As the youngest of four, I have always been surrounded by family and never too far from home. So imagine my parents’ surprise when I told them I wanted to join the Mifflin County Travel Club and go off, more or less by myself, for two weeks and see the world. My mom was not a fan of the idea at first, but since I would be freshly graduated from high school, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to have my own adventure.

In the year leading up to the trip, there were a lot of selling and sorting fundraisers, informational meetings/get togethers, and filling out forms. Preparing for the trip was a daunting process, making sure everything fell into place so that the trip itself could run as smoothly as possible.

The day we’d all been preparing for came and all students, parents and chaperones met in the teacher lot of Mifflin County High School before traveling to JFK airport in New York City. After what felt like forever (actually closer to nine hours), we arrived in London and we hit the ground running, spending that whole first day, after traveling all night, sightseeing in London and fighting jet lag.

We met our amazing tour guide, Gema, and we all quickly fell in love with her (even making jokes and begging her to come home with us). She stayed with us as we stayed about three days in each of the four countries we visited (five if you count the Vatican) and each stop we made had its own unique aspect that made it so special.

Photo by OLIVIA SUYDAM
The Eiffel Tower, Paris.

In London we saw Big Ben, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and so many other popular tourist attractions. I can’t speak for everyone, but my favorite part of visiting the United Kingdom was seeing the Tower of London and learning all about the history behind the Tower, such as how it was a fortress, palace and prison. As we walked around the tower, each room was designed to depict what that area was used for, so we got to see the royal bedchamber, the prison room, where Anne Boleyn was beheaded, the Crowned Jewels, and various other features of the historical landmark. Overall the architecture was mind blowing and so beautiful, making it the highlight of my trip to the UK.

We then traveled by train, through a tunnel under water, to get to the wonderful country of France, where we immediately visited the famous Eiffel Tower. We were lucky enough to unwind from our day of traveling with an entire evening set aside to admire the tower that was advertising the Olympic symbol. Paris will be hosting the 2024 Olympics this July, and it is apparent they are proud, since everywhere you turn, there is an emblem of some kind promoting the event.

One of our days was also spent visiting the Louvre, the home of the Mona Lisa. Despite being super crazy and buzzing with people from all over, it was an amazing experience to see the thousands of displays and all of the artwork of different cultures. The chaperones along with our tour guide created a fun scavenger hunt. We (students) broke into groups and set off to learn about the artwork.

Unfortunately, at this point in our trip, people were starting to fall ill, and when you stick a handful of sick students on a bus with everyone else, disaster is bound to strike. Sure enough we ended the trip with close to everyone having fought the head cold that attacked us, but I think it brought us closer together as we bonded over who had tissues or cough drops to share with the group.

Despite the sickness spreading through the group, we managed to continue having the time of our lives and set off for Barcelona by train, the hometown of our wonderful Gema. After a long day of traveling, we got to run down to the beach and dip our feet in the water. There is no better feeling than the Mediterranean Sea running over your feet.

Photo by OLIVIA SUYDAM
The garden at Castel Gandolfo, Italy.

Our main attractions in Spain were the beautifully crafted Flamenco dance we saw as well as the walking/bus tour of La Sagrada Familia and park Guell. We didn’t just sightsee in Barcelona, we also got hands on with “a Taste of Spain.” We were fortunate enough to be hosted by a cooking crew who taught us how to make tapas and paella. This was a little out of my region of expertise, since I usually only cook Kraft mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets, but the chefs were kind and patient and the food they prepared was delicious.

For our final stop, we flew to Italy to spend the last three days of our trip in the sun. The first day was spent on buses and planes so the evening was the perfect opportunity to unwind at our beautiful hotel, sunbathing, reading and chatting by the pool.

However, the next day we were back on our feet as we visited the Pope’s summer house. The current Pope does not use this property, so he opened it to the public so everyone can enjoy the beautiful gardens. We then traveled to Vatican City (our fifth and final country) in the blistering heat and got to walk around inside the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. We spent our last day seeing other popular and beautiful parts of Roman history including my absolute favorite part of the trip, the Coliseum. Being able to walk around where the gladiatorial fights were held was so interesting. We ended our last night in Rome by heading back to the hotel to pack, for the next day would be a full day of traveling back to the USA.

We left the hotel at 6:45 a.m. (European time) and did not arrive back at MCHS until around 2 a.m. (American time). It was a bittersweet goodbye to Europe but it was true heartbreak having to part with Gema, who made such an impact on all of our lives.

This trip with Mifflin County Travel Club was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It pushed me out of my comfort zone in so many ways. Not only did I become a “world traveler,” I made so many new friends with peers I had gone to school with for so long, but never talked to until now. The bonds formed on this trip were truly beautiful as we orchestrated pranks, formed jokes and laughed so much as we timed ourselves trying to load onto our bus with super speed on the side of the road.

Photo by OLIVIA SUYDAM
Palace of Westminster, London.

We will all always be connected by the memories (and sickness) we shared on this trip, and none of us will ever forget that we are the 39-second group.

Goodbye Europe, until we meet again.

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Olivia Suydam is a 2024 graduate of Mifflin County High School. She is currently a summer intern reporter at The Sentinel.

Photo by OLIVIA SUYDAM
A cathedral in London.