Day 10 - March 27th, 2024 - The End.

The last day of the JHS Europe Trip 2024 started the moment Day 9 ended, because I was part of the group that was leaving at 2:45am local time to depart for Aeropuerto Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat for our first leg of our trip home. From Barcelona, my group traveled to Aeroporto Humberto Delgado in the capital city of Lisbon in Portugal. From Portugal we would fly direct to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago and begin the final leg of our journey from O'Hare back to Jefferson. 

The group that flew into O'Hare from Portugal was tired from the long day of traveling, but as we were all waiting in line for the Customs checkpoint at O'Hare, a lot of us were talking about all the fun things we did and all the fun we had throughout our trip. For many of us, it was the first time we had ever been to Europe. 

Overall, the trip was an amazing experience. To have a chance to experience the sights, sounds, and flavors of France and Spain was truly incredible. The experience of a 10 day trip through Europe that started in Paris and ended in Barcelona gave everyone involved a truly special journey full of great memories that will last a lifetime. 

Day 9 - March 26th, 2024 - Barcelona

Our last day in Barcelona started with breakfast at the hotel and a quick bus ride to Barcelona's city center for a few hours of free time to explore more of Barcelona. We started with setting our meeting point with our EF Tour Directors and then set out exploring. My small group decided to go to the MOCO Museum (Modern Contemporary Museum) and saw works by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Banksy, Keith Haring, KAWS, and several other contemporary artists. I thought it was really cool, because I absolutely love going to art museums, especially since modern contemporary art can be so unusual. Then it was time for lunch and we went to the 9th floor of El Corte Inglés, one of Spain's largest department stores, to eat at their cafe that offered panoramic views of the city of Barcelona. 

After lunch, we headed back to our meeting point in Barcelona for our next excursion: Montserrat or more specifically, Santa Maria de Montserrat, an abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict located on the mountain of Montserrat. Even though the weather was cold, windy, and rainy, the views from the mountain were incredible! Our local tour guide gave us a brief tour and then our group walked through the Basilica of Montserrat to admire the gorgeous architecture. 

After our short walk through Montserrat, we boarded our buses and headed back to downtown Barcelona for our dinner on the waterfront. In the spirit of the region, our tour group enjoyed our last dinner together featuring tapas. My table consisted of chaperones and it was really nice to share all of our stories from the trip and look back on all the amazing things we had all experienced throughout our journey from Paris to Barcelona. It was a bit bittersweet that our journey was coming to an end and even though we had a fun-filled, fast-paced journey, many of us had come to realization that we had spent the perfect amount of time traveling with our group and we were looking forward to going back home, even though some us weren't that eager to have our European excursion come to an end. 

After dinner, many of us did some last minute shopping and then it was time to board our buses and head back to our hotel for one last night of fun. The students were looking forward to the third straight night of music and dancing back at the hotel to cap off the trip. 

On the way back to the hotel, the group was split into two different groups that corresponded to our groups that would be traveling separately on our return trips home. Bus 1 would be flying from Barcelona to London's Heathrow Airport to fly back to Chicago's O'Hare and Bus 2 would be flying from Barcelona to Lisbon, Portugal  to fly back to Chicago's O'Hare.

While Bus 1 headed back to the hotel without incident, Bus 2 had a little side adventure. Our new bus driver took a route that he was unfamiliar and just 10 minutes shy of being at the hotel came to a point on our drive back where the height clearance of the roadway would now allow for the height of the bus we were riding in. We wound up being stuck at the end of a road in front of a tunnel that was too short for the bus, next to a subway station, at the intersection of a one way road that the bus could not turn onto. Fortunately, our EF Tour Director, Silvia, was quick to react and try to figure out how to rectify our situation. Ultimately, Bus 2 had to wait for a local police escort so they could temporarily shutdown the one-way street so that the bus could drive down road against traffic safely in order to continue on our way back to the hotel. 

After a lengthy delay, Bus 2 arrived back at the hotel and some students and parents headed right to the dance party featuring live music and blew off some steam on their last night of the JHS Europe Trip 2024. 

