European Explorations

The plane hums to life as it takes off down the runway, carrying a handful of seniors towards the unknown lands of Europe on a school trip to remember.

Over spring break this year, 34 JA seniors went on the Europe trip, a final school tour that takes students from Paris to the coastlines of Nice, France, and across the border to Florence and Rome, Italy. This 10-day trip requires quite skillful packing, but luckily most of the students were thorough in their preparations.

“I planned out all my outfits a few weeks in advance, so it was nice to not worry about that,” senior Ali Smith explained. “I had to go get a few things, but packing wasn't too bad at all.”

Prior to leaving, everyone had several expectations built up from past seniors who’ve been on the trip in previous years. But did the trip live up to expectations? Most think so.

“Well, my brother went before me on the trip, and so I had pretty high expectations for it,” senior Ethan Watson commented. “Luckily, it met those expectations and then some. It was really, really good and a super fun trip.”

In each of the cities the group stopped in, there were signature dishes and kinds of food Americans could never even fathom.

“I had escargot (snails) for the first time, which I loved,” senior Sophie Trojanowski admitted. “I had a lot of seafood, like mussels and clams, because we were near the coast, and that's sort of the place to have them. I also ate a ridiculous number of pastries!”

In addition to the culinary experience, students were given several hours of free time in the cities, where the groups of friends could explore on their own.

“I enjoyed going with my friends during the free time to different shops and restaurants in the cities and just enjoying ourselves,” senior Nick Rocco revealed. “I definitely enjoyed being on vacation with friends instead of family; it made it a different experience and gave the trip a different and more fun feel.”

When it came to picking a favorite city from the trip, the overwhelming majority answered with one of the Italian cities due to their rich history and beautiful scenery.

“I think Rome was my favorite city, which honestly surprised me a little bit,” Trojanowski expressed. “I just felt like it had the most interesting and beautiful historical background. There was so much to see there and so much to sort of feel in the energy of the city, and that made it a lot nicer.”

Since the trip took students through four cities in ten days, it was only a very brief introduction to Europe. Due to this, each student created a mental list of places they would want to go back to in the future and explore further.

“I definitely want to go back to Italy and go more to the countryside,” Smith contemplated. “But I think I’d also like to go back to France and hike more and experience more than just the city. The pacing was definitely a little fast, but if I was there by myself, I wouldn't have done that much, and I’m glad we got to see everything we did.”

Despite the relatively quick pacing, the 2025 Europe Trip was an incredible opportunity filled with experiences these seniors will carry with them forever.

“The Louvre was probably the highlight of my trip,” Rocco reflected. “One part that made it more fun was how our guide Simon had us compete to take the funniest photo acting out the paintings, so it was a super cool experience. The entire trip was honestly just amazing.”

While the majority of the experience was quite positive, it wouldn’t be a school trip without some difficulties or tense moments.

“The worst parts were definitely the flights,” Trojanowski rationalized. “Some guy threw up right next to me on the way there, and the whole plane smelled like vomit for the rest of the time. And then on the way back, I had to sit directly next to Mr. Thimsen in a super tiny seat, and the person in front of me reclined into me. It was like being in Purgatory.”