Mifflin County Travel Club’s European Adventures | News, Sports, Jobs

As the youngest of four children, I was always surrounded by family and never strayed far from home. So you can imagine the surprise of my parents when I told them I wanted to join the Mifflin County Travel Club and travel mostly on my own for two weeks to see the world. At first, my mother wasn’t on board with the idea, but I had just graduated from high school, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity for my own adventure.

The year leading up to the trip involved a lot of work: selling and organising fundraisers, information sessions and get-togethers, filling out paperwork, etc. Preparing for the trip was a lot of work and we had to make sure everything went smoothly so the trip itself would go as smoothly as possible.

The day we had all been preparing for arrived and all the students, parents, and chaperones gathered in the Mifflin County High School faculty parking lot before heading to JFK Airport in New York City. After what felt like an eternity (it was actually closer to nine hours), we arrived in London and spent the entire first day traveling through the night, sightseeing around the city, and battling jet lag.

We met our amazing tour guide, Gemma, and immediately fell in love with her (joking around with her, begging her to come home with us!) She was with us for about three days in each of the four countries we visited (five if you include the Vatican), and each place we stopped at had a unique aspect that was so special.

Photo: Olivia Suydam
The Eiffel Tower in Paris.

In London, we saw the popular tourist attractions, including Big Ben, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and many others. I can’t speak for everyone, but the best part of my trip to England was seeing the Tower of London and learning about the history behind it, including its use as a fortress, palace, and prison. As we walked around the Tower, we got to see the royal bedrooms, the prison room where Anne Boleyn was beheaded, the Crown Jewels, and various other features of the historic building, as each room was designed to recreate the use of the place. Overall the architecture was stunningly beautiful and was a highlight of my trip to England.

Afterwards, we took a train through an undersea tunnel and arrived in the amazing country of France, where we visited the famous Eiffel Tower. We were able to spare a whole night to admire the tower advertising the Olympic symbol and recover from the day’s travels. Paris will host the 2024 Olympic Games this July, and it’s clear that they are proud of it, as everywhere you turn there are emblems advertising the event in some way.

One day we visited the Louvre, home of the Mona Lisa. It was very crowded with people from all over the world, but it was a great experience to see thousands of exhibits and artworks from different cultures. Our chaperones and tour guide organized a fun treasure hunt for us. We (students) split into groups and set off to learn about the artworks.

Unfortunately, at this point in the trip, people were starting to get sick, and putting a few sick students on a bus with everyone else was bound to spell disaster. As expected, most people finished the trip battling colds, but I think it bonded us all more as we talked about who had tissues or cough drops to share with the group.

Despite the illness that was rampant in the group, we still managed to have a good time and departed by train for Barcelona, ​​our wonderful Gemma’s hometown. After a long day of travel, we ran down to the beach and dipped our feet in the water. Nothing feels better than the Mediterranean sea flowing over your feet.

Photo: Olivia Suydam
The gardens of Castel Gandolfo in Italy.

The main highlights in Spain were the beautifully produced flamenco dancing and the walking/bus tour of Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. Barcelona is not just about sightseeing. “Taste of Spain” We were lucky to be greeted by the culinary team and taught how to make tapas and paella – this was a bit out of my area of ​​expertise as I normally only make Kraft macaroni & cheese and chicken nuggets, but the chefs were kind and patient and the food they prepared was delicious.

For our final destination, we flew to Italy to spend the last 3 days of our trip in the sun. Since the first day was spent on a bus and a plane, the evening was the perfect opportunity to relax in our beautiful hotel, soaking up the sun, reading and chatting by the pool.

However, we were rejuvenated the next day by visiting the Pope’s summer villa. As the current Pope does not use the grounds, they opened it up to the public so everyone could enjoy the beautiful gardens. We then visited Vatican City (our fifth and final country) in the scorching heat and walked around the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. Our last day saw other popular and beautiful sites of Roman history, including the Colosseum, which was my favorite part of the trip. It was very interesting to be able to walk around the site where the gladiator fights took place. Our last night in Rome ended with us returning to the hotel and packing for a full day drive back to the US the next day.

We left the hotel at 6:45am (European time) and arrived back at MCHS at around 2am (US time). It was bittersweet saying goodbye to Europe, but it was especially sad to say goodbye to Gemma, who had made such a huge impact on all of our lives.

This trip with the Mifflin County Travel Club was truly a once in a lifetime experience. This trip pushed me out of my comfort zone in more ways than one. “World Traveler,” I made so many new friends with classmates I had never spoken to before, even though we had been going to school together for so long. The bonds we made on this trip were amazing. We played pranks, told jokes, and laughed our heads off on the side of the road trying to time our super fast ride to catch the bus.

Photo: Olivia Suydam
Palace of Westminster in London.

We will always be bonded by the memories (and illnesses) we shared on this journey, and none of us will ever forget that we were the 39s group.

Goodbye Europe, until we meet again.

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Olivia Swidum is a Mifflin County High School graduate of the Class of 2024. She is currently working as a reporter and summer intern at the Sentinel.

Photo: Olivia Suydam
London Cathedral.