In my senior year of high school, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime. My school offered me the chance to visit three iconic European countries: England, Italy, and my personal favorite, France. Along with nearly 100 other teenage boys and 12 faculty members, we traveled via plane, train, and boat in order to fully experience the wonders each of these countries had to offer. I was luckily able to photograph many of the monumental locations that we visited, which I will share with you.
After a 10-hour flight from New York City, our first stop was in London, England.
London is known for rainy weather, and I can validate that claim from experience. We stayed in London for a total of three days and only saw the sun for three or four brief moments on our trip. We visited The London Bridge, which is one of the most notable forms of architecture.It was inspirational to see this bridge because they had been decorated with the Olympics rings three years prior. To have been able to stand where many great Olympians once had was breathtaking. We also passed by Big Ben which stands above the Palace of Westminster. It is said to be one of the most precise mechanical clocks ever constructed and acts as a symbol of the continuing functionality of the British Government. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to London, even though the weather was not yet in our favor.
Next on our list was Paris, France.
Fortunately, as we traveled along the Eurostar, an efficient train line that connects London to Paris, we left the gloomy weather in England. Once we disembarked the fast-traveling Eurostar, we were greeted with comfortably warm weather in the city of Paris. I was most excited for this segment of our travels because since I was a young boy, I had always dreamed of visiting the Eiffel Tower. On our first night, we stopped by the tower at night, and it was lit magnificently. The lights radiated throughout the darkened sky and was simply breathtaking. On Easter Sunday, we celebrated mass within the Notre Dame Cathedral. Although my knowledge of French is quite minimal and I struggled to understand the priest as he delivered his sermon, this experience is one that will resonate within me for the rest of my life. Later that day, we traveled on the River Siene by boat, where we had a wonderful dinner and my good friend took the photograph of the Eiffel Tower on my phone for me.
Finally, we traveled to Italy.
Italy was our last stop before our flight home and it did not disappoint. We were able to visit the Roman Colosseum, where many gladiators fought in this arena to find glory, but only few did. The Colosseum acts as a representation of the great strength of the Roman Empire that transcends time itself. Being able to walk throughout this legendary arena gave me chills of excitement. We also visited Vatican City, which is the central location for members of the Catholic faith.It houses St. Peter's Basilica. One of the most fascinating bits of information I had learned is that one of the Egyptian obelisks is located here. So, along with having visited both Paris and London and having lived in New York, I had now seen four of these monumental obelisks in my lifetime. We also traveled to Florence in Italy, where I was able to see the iconic statue of David. This statue created from marble by Michelangelo represents the story of David and Goliath from the first book of Samuel. Goliath was a heavily armored and strong man, and David was perceived as weak. He did not think he would be able to succeed in defeating this monstrosity of a man, but he placed his faith and courage in God, who in turn granted him the power to topple this man. This story is one of my favorites from the Catholic Bible, and demonstrates how no situation is impossible as long as you believe in God and have faith.
So, all in all, the trip was fantastic! I was able to visit many important places throughout the European world, and also learned a great amount of history. I am very thankful for my family who allowed me to travel to this unknown place and to my chaperones who guided us and kept us safe. It was truly an opportunity of a lifetime and one that I will always hold dear to my heart.
