structures, like the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. While in Rome, the group traveled to the Vatican City and beheld the beauty of Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.

They made their way south to Naples and Pompeii, where they walked the ruined city. From Naples, the group flew back home through Detroit.

Comparing and Contrasting

Both trips experienced European cultures vastly different from their own, but stark difference remain between the cultures of France and the cultures of Spain and Italy.

Hotel experiences were similar to that of the France group’s, though the cuisine was quite different. Spain had much seafood, as did Italy, although Italy had incomparable pasta. The group typically ate at quiet restaurants and side cafés. As forewarned, pickpocketing in Spain and Italy was “much more prevalent than in Noblesville,” Cole said, and one student returned home without his Iphone.

All the students returned home safely, with either French or Spanish and Italian souvenirs and stories of their experiences. The trips were successful, and the participants returned home with a larger, more worldly view of life. Trips to France and Spain will again be sponsored for 2016, with recruiting being done by the same teachers beginning in early 2015.