Versailles

Visiting the Palace of Versailles was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The Palace was originally a hunting lodge for King Louis VII, but was turned into a more ornate chateau by King Louis XIV during the 1600s. The town of Versailles is about a 45 minute train ride from Paris and the Palace is only a 10 minute walk from the Versailles station. When we got there, we saw the extensive gardens and then went inside to tour the rooms. Everything is beautiful and ornate with gold detail, and all of the windows have picturesque views of the gardens. We also saw the famous Hall of Mirrors where the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 to end World War I. After leaving the Palace we wandered through the beautiful town of Versailles and shopped in an outdoor market.  It was a great opportunity to see what France looks like outside of Paris. I really enjoyed touring the Palace and town of Versailles and hope to return to France soon.

Stephanie Lizardi, Class of 2014

Day 12

After what felt like a very long trip Day 12 finally arrived. I could not believe that this was our last day in Paris and have to start the process of heading home. Although the trip seemed very long because our jammed packed days we have only been away for 10 days. Personally I did not want to go home. I could have stayed in Europe for another week. Today was no different than any other day on the trip. We all were up at the crack of dawn getting ready for the days events. Today was the first time that everyone was able to decide which event they would like to go to. Many of us went with Betty and Ron to Invalides, a museum of military history of France, as well as a hospital and retirement home for war veterans. The museum was packed with European military equipment throughout the last 200 years. On display were different uniforms and weapons used throughout many famous wars. One of the best parts of Invalides was the tomb of Napoleon. His bodies lies in a huge tomb in a beautiful hall with a high dome, which is ironic because of how small he was. After viewing the Napoleon's tomb most of started to head back to the hotel to get ready to leave.
          After leaving the museum everyone packed their suitcases and waited to be taken to the airport. Some of us went to the Eiffel tower one last time before we had leave.We finally left the hotel and made our way to the airport. At this point everyone said there goodbyes to Paris and were off to the United States. On the flight I believe the majority of us stayed up the entire time and watched as many movies as possible. The second the plane landed everyone turned their phones back on and were bombarded by mass amounts of emails and texts that were not received over seas. After this everyone said their final goodbyes. Some people were leaving from Logan airport and others were heading back to Bryant for the night. This trip was a once in a lifetime experience, and is something that I will never forget. We had such a great group of students and leaders that made everything so much fun. Hopefully I will be able to return to Europe sometime soon.

Alex Marenco, Class of 2014

Louvre and Bus Tour of Paris

Bonjour everyone!

 

It's such a beautiful time to be in Paris!  We had great weather today in the upper 80s and it's feeling like summer!  Our day consisted of visiting the Louvre and taking a bus tour! We got to the museum around 10am and split into 2 groups and met our tour guide.  She showed us around to the different paintings of Napoleon, famous queens and kings, and Egyptians.  We also saw many different sculptures and one of my favorites was the Mona Lisa!  It was a lot smaller than I imagined but it was a great experience!  After we walked around for an hour we got some lunch at the food court outside the museum and had a chance to do a little shopping.  I got a Paris bag with a map that covers the bag, a charm bracelet for my mom, and a little music box.  After we all met as a group, we had a bus tour of the city of Paris!  It was a great, we got to see shops, the Arc De Triumph, and travel all around the city!  Paris has been amazing so far and I can't wait to travel all around the city and discover new places and more deserts! 

 

Au revoir!

 

Pamela Sitkiewicz

Class of 2014

London Day 3

After a jam-packed day full of insurance markets, museums, musicals, it is almost time for bed.  It was a very long, very hot, very tiring day, but it was all worth it, because we're in London!!  This morning we donned our formal business suits and headed to the tube in order to listen to a presentation by Paul Dalton from Lloyd's of London, the world's leading insurance market.  I personally found the presentation to be very interesting as he discussed the origins of Lloyd's and the different components of an insurance market.  We then headed to Lloyd's of London.

Lloyd's of London was a very interesting building, very different than those we see in the States.  To tell the truth, it is almost ugly, but it is very cool to see.  All of the things that would normally be found on the inside of the  building were placed on the outside to allow for more room on each floor.  All of the water and other pipes and even the glass elevator can be found on the outside of the building.  From the top floor of Lloyd's, we could also see the Olympic Stadium which was very awesome.  Lloyd's of London also held a lot of English History.  For example, it had the logbook of the original sinking of the Titanic, among other things.