After the dance party came to an end, some of the students and I stepped outside to get some fresh air and we saw both of our EF Tour Directors, Edu (Eduardo) and Silvia, and I witnessed one of the coolest things from the entire trip. All the students that came outside ran over to Edu and Silvia and asked to get pictures with them and while all this was going, every single student personally thanked them for an amazing trip and for everything they had done for our entire JHS group. To witness this was very humbling and truly special, because it echoed what I had come to realize in my seven years teaching at JHS: our students are special, because they are truly amazing people!

Once everyone got their pictures taken with Edu & Silvia, some students split to go back to their rooms, but the four students that had spent a majority of the trip with me exploring and experiencing all that the trip had to offer headed to lobby. We talked about our highlights of the trip, all the cool things we had experienced, everything that we had done, and everything we had seen. It was such a cool thing to hear these four students talk about the trip and their experiences. In the end, we all reached a consensus that over the course of the trip, we all had made memories that we'll remember for a lifetime. It was also bittersweet that the trip had come to an end and in less than 24 hours, we would all be back home and back to reality. 

To Be Continued...

Day 7 - Part 2 March 24th, 2024 - Zaragoza to Barcelona*

After settling in on our tour buses, we began the last leg of our journey from Zaragoza to Barcelona*. On the bus, a lot of us let our weariness get the best of us and crashed pretty hard on the bus and got some much needed rest in the form of some sleep. When not sleeping, the usual shenanigans continued which consisted of card games, diving in and trying some of the largely unknown snacks available at the travel centers, and sharing stories while recapping the adventures we had already had on our trip. 

Once we got to Barcelona, we had to drive through the heart of the city to get to our hotel in Santa Susanna where we checked in, had dinner, and some of the kids expressed their inability to wait any longer from going to be the beach. So, I volunteered (read: heavily coerced) into leading a group to the beach. Since it was already getting late, I let students and parents know that I'd be taking a group to the beach at 9:45 pm. I ran up to my room to get beach ready and came back down to the lobby to a group of more than 20 students. On Day 7 of our trip, the entire group was tired, but the ones that wanted to go to the beach had found their second wind and were not going to let anything get in their way.

We all headed to the beach and there were a handful of students that hit the sand like they were shot out of a cannon. It was ridiculous. Initially, only a few people were brave enough to test the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, but lo and behold around a dozen or so students jumped in. Even I got caught-up in the madness of the moment and decided, "Why not?" and ran into the water. After spending the previous few days in France sweating because the temps were in the mid to upper 70s, taking a dip in the Mediterranean Sea could not have possibly been more refreshing. It was awesome!

Once everyone had gotten their fill of beach time, the entire group walked very gingerly back through the coarse sand (read: not soft and pillowy) to our hotel where we all realized there was a DJ spinning tunes for the various tour groups at the hotel. This wound up being Dance Party Night #1 while in Spain. Ms. Wontor joined in on the fun at the Dance Party and even I reluctantly joined in, too, because it was simply another opportunity to have some fun.

To be continued...

Day 7 - Part 1 March 24th, 2024 - Pamplona to Zaragoza

Our day started with breakfast at the hotel before we all packed up our things and check out, boarded our buses and began the drive to Zaragoza. Upon arriving at Plaza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar (the Plaza of Our Lady of the Pillar) and given it was Palm Sunday, the plaza in front of the Basilica del Pilar was bustling with people and churchgoers. Our group entered the basilica to look around and admired its ornate interior, while some decided to attend Palm Sunday mass. 

The city of Zaragoza was abuzz due to the fact that it was also Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. Steet vendors were selling large and very ornate palm fronds which were beautiful, some even had candies attached and incorporated into the design for the families with young children that were milling about the city. 

While in Zaragoza, our entire group was granted some free time to explore the city. My small group decided to go to Museo Goya - Colección Ibercaja - Museo Camón Aznar that featured the work of Spanish printmaker and painter, Francisco de Goya. It was a very cool museum that featured the works of Goya and many of his contemporaries. It was especially unique because not only did it feature paintings by Goya, but also a large collection of his printmaker prints. 

After my group wrapped up our visit to Museo Goya, we all headed out to see what all the commotion was down the street. There was a large Palm Sunday procession through the streets with every participant wearing matching outfits and robes and the whole town echoed the beating of the drums from the procession. It was really cool and very clearly a beloved tradition from the massive numbers of people out in the streets taking it all in.

Next, it was time for my group to venture out and get some lunch which turned out to be trickier than we had hoped due to the large numbers of people out and about for the Palm Sunday masses and associated festivities in the streets. After striking out at a few places, we all decided to check out an Italian restaurant not too far from our meeting spot in the Plaza de Nuestra Señora del Pilar. Our group could not have been any more pleasantly surprised with our meals. From the cracker thin crust of the wood oven pizzas to the various past dishes ("various" is a bit of a misnomer as it was two varieties of pasta with five people in the group getting the exact same thing and Max being the lone adventurous one). Simply put, the food was amazing!

After lunch, JHS legend Mr. Rogers treated our small group to gelato and then we all hustled back (we were running short on time...this began to be something that happened all too regularly in Spain, but we were NEVER late...unlike some other travelers in our large group) we headed back to our tour buses and settled in for a lengthy stretch of seat time as we head headed to Barcelona!

To Be Continued...

Day 6 - Part 2 - March 23rd, 2024

We departed from Donostia /San Sebastián and began the next leg of our journey to Pamplona. We met our local tour guide, Leo, in Plaza del Castillo (a large public square) in the heart of the city of Pamplona for a walking tour of the city. Leo started off by sharing a brief history of Pamplona and the city square where we were standing. Leo covered a lot of ground by explaining that Cafe Iruna, one of the main cafes in Plaza del Castillo, was a one-time hangout of American author Ernest Hemingway during the time that Hemingway lived in Pamplona. Cafe Iruna was also the first cafe in Pamplona to be have electricity and Leo told us when it first had electricity the locals were terrified and avoided going there at night. Additionally, Cafe Iruna is where Ernest Hemingway wrote the first draft of his novel "The Sun Also Rises". Having read "The Sun Also Rises" as part of my duties tied to being an Academic Decathlon in the past, the fact the book is celebrated is not only surprising, but for me exists on the same level of anything written by William Shakespeare, a perfect way to level out that wobbly coffee table in your first apartment as an adult. Moving on.

Leo then walked us through the winding streets of Pamplona to the location of the starting line for the annual "Running of the Bulls" that takes place in the streets of Pamplona from July 7th - 14th. The more details our local guide, Leo, shared with us really increased the bewilderment among a lot of us in the group. 1) People do this by choice. 2) People enjoy running in front of bulls that have horns that are sprinting for nearly a half mile to the finish line and risking their health by getting gored, trampled, etc. by living, breathing bulls. 3) The whole concept is wild!

After visiting the route of the "Running of the Bulls", Leo took us to some other notable sights of Pamplona including an overlook that looked over the former defense walls whose initial purpose was to defend the city of Pamplona from attack. The view was even more spectacular because it was shortly before sunset. 

As we wound our way back to Plaza del Castillo, Leo wrapped up our walking tour and we reconvened with our EF Tour Directors Edu and Silvia to be awarded with some free time and explore some of the local shops. 

Then we headed back to Plaza del Castillo to regroup for attendance and head to our hotel to check-in, have dinner at the hotel and get some rest in order to be ready for another big day. 

Sidenote: many of the hotels we stayed at required you to slide a room key into a slot to be able to turn the lights on in the room. In Pamplona, not only did your lights turn on in the room, but the TV did as well. My TV came alive on BOM radio, which was a full-on techno station that immediately turned my room into a solo dance party. I was so impressed, I had to knock on the door of the room next door, where Payton, Anthony, and Max were staying to share the news about BOM radio. It was nuts!

Overall, Pamplona was a vibrant city, especially in the city center and Plaza del Castillo, because the streets were bustling with people and since it was a Saturday evening, the city was really starting to come alive with the locals beginning their Saturday evening festivities in the numerous restaurants, cafes, and taverns. 

To Be Continued...

Day 8 - March 25th, 2024 - Barcelona

Our day began with a buffet style breakfast at the hotel. Then, we regrouped and boarded our tour bus, a double-decker (yes!), to explore the city of Barcelona with some local tour guides. We started on a bus tour of Barcelona's city center and then went to the Basílica de la Sagrada Família. The basilica has been under constant construction since 1882. Designed by Antoni Gaudi, the basilica is massive. Architecturally speaking, its one of the most unique structures I've ever seen, because it is so unique in its design. 

