Photos.

Here are all of the photos I took with my own camera. Uploaded for your enjoyment. If students create online albums, please e-mail me at mrgalanis@gmail.com and I'll post links to your albums too.

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-J(etlagged)G

Home safely

The Renaissance Europe crew is home safe! I am posting from the trusty Springfield Public Schools bus that is transporting us safely back to 1170 Carew Street where our families will pick us up! What a great adventure we shared.

Ready to roll.

Here we are, sitting in the hotel lobby.

Paris, we bid you au revoir

-JG & co.

A few more photos

I plan on uploading a multititude of photos that will be viewable within the blog once we are back, but to tide you over, here are some shots from our instagram page.

Moises with a little Galanis and Dylon on the side

Mr. G & Mr. M

Hanging out with our friend Mona

Sophs yesterday

Yesterday, all my troubles seem so far away...


-JG

Sunday

A new hotel meant a new breakfast experience for our travelers. Dining on croissants, bread, cheese, and mixed fruit juice with an enormous group of Asian travlers was how we spent our early morning.

Following our filling breakfast we headed straight to the Lourve, which was spectacular. It was so massive that the two hours we had to explore felt like one of the most rushed periods of time on the whole trip. I believe that every student had an opportunity to see the Mona Lisa, and from there the experiences were quite different depending on peoples' choices. I walked with Ally and Alex, as seen on our instagram, and we saw the Greek Sculptures and the section on Egypt. The collections were vast and the presentation was engaging and enjoyable.

Following the Lourve we saw Notre Dam Cathedral. It was a bit strange as we visited it during Sunday mass, but the sheer size of the inside of the cathedral was breathtaking.

Next we ate lunch in smaller groups before having a couple of hours to shop. Dinner followed shopping, which was followed by a trip to a Bascilica on a hill overlooking the city. We headed back to the hotel a little earlier tonight, and in case my writing does not make it clear, we all needed a little down time.

Tomorrow we come home to see YOU.

Merci

-Monsieur Galanis

How is it already Sunday morning???

Greetings family and friends. The hustle and bustle of our transition to a new country, and the lack of enthusiasm by some students to take on blog assignments has resulted in no student documentation for yesterday's experiences. Here's how things went over the last 24 hours or so...

Yesterday morning we had out earliest morning of the trip to this point. Our departure from the hotel was 6am. We took a coach bus to St. Pancras Station where we passed through customs and then waited about an hour for our train (see instragam for a photo or two). Loading our luggage onto the train was a bit complicated, but we made due. The ride included a one our tme change, passing under the English channel, and lasted about 2 hours 20 minutes. Satyen convinced many of the kids that they would see dolphins, porpoises and sea turtles as we passed under the channel, but "not to worry, we haven't had an accident in about two years, and it is quite well reinforced!" Ashley and Danielle were disappointed to find out we would actually just be in a pipe and would not see anything. Upon arrival, Satyen insisted that the girls get off the train while the boys passed all the baggage along.

Our first experience was a historical bus tour, including a nice walk in a park, and views of the Louvre, the Arc de Triumph, and a stop at the Eiffel tower for photos. We then took the fastest elevator in Europe 56 floors up for one of the most amazing views that we have seen all week. 360 degree views of Paris, as far as the eye could see. Following the scenic view, we ate an all-you-can-eat dinner at a place called Flam's.

The last two events of the evening were spectacular. Views of the Eiffel Tower at night, including 10:00 sparkles and a boat cruise on the river Seine.

Amazing photos last night. Today we shop and head to the Lourve and Notre Dame Cathedral. While we are all still excited about our last full day, it is sad to think our journey is coming to a close.

-JG

We made it safely to Paris

One hour ahead. Here we are. Free WiFi in the hotel!!!
Eiffel Tower!
-JG

OXFORD

Today we visited the city of Oxford in England. Oxford was a historical city full of classical education and architecture. I immediately felt like this was the type of place I could stay for a while due to the traditional community feel. Oxford University is one of the oldest, well-known, and prestigious universities in the world. It has housed and educated some very famous people including Issac Newton and Bill Clinton. The school emerged from the religious institutions of the dark ages. This is amazing to me that they evolved from a different era. The classic architecture sets the town apart and contributes to the unique appeal of Oxford. Places like the Sheldonian Theater and the Bandian Library from the 17th century represent the gothic traditional architecture that you see at Oxford. I was also impressed by the quality and detail the architecture provided in the town. Overall my main takeaways from Oxford are their respect for education and tradition that contribute to the quality of the town we visited.

-Stephanie
Grade 10

A little bit of sunshne?

While the locals may have been happy about the rain (they have been in a serious drought for quite some time), it certainly dampened our moods a bit yesterday. Our add-on Jack The Ripper tour was cancelled due to weather which was pretty disappointing. After rolling out of bed this morning, I was happy to see the sun shining through the hotel window. I am still pretty groggy, but wanted to send a little love westward. Some of the members of our group have started to be very aware of the fact that our trip will end in just a few short days. I have been very proud of our travelers, from those who rarely leave their homes, to our frequent flyers. We will be traveling to Oxford University and some important sites relating to a writer some of you may have heard of. More to come. Enjoy these photos on instagram!


sleepyheads
Kellie for coco pops
A bit sweet?
Lookin' good!
Couchin' & Slouchin'
Tough
All smiles
HIGH FASHION

-JG

Instagram

I have a fix for the photo problem. I'm a bit tired to coherently explain why I have been unable to post photos, but I am starting an instagram account under the username @renaissanceabroad. Apple and android users who are not on the site yet($1 billion sale!) join up. Otherwise, click the links we post to view photos.

First photo

Our guide

-JG

Nick Greenwich

Today all of us took an excursion to Greenwich. We started off the afternoon with an interesting boat ride on the river Thames. We boarded the boat expecting there to be rain. What we didn't expect was to be standing on the top of an open roof deck in the middle of a down pour. Me being me,I came prepared with proper rain gear. It was awesome. The boat was swaying and we were soaked. On the boat tour we went right under London Bridge, and it was massive. