We each began our journey as individuals, individuals all going on the same trip with a couple of friends, for the time of our lives. We did have an amazing experience with our friends. However, we did not come back as individuals. We came back as a family.
I embarked on this journey hardly knowing anyone. In fact, some of them I hadn’t ever talked to before. But through our games of charades, our sleepless flights, as well as our long days and nights together, we began to get to know each other. I made friends, shared many memories and watched my dreams turn into reality as I traveled all around London and Paris with this group.
I can’t even put into words how truly amazing this experience was, and although we were only there for nine days, I saw some of the things I thought that I would never get the chance to see: the Eiffel Tower, Windsor Castle, da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and the beautiful Palace of Versailles.
The minute I got back, I was asked what my most memorable part of the trip was. My mind went blank. I couldn’t think of only one thing that I enjoyed the most. We did and saw so much, and I loved every second of it. I couldn’t pick a favourite.
The architecture of the cathedrals was unlike anything I had ever seen before and the history behind each place was astounding. I could hardly believe that I stood in a castle that was over 900 years old, that I walked through the same halls King Louis XIV walked through or that I was in Europe, somewhere I never thought that I’d be.
Mr. and Mrs. Christiansen provided me with the chance of a lifetime. I saw an incredible part of the world, something I only thought that I would see in social studies textbooks or in my dreams. I can’t thank them enough for the amazing experience that I will hold with me and remember forever.