After spending time at the basilica, we all boarded our tour bus and headed to Park Güell, a development on a hill overlooking Barcelona designed and built my Antoni Gaudi as a neighborhood for Barcelona's elite. It was very unique and almost fairytale like in its design and aesthetic. Two of the buildings looked as if they were straight out of "Hansel & Gretel" in the way they looked like gingerbread houses. 

After our time at Park Güell, we were back on the bus to head to Barcelona's city center to explore La Rambla, an open pedestrian avenue with shops, cafes, restaurants, etc. Our EF Tour Directors informed us that as a result of gentrification in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, tour guides are not allowed to lead large groups through this historic district, so their direct involvement with the group would be greatly reduced or if caught in the act, they could face hefty fines. In order to get around this, our EF Tour Directors gave us recommendations of where to go, how to get there and made themselves available to get answers to any questions so they could provide us with directions on how to get to somewhere specific. Since it was time for lunch and my group was hungry, finding something to eat was a priority. We set out to find an area recommended by our EF Tour Director, Edu, Plaça Reial (The Royal Square) to find us some lunch. My group arrived and settled on a place called Bar Tomate and we had one of our best meals of the trip. Two of us got chicken and asparagus paella, two of us got chicken fajitas, one of us got a fish and chips, one of us got a dish featuring over easy eggs, Iberian ham atop french fries and some of us got a Spanish twist on hamburgers. The food was phenomenal! It also didn't hurt that our small group got to take advantage of some downtime to continue bonding and sharing stories from our trip.

After lunch, the entire group met back up at our predetermined meeting point to go over some operational logistics for later in the evening before splitting up into our evening activities. Once we finished with our rendezvous, we were all sent out to spend some free time to explore La Rambla and the surrounding area. Quite a few members of our group wound up exploring a local open air public market called "The Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria" which had all sorts of local food offerings. There were so many vendors and merchants, it was amazing! From the aromas of the different foods, to the size of the fresh produce, it was pretty remarkable. It reminded me of some of the other markets I've been to in bigger cities, but the best thing about it was the fresh produce. From fresh strawberries half the size of an adult's fist to grapes the size of golf balls, it was so fresh and so flavorful it was extraordinary.

This is also the time in which a lot of us in our group encountered the phenomenon that is the the "pay toilet" where an individual has to pay a "toll" (I'm looking at you, Illinois!) to use the restroom. There's another fun fact that goes along with this, as well, and that's finding out that in order to use the individual stalls in the men's room, there were super-sized industrial rolls of toilet paper in the central part of the restroom that you had to go to and tear off what you thought you needed ahead of time before you went into a stall. This blew our minds, because at no time in my life have I ever found myself in a situation where one was required to choose the amount of toilet paper you needed beforehand. 

Once many of us finishing meandering through the public market, it was time to regroup once again. The large group split into two with a portion of the group taking in a traditional Flamenco show performance and the remaining members of the group took advantage of some free time to further explore the sights and sounds of La Rambla. The flamenco show attendees reported that it was excellent. However, one student was overheard recounting that they were really disappointed that there were no tall, slender pink birds, so the overall show was a bit disappointing. Those that didn't attend the flamenco show continued further exploring La Rambla.

Following the flamenco show and exploration of La Rambla, it was time for our group to get dinner. We all headed to an Italian restaurant for pasta or pizza. It was another great meal and it was nice to have a wide variety of pasta dishes and even the pizza options presented a nice variety of combinations. Overall, everyone was very pleased with their dinner.

After dinner, it was time to explore some of the Gothic Quarter on our way back to our tour buses and head back to our hotel for the evening. 

Upon returning to our hotel, some of the students headed to the "DJ party" that was part of the evening's entertainment. Students danced, some even managed to rope some of their teachers into joining them, so it was a lot of fun to see everyone blow off some steam after a long, eventful day.

To Be Continued...

Day 6 - Part 1- March 23rd, 2024

Today started with breakfast at our hotel in Castet, France and then our group hit the road to our first stop of the day: Donostia /San Sebastián, an oceanfront city on the Bay of Biscay. After a brief walking tour through the city center, we set out on our first experience for the day, a hike from the city center to the Monumento al Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (San Sebastián de La Gomera) overlooking the Bay of Biscay. Unfortunately, it also happened to be the first day the weather wasn't working entirely in our favor, because it was in the low 50s and overcast. However, the hike up the mountain was worth it because the views of the city of Donostia / San Sebastián were amazing! As our group made our descent from the overlook of the city center, it was greeted by a bustling scene of cafes and restaurants serving the regional specialty: tapas.

We began exploring the streets of Donostia / San Sebastián during our free time and made every second count. We saw a large group of local musicians and singers singing and dancing in the streets, kids running around with what looked like balloons on sticks, but were more than likely inflated animal intestines, whacking people as they passed by and thoroughly enjoyed the sights and sounds of the city.

While exploring my small group decided to get lunch at what turned out to be one of the more popular spots for tapas: Gandarias. For the first time on the trip, I wasn't sure what I was going to be able to eat considering a majority of the offerings featured some variation of shellfish. However, just looking at the menu offerings was an experience all by itself! The food was delicious and everyone in the group left enjoyed it. 

After lunch we continued exploring and came upon the Basilica of Santa María del Coro and decided to take a quick self-guided tour of the basilica (admission 3€) and it was completely worth it because it was beautiful!

Next, my small group ventured on through the streets of Donostia / San Sebastián and popped into a variety of shops and then happened upon the main plaza in front of City Hall right on the bay just beyond the beach. The plaza at City Hall was gorgeous and featured palm trees, a huge park, and lots of people enjoying the absolutely perfect weather (the sun had decided to come out while we were exploring the historic district). More importantly, we stumbled upon another carousel and it was time to ride! Three students and I climbed onto the carousel where two of us mounted our majestic steeds, one decided to ride a mermaid, and one settled for a pack mule. While all of this was happening, three of our group Moms were thoroughly enjoying themselves watching the ridiculousness as it unfolded.

To Be Continued...

Day 5 - March 22nd, 2024

We started our day with breakfast at our hotel in Bordeaux and then drove into the Bordeaux city center to explore one of the oldest cities in France. Our EF Tour Directors explained to us that Bordeaux is a port city along Garonne River reknowned for its wine-making history. 

Our walking tour began with a stop to arrange our meeting point which wound being the Place de la Bourse ("Stock Exchange Square") right on the Garonne River. 

Once our meeting point was established, our group was given over 90 minutes of free time to explore the streets of Bordeaux. During this time, one the students, Payton Splittgerber, and I walked into a department store on a mission to purchase matching swim trunks so we could "twin" on the beach in Barcelona. So, me being a bigger guy grabbed the biggest size they could and headed for the fitting room. To my dismay, I found out that 1) European sizing is drastically different 2) I may have just tried on a child's XL (which may have explained why I couldn't get the waistband above my knees) 3) Matching swim trunks may not happen after all. 

After the ridiculously entertaining shopping spree, we continued to explore the streets of Bordeaux. A few of us explored some dining options and enjoyed our last authentic French crepes. I tried a mini Bundy cake that had a crunchy, sweet crust with a pillowy soft texture that was very similar to a churro. While we finished dining, we once again grabbed food for another picnic style lunch that day. Some of us took the opportunity to explore a local market, an Aldi,  and YES you have to put a coin in the car to use it in the store just like back home!

We bid farewell to Bordeaux and began the next leg of trip to Dune du Pilat, the largest sand dune in Europe. While many of travelers made the trek to the top of the dune, some of us stayed behind and took in the calm, tranquil setting within the wooded area leading up to the sand dune. Fun fact: it was A LOT of sand! The ones that were brave enough to xlimd to the top were rewarded by stunning views and the opportunity to walk down the far side of the dune to a beautiful beach. With that trip to the beach though, everyone was warned before they went that it would take approximately 30 minutes or more to climb back up the far side of the dune. 

After playing in the sand, we boarded our tour buses and made our way to Biarritz, a luxurious and glitzy coastal town on the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic coast of the Pyrenees also known as Basque country. As we rolled into town, we drove past a Ferrari dealership, which served as an indicator for what type of small, sleepy coastal town we were in. During the free time we went to the beach where it was overcast, foggy, and nearly 52°F, but it didn't matter because it was nearly 30° cooler than it had been at Dune du Pilat earlier in the day. We did some window shopping, Mr. E nearly had a human car wash experience in a public water closet (restroom) because it was "self-sanitizing" restroom that cleaner itself, but mysteriously enough also shuts the lights off if you go to use too soon after the previous person. My small group stumbled upon a store that had been first established in 1853 that made high-end luggage and one of the pieces displayed in the window was priced at 8600€.

After Biarritz, we continued to our hotel for the night and enjoyed a Friday night dinner of baked white fish, rice and sauteed vegetables. Some of the students who are not fish fans decided to make the 100 yard trek to explore a more familiar dinner option: McDonalds.

The group settled in for a restful evening to recharge for the next leg of our adventure.

To be continued...

Day 4 - March 21st, 2024

We started our day with breakfast at the hotel, boarded our tour buses and said to "au revoir" to Paris and began our journey to Bordeaux. Our first top was spent at a Travel Center (an equivalent to an American interstate truck stop) where one of our travelers that was walking next to me and while observing there were paper crowns on the tables said "Hey, this is just like Burger King!" and then within our next stop, I leaned over and told this student, "It's because it IS Burger King." While at the travel center, all travelers bought the necessities for a picnic-style lunch at our next stop. 

After roughly two hours, our group arrived at Château de Chenonceau, a 16th century castle that spans the Cher river. The castle grounds featured sprawling gardens, a labyrinth, and a small farm area with various animals. 

Once we finished with our walking tour of Château de Chenonceau, we all hopped back on our tour buses to continue our journey to Bordeaux.

Following approximately four hours on the road, we all safely arrived in Bordeaux for our dinner at Flammekuechen, a restaurant that served Bordeaux's outstanding local regional version of pizza. Due to departure delays and some difficulties of a few individuals within our group to get back on the bus at the agreed upon designated times, after dinner we headed straight to our hotel in Bordeaux to get a good night's rest.

To be continued...

UPDATE...

I apologize for not uploading any photos the last few posts. Posting photos has been incredibly difficult while traveling, but photos will be added once I have access to a more reliable internet connection. 

Day 3 - March 20th, 2024

Our second day in Paris began with breakfast at our hotel near Aéroport de Paris-Orly. Then we boarded our tour buses to downtown Paris for a guided bus tour of Paris with local tour guides. On Bus #1, our tour guide was a retired teacher, Leif, a Swedish expat who taught high school history. The guy was hilarious, but he took us all around downtown Paris and showed us some of the most world renowned landmarks of the city. 

We saw the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, a bookstore: Shakespeare and Company (where Ernest Hemingway used to hang out to find inspiration while living in Paris), the French Military Academy and the building that houses Napoleon Bonaparte's tomb, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées where the Louis Vuitton hotel is being built in the shape of a giant Louis Vuitton suitcase.

While on our bus tour we saw an official motorcade race past us that featured multiple mounted motorcycle police officers and pristine black police sedans. Our bus tour guide noted that a lot of national representatives were in town due to the recent death at age 102 of Charles de Gaulle's son. He also noted that they were ramping up plans for an upcoming memorial service, as well.

At the conclusion of our bus tour, we arrived at the world renowned Musée du Louvre (The Louvre). One cannot accurately describe the sheer magnitude of this museum and there's no mistaking that it is the largest museum in the world.

While at the Louvre, many of us took the opportunity to see the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and the ancient Greek sculpture, the Venus de Milo. Seeing these works and countless other works in our short time there was incredible. Having taken art history courses in college and having coached Academic Decathlon in the past, I had to keep pinching myself that I was actually able to take in the experience of seeing these historical masterpieces in person. It was a profound experience!

During the same time everyone was at the Louvre, our large tour group spilt into two groups with one group spending the full extent of our allotted time at the Louvre while the other half went to the château de Versailles (Palace or Versailles). 

The group that went to Versailles all came back and shared stories of its remarkable opulence and how everything was incredibly over the top.