After Lloyd's we visited the Bank Museum and learned all about the gold standard, the origins of the National Bank and other interesting things.  We also got to walk around the Royal Exchange which was very high-class and luxurious.  As if that wasn't enough, we then got back on the tube and headed to the British Museum which was massive and beautiful.  My friends and I capitalized on the opportunity to view the Rosetta stone.  We also checked out the Egyptian galleries, which have always been my favorite.

This evening we got to see Mama Mia which was amazing! I had never seen the show or even the movie before so I was so excited.  The music was so catchy and the actors were so talented and engaging.  The entire audience was standing and singing and dancing at the end of the show.  Overall it was a great day.

Summer Lyons, Class of 2014

Last night in Paris

Good afternoon!

 

It's our last day in Paris! I'm going to miss waking up next to the Eiffel Tower every morning and having a great view on the balcony!  The past 10 days have gone by very fast in England and Paris.  Everyday has been an exciting and new adventure with many miles of walking and hopping on and off of the off the Tube and Metro.  For the last day, Angela, Jamie, Ramesh and I went to the Centre de Pompedue.  I learned about the museum in high school when I was taking French so I thought it would be exciting and I wanted to go visit all of the paintings and sculptures.  One of my favorite parts of the trip was climbing the Eiffel Tower.  We did it at 10pm on Tuesday and it was amazing seeing the whole city and all of the buildings and lights!  One of my favorite parts of England was going to Westminster Abby.  I loved the architecture of the inside and the beautiful stained glass windows. 

This trip has been a once of a lifetime experience and I hope that I will come back very soon and travel more in Europe.

 

Au revoir!

Pamela Sitkiewicz

Class of 2014

Paris

My best day on the trip had to be the second night in Paris. I most definitely enjoyed London, but since our hotel here in Paris is almost directly in front of the Eiffel Tower I enjoyed the view. The first night here in Paris, a group of my friends and I just went out to eat and walk past the Eiffel Tower. Once we saw how many people sit on the grass area in front of the tower we planned to do the same. We walked around the hotel in search of something to eat and we found a nice french/italian place that gave a a meal of panini and fries for a fairly good price. Once we picked up our food we sat on our towel and ate right in front of the Eiffel Tower. We had a great time just sitting there and eating while many others did the same. Aside from having so many men offer us wine, we had an amazing time. Just sitting there chatting, eating, and enjoying the view. It was an experience to remember for very long. I was so glad I decided to go out even though I was so tired from the morning activities. Even though I had seen the Tower light up the night before, I still enjoyed it as if it had been my first time. It is such a great thing to watch!


Jessica Guerrero, Class of 2014

Lloyds of London

Reflecting on the past two weeks, my favorite part of the trip had to be the visit to Lloyds of London. The structure of the building was absolutely amazing. All of the pipes and elevators were located outside of the building and the modern façade truly stood out against the older building.  After going inside the building, we were able to ride the elevator which was technically outside. The glass walls gave an amazing view of the city and we were able to see for miles. Next, we went into the trading room where we saw hundreds of people working. It was really a cool site and there was so much energy in the room. We learned all about the history of Lloyds and even got to see the insurance claim for when the Titanic sunk.  After our tour we all walked around the financial district together, blending in quite nicely as we were wearing our business formal. This day was truly one to remember and absolutely one of the highlights of my trip. 

Meghan Crowley, Class of 2014

Lloyd's of London

It is very difficult to name one single event as my favorite from this trip because everything we did in both London and Paris was extremely exciting and interesting. However, one event that stood out to me was when we visited Lloyd's of London, the famous insurance market place. This building was enormous and very modern and even had a glass elevator which allowed us to see incredible views of the city of London. The building also had a central cluster of crossing elevators that started on the main business floor and continued up to many other floors. Not only was the construction of this market place cool to see, but the information we learned about their functions and tasks was also very interesting. Lloyd's of London is known for insuring unusual and strange things including body parts, miniature sculptures, and basically anything you want. Our tour guide showed us a book where they keep track of all their "losses" and which they write in everyday with a traditional quill. In this book The Titanic was recorded as a loss after "the unsinkable ship" tragically hit an ice burg. This was really exciting to see because the Titanic is such a well known story. After hearing everyone's reaction to the tour when it was over, I think it is safe to say that everyone really enjoyed this part of the trip and will not forgot visiting the extremely successful office.
-Kady Deane

Bus Tours

My favorite part of the trip were the bus tours of the two cities. They gave us an overview of some of the most important historical places and events. They were also very helpful in planning what places to visit during our stay. I feel that the bus tours taught me a lot about London and Paris. I would definitely recommend them in the future.

