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The European Tour (2002) What can I say about the European Tour? Absolutely brilliant!! It was a trip of a lifetime. Very worthwhile!! Who cares if we did not get any sleep for the first day and a half, it was worth it in the end!! In the space of a few hours we travelled through 4 different EU countries, England, France, Belgium and Holland. Tiresome but good!
Day 1 We left the school at 6.15pm and hit the road then to catch the ferry at Dublin Port. We managed to pick up Mr.Behan on the way at Johnstown. We got the ferry at 9.10pm that night and docked in Hollyhead three and a half hours later. We got back on the bus then and did not get off the bus until 6.30 the next morning. That meant that we had travelled right through the night through Britian until we stopped for breakfast about 20 miles from the channel tunnel. We got the chunnel across to France and from there we proceeded to go to a chocolate factory just across the border in Belgium. Utter Heaven! It was very tempting to look at the chocolate being made there and then. We all had bought some chocolate to bring home. It was utter heaven. From there we proceeded to our hotel in Valkenburg, Holland. After we arrived at our hotel we had dinner and went bowling that night. Day 2 We woke the next morning and had breakfast at the hotel. We got on the bus and went to Cologne in Germany. We visited Cologne Cathedral. We got a group photo taken and it was great. Some of us dared to be different and climbed the 500 steps to the top of the Cathedral. It was tiresome but good! There was a magnificent view from the top of the Cathedral. The spiral steps going up were very narrow and it was packed with tourists so it was a bit crazy with everyone trying to get both up and down at the same time! From there we went to Neuschwanstein where we seen the famous castles used in the Disney film Fantasia. At the top of the mountain there were some spectacular views and some amazing scenery. When we finally got back to the hotel we had dinner and then headed out on the town for the night. Such a enjoyable night out!! 
Day 3
We were woken up early the next morning to do some last minute shopping in Valkenburg before we left for Paris. We were delayed on the way to Paris because of major traffic jams but got there eventully. We went to check into our hotel but ran into a problem, there was just not enough room for all of us. The lads had to stay in one hotel and us the girls had to stay around the corner . Such fun!! Just before we sat down to dinner in Paris we went to see the Moulin Rouge, yes that little red windmill restaurant that the recent movie was set around, and yes it does actually exist! Later that evening we went for a guided bus tour of Paris. It was a coincidence that our tour guide was actually from Ireland. It was an interesting night and a real eye-opener for us, the tourists. We all finally got to bed at about 1.30am. Day 4We were woken early so as to make sure that we would not be late for the highlight of the trip, Disneyland Paris. We had a truly great day and really was the best day of the trip. We all queued up on all the rides and I think we can all safely say that the best attraction of the lot had to be Space Mountain. It was a roller coaster in complete darkness. There were a lot of shops there and I think everyone could not resist buying something. Winnie the Pooh was one of the most popular purchases by no means the least. The parade was spectacular and magical. It would bring a tear to anyones eye just watching it. The whole cast of the Disney production were on parade. It was really something else to watch. It was truly magical!! I don't think that anyone will forget the day for a while to come because it was truly magical, seeing all their favourite childhood characters in reality. It was truly magic. After the brilliant day at Disney we went for a night cruise on the river Seine. This was very relaxing and it was so nice to see the city of Paris lit up at night. Some of the things that we seen on the cruise were Notre Dame Cathedral, l'Arc de Triomphe, The Champs Elysée and of course the thing Paris is so famous for, the Eiffel Tower. It was magnificent to see the Eiffel Tower up so close. It looked beautiful.
Day 5 This was to be our last morning in Paris before we left for home. We did a last bit of shopping while we were there. We left at about 11.30am. On the way to the port we stopped at Somme for lunch. We walked on the beach where the famous D-day battles took place, so you could have said that we were walking on history. We left there and proceeded to a wine depot at the port of Le Havre. We all bought bottles of wine to bring home with us. We all had a great few days away but it was not over yet. We got on the ferry and then went to find our cabins for the night. I got a decent sleep that night, something I had not had in nearly a week. There was a disco on the ship that night which was pretty good. It was a right laugh. We finally got to bed at about 3 that night. We were all wrecked the next morning. Day 6We were all woken up the next morning at 7.30am. This did not go down too well with some of the students who actually managed to bring some of their bottles of wine onto the ship with them. We had a right sing song eventully when everyone had got up. We had a right laugh and some real fun. Mr.Behan and Lance really got the party going when they started with the guitars. Once we started singing everyone around the ship started singing with us. It really sounded good. It was a day worth remembering and is one that we won't forget for a while yet. We docked in Rosslare shortly afterwards. From there went back to the school. Parents and loved ones alike were waiting for us to greet us, the tired ones. It was a trip of a lifetime and one that I don't think we will forget for a very long time. Thanks a million to all the teachers that put in so much effort to make this happen. In particular we thank: * Ms.Sunderland * Mr.Behan * Sr.Angela * Mr.Dikker * Mr.Henry Most of all we thank Mr.Henry who made this trip happen. Without him we would not have had such fun and happy memories. Cheers Sir!! (with thanks to Louise Beckett, Leaving Cert 2003) |