The group that stayed back in Paris was given free time to explore the neighborhood surrounding Notre Dame and the Hôtel de Ville, the city hall of Paris. 

After the other half of our group had returned from Versailles, we all reassembled and headed to dinner at a small restaurant in the Île Saint-Louis where dinner consisted of a hearty slow-roasted beef stew and mashed potatoes, which everyone really enjoyed.

Following dinner, our EF Tour Directors decided on a meeting point and we all were set out to explore the city of Paris and the area surrounding Notre Dame. My small group enjoyed experiencing an authentic Parisian Cafe, Notre Dame Cathedral illuminated, and photo opportunities galore in front of police headquarters, Hôtel de Ville that was decked out for the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Once our free time concluded our entire group rendezvoused at our meeting point to regroup and take attendance before our next adventure: the Paris Métro. To experience the subway in such a large city was amazing and also absolutely terrifying for some of our travelers. Unfortunately, there was an unexpected highlight of the subway trip back to the hotel. As we were about to exit our first train, a local woman began choking and Mr. E had to step in and perform the Heimlich maneuver. She was incredibly thankful.

Following our transfer to our second train, we arrived at our hotel for our last night in Paris.

To be continued...

Day 1 & 2 - Part 3 - March 18th - March 19th - Paris

We took our tour buses from the Montmarte and wound through the incredibly chaotic streets of downtown Paris. On the way to dinner, our EF Tour Directors Eduardo and Silvia arranged for a huge surprise stop: The Eiffel Tower just as the afternoon sun was casting its shadow over the city. No matter how many times you have seen the Eiffel Tower in pictures, movies, TV shows, etc., there is absolutely NOTHING that will prepare you for seeing it in person. It is absolutely breathtaking and a true highlight of our marathon-like day. It was a truly phenomenal experience for every single one of us!

After our short surprise stop at the Eiffel Tower, we boarded our tour buses and resumed our journey through downtown Paris until we arrived at the Montparnasse neighborhood of Paris for dinner. I cannot undersell the insanity that is the traffic in downtown Paris.  From bicycles, e-bikes, scooters and motorcycles to tour buses, large tractor trailers, to taxis, Ubers, public transportation buses and lightrail trains, it's plain nuts!

Dinner consisted of a baked whitefish (personally, I think it was cod loin, because it tasted no different than a classic Friday Fish Fry version of baked cod) with a side of roasted vegetables and a dinner roll. Our entree was followed by a fresh yogurt parfait for dessert! Additionally, several of our travelers were happy to enjoy something familiar, Coca-Cola! (Mr. E in particular!)

Following our delicious dinner, our group gathered and headed to the Tour-Maine Montparnasse, a 689 foot tall skyscraper that is the tallest building in Paris proper, that also features an obersvation deck on the 59th Floor of the building. The views were absolutely stunning and offered everyone amazing photo opportunities in all directions. 

After an incredibly exciting, fun-filled, but grueling day, it was time to head to our hotel for the next few nights at the Aéroport de Paris-Orly. With such a large group, there were some hiccups with the check-in process, but every single one of us JHS Europe Trip 2024 travelers was beyond thrilled to be able to shower, recharge, and get some long overdue sleep. We also had time to acknowledge how much smaller European hotel rooms are.

Day 1 & 2 - Part 2 - March 18th - March 19th - Paris Montmarte

After departing the Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle we loaded into our tour buses to head to downtown Paris neighborhood of Montmartre. While on the bus, our group of travelers was warned of the importance of being aware of pickpockets and scam artists and the importance of being aware of our surroundings.

We drove past the Moulin Rouge and the Arc de Triomphe on the way to Basilica of Sacré Coeur de Montmartre (Sacred Heart of Montmartre).

The basilica is situated atop a hill that overlooks Paris and offers amazing panoramic views of the city. 

The ceiling of the exterior entryway. 

A tribute to my grandparents.

Surrounding the plaza at the base of the basilica were fences loaded with padlocks.

The view from the steps of the basilica were amazing! It made the trek up hundreds of steps totally worth it for everyone.

Directly outside the basilica there was even the promise of American cuisine at a snack stand.