- Elise Daniell

straight to the top

I would have to say that the best part of my Sophomore International Experience was climbing the Eiffel Tower in Paris. At a first glance, the massive iron structure appears intimidating, but once you are up close to the tower, there is a feeling that reels you in and forces you to want to get to the top. It cost 9 Euros to climb 674 steps to the second level of the tower, & then take the lift to the third level. The walk was invigorating. The view was incredible. Arriving at the final platform was an accomplishment that seemed very much anticipated by all of the people at the top. France is an absolutely wonderful place, with so much culture and history surrounding you everywhere you go, but for me, it would be hard to imagine Paris if the Eiffel had actually been torn down...it is truly, so much more than an icon. Looking down over the city of Paris from the Eiffel Tower really makes you think about how much of the world there is left to experience.

--

Angela Rosario Potter 2014

Walk to Remeber

My favorite part of the trip was being able to have our own time at night and throughout some days.  My personal favorite was our first night in Paris.  The group went to Notre Dame and then after my girlfriend and I went back and walked all the way back to our hotel which was quite a few miles.  It was really nice to see the beautiful city and to be able to stop where we wanted for as long as we wanted.  I enjoyed stopping and see Notre Dame a lot along with the walk down the river seeing the Museum D'Orsay which really is an amazing sight.  Topping off the entire journey as getting back by the hotel and seeing the Eiffel tower light up and sparkle.  it was indeed a perfect day in the amazing city of Paris.
class of 2014 Seth Weimer

May Vickers - My favorite part

My favorite part of the SIE London Paris trip was climbing down the Eiffel tower at night and seeing it sparkle on my way down. The sparkle lasts for about ten minutes and occurs approximately every hour. The sparkle from the tower was reflected on the buildings. This was my favorite part of the trip because I have never seen any other kind of architecture like the Eiffel tower in other countries. The metal looks duller in the daylight but at night the whole tower is lit up and really reflects French culture and their appreciation of fine art. I had a wonderful trip and hope to return back to London and Paris in the future.

Not Getting Lost

The London Paris SIE trip was a lot of fun. One of the things I am most proud of is the fact that I was able to navigate my way around two foreign cities without getting lost. I had never really used public transportation before and I was able to figure out the tube/metro in both places. One was even in a foreign language. It also helped me learn how to read maps better, and I feel like I would no longer be afraid of traveling in larger cities. Rebecca Revaz '14

Piccadilly Circus

My favorite part of the trip was walking around Piccadilly Circus in London. This gave us a great opportunity to sample the local cuisine and meet locals. The fish and chips and the steak and ale pie were especially delicious! The locals in London were for the most part, very welcoming and helpful. These experiences made the trip very enjoyable. Lauren Fayne, Class of 2014

Stairway to Memories

Sitting in our hotel, I am thinking back to all the fun activities and seminars that we have done while out of the United States. Of all the things that I recall doing climbing the stairs of the Eiffel Tower was by far the most memorable. Although we did not do this as a group, my roommate and I took the potentially overwhelming physical challenge together, literally one step at a time. We could not walk every step to the top because we were not allowed, but we did hike the 689 steps available to us. From the front door of our hotel it is exactly 400 steps to the base of the Eiffel Tower. We made it to the top in about 12 minutes. By the time we made it to the top it was sunset. We were allowed to take the elevator down to the ground. On our way down the tower started to twinkle. It was magical. I do not think that I will ever forget descending the most recognized monument in the world while it sparkled in the night sky. I could not help but think back to the things that we have learned on the trip. Being on top of one of the tallest structures in Paris allowed me to fully appreciate the beauty of Paris. 1789 steps to the top, but an infinite number of memories on the way down. Denise Wood Class of 2014