Local students travel to Italy and France

Ken Johnston

Students from both Rainy River High School and Sturgeon Creek Alternative Program (Stratton) as well as two former students spent their spring break in Italy and France.
Giselle Bonot, Patricia O’Connor and Hillary Hansen of RRHS, Anthony Boersema, Natasha Dyck and Melissa Friesen of SCAP, Madeline Dyck and Anna Galusha (former students) as well as chaperones Joan Aikenhead, June Bonot, Marilyn Hansen, Kendall Olsen, Marilyn Olson and Elisabeth Husser, and the Albert Beller family, departed from Minneapolis, MN on March 11. They flew to Chicago and then to Frankfurt, Germany and then to Rome. In all the trip took 17.5 hours.
The first day they basically settled in to their hotel rooms and then went on a walking tour. On day two they saw more of the city participating in a walking tour. They saw The Pantheon, Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps.
The next day they saw even more impressive sites, visiting the Coliseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, Piazza Venezia and The Forum. Kendall Olsen said the group did see the hospital where Pope John Paul II was and the big screens set up outside for the public to view. “However, he had gone back to his apartment by the time we were there.”
Hiliary Hansen said she was awestruck by the immensity of everything. “Everything was so big. I did not think the coliseum was that big,” saying she had seen pictures before.
Olsen said they wondered how the people could have built such immense structures so long ago.
On day four they travelled to Florence, Italy where they toured St. Francis’ Basilica. All agreed the Frescos were very impressive. “I just wanted to lay on the floor and look up at the paintings,” said Giselle Bonot.
The next day they went on a guided tour of Florence and saw Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, Chiesa di Santa Croce, Ponte Vecchio bridge, Duomo visit, Leather workshop, Gates of Paradise and Giotto’s Bell Tower. The girls really liked Ponte Vecchio as there were many shops there for them to buy souvenirs.
The next stop for the tour was Côte d’Azur. While they were able to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa they did not get to go in it as it is booked well in advance for tours.
Day seven they travelled to Monaco, Eze and Nice. “We saw Prince Ranier’s palace,” said Patricia O’Connor.
One of the chaperones, June Bonot had an accident in Nice. She fell and broke her finger. She ended up having to have surgery and missed a few of the sites. But she later caught up with the group.
Paris was next on the trip’s schedule. They visited the Eifel Tower but were limited in their time there as the day was packed with other tour stops. “The lights on the tower were amazing,” said O’Connor.
Hilary said they also saw the place where Lady Dianna was killed in an automobile accident.
Later on a bus tour of Paris they saw Notre Dame Cathedral, The Arc de Triomphe, Versailles and The Louvre. Kendall said Versailles was very impressive. “We did a main floor tour and saw many rooms with different themes including Marie Antoinette’s bedroom.”
They also saw the Mona Lisa, but it was a quick trip in and out. That was one complaint several people on the trip had. “It was too rushed. I would do it again but much slower,” said O’Connor.
The group had many different meals, but Hilary said, “There was too much pasta.” They also found things were very expensive. “A Coke is about $4 Canadian,” said Olsen and, “They sell pizza by the pound,” added O’Connor. Giselle said there was lots of ice cream and it was really good.
On March 20th they departed Paris for home.