After admiring the view from the top, it was time to head back down. Unfortunately, for some of us, we realized that we could made the ascent up the steps much easier via the Funiculaire (automated gondolas).

Some of us decided to take the staircase and when I began the climb the trip down, I immediately realized that I was familiar with this staircase even though I had never been there before. The same staircase I was walking down was heavily featured in a movie that I had seen last summer (John Wick: Chapter 4) and now I was walking down the same stairs! 

Back at the base of the stairs, the opportunity presented itself for the first French bakery adventure. The decision was made to try a "pain au chocolat" (chocolate croissant) and it did not disappoint.

Then it was onto exploring the street of shops we walked through to get to the plaza at the base of the hill in front of the basilica.

The next stop was a French biscuit (cookie) shop. These crafty saleswomen were masters of their craft and lured you in with a "free sample" of a hazelnut chocolate filled biscuit. I settled on a few tasty options but thoroughly enjoyed an apple cinnamon filled biscuit.

Among the souvenir shops hocking their wares, I found my favorite T-shirt featuring "Mona Slash".

After exploring a few shops and stores, it was time to get really wild and hop on the carousel!

Daisy & Carla!

Rachel, Emma, and Mr. E

After our time at Montmartre, it was time to get back on the buses and head to dinner.

Sweet subway entrance on the way back to the buses.

To be continued...

Day 1 & 2 - Part 1 - Monday March 18th-Tuesday March 19

We began our journey by departing JHS at 2:30 pm local time to head to O'Hare International Airport. We arrived safely at O'Hare at 4:45 pm and made quick work of getting through ticketing and the TSA security checkpoint.

Our departure was delayed 4 approximately 45 minutes due to United Airlines needing to swap planes. Yet, we were wheels up at 8:15. JHS Physics teacher, Cory Militzer, was watching our United Airlines Flight UAL987 while we were taxiing on the runway and wished us all a safe flight.

I was super fortunate and had an awesome seat mate, Ms. Foerster! 

Once we hit our cruising altitude, we had our first in-flight meal. Passengers were offered two options: 1) Buttered chicken with cilantro lime rice or 2) Five vegetable stir-fry.

After dinner, everyone settled in and most passengers took advantage of the wide variety of in-flight entertainment options. Others started to settle in and get ready to get some rest during the lengthy flight.

Roughly 90 minutes before arriving, breakfast was served in the form of breakfast sandwiches which consisted of a croissant with egg, cheese and caramelized onions.

As we descended from cruising altitude we began our final approach and really lucked out with the smoothest landing ever as we arrived at Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle a full three minutes ahead of our scheduled arrival time.

Our group quickly made it through security and made our way to our meeting point where we met our EF Tour Directors: Eduardo and Silvia!

As we went through informal introductions and received instructions and expectations for the start of our Paris adventure, our road weary group (most of us had struggled mightily with getting any quality sleep during our flight) loaded onto tour buses and made our way through to Paris and our first stop.

To be continued...

We have arrived in Paris!

We have touched down in Paris! 

A few logistical things and then we're hittng the road to Montmartre! 

Away we go!

Here we go!!!

Taxiing on the runway! 

Next stop Charles DeGaulle International Airport;

 

I couldn't have had any better luck with my seat mate: Ms. Foerster!

Journey to the Windy City!

The day has finally come! 

After nearly two years of planning, preparing, and anticipating, the JHS Europe Trip 2024 has begun! 

This afternoon, our group of eager travelers comprised of students, parents, and chaperones began our journey by boarding buses for the first leg of our trek. 

First stop: "Sweet Home Chicago" via O'Hare International Airport!

'Tis JHS Europe Trip 2024 Eve...

"The Magical Mister E Tour
Is coming to take you away
Coming to take you away..."

To Europe!!!

Join me, Mr. Ellinghausen aka Mr. E, one of the social studies teachers at Jefferson High School, and the rest of our 2024 JHS Europe Trip travelers as we travel from Paris to the Pyrenees.

Follow along as we embark on our journey from Paris, France to Barcelona, Spain.

As we travel, I will be providing as many updates as possible while trying to share as many highlights and photos of our adventures from our trip. 

The packing lists have been double and triple-checked. 

Our bags are packed.

In less than 24 hours our journey begins!

- Mr. E