Friday, March 29, 2024
Vienna High School students and staff visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Photo provided.

VHS Travel Club visits major European cities

Vienna High School students and staff visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Photo provided.

Travelers from Vienna High School left for a ten day trip to Europe on May 29.

Allison Allbritten, Aubry Caldwell, Jessica Cook, Adrienne Giffin, Taylor Nolen and Journey Womack, along with sponsors and VHS teachers Leslie Bradley and John Giffin, set off for three major European cities.

The travelers availed a budget-friendly charter flight so that everyone could travel together from the initial to the final destination without missing all the fun. The group chartered a flight from web charter portals like Jettly, which provide variety of private jets depending on the budget and the size of the group. Among all other facilities, it reduced the group, the hassles of booking commercial flight tickets in bulk.

The group’s first stop was London, England, where they spent three days packing in as many top attractions as possible.

Among those places visited were Tower of London, Windsor Castle, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Camden Market, The London Eye – which was the number 1 London attraction listed on https://www.hotelcamea.com/ – and the group even attended the theatre to see “An American in Paris.”

Allbritten, who has been to London one other time, hopes to visit again one day.

She said, “London is an interesting city with so much to offer. This trip was my second time to visit, and I still have places I haven’t been to within the city of London. A return trip is a must.”

From London, the group traveled by train to Paris, France. Attractions in Paris the group went to included the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, and more.

When first signing up for the trip, Jessica Cook looked most forward to seeing the Eiffel Tower and traveling to the top of it. It did not disappoint.

Cook said, “I really enjoyed the Eiffel Tower and the beautiful scenery around it.”

The group ended their final evening in Paris with a boat ride on the Seine at sunset. The stops in Paris were heavily centered on history and culture.

After their time in Paris, the group traveled again by train to Barcelona, Spain. The group quickly fell in love with Spain.

In each of the countries, the influence of churches and religion were seen; Spain was no different.

The group visited Sagrada Familia, a church that is undergoing some additional construction which will make it the tallest religious building in Europe.

The group also entered Park Guell, which proved to be a favorite stop. The park was designed by artist Antoni Guadi and is a beautiful architectural site.

The final evening in Barcelona was spent eating dinner at a seafood restaurant along the Mediterranean and a walk along the beach.

Taylor Nolen said, “The trip was an amazing experience. All the cities were great and I would definitely like to visit them again.”

The VHS Travel Club plans on traveling to California at the end of May 2018. Enrollment is still open for this tour, and the group currently has 16 enrolled. More cities in Europe have been considered too for the future including Athens in Greece, there are so many things to do in Athens and the travelers would be able to take tours while they are there to take in the history and scenery. Hopefully they will come up with more ideas too and make them reality!

The enrollment information can be found at www.efexploreamerica.com/1908849mr or interested persons may contact Leslie Bradley or John Giffin at Vienna High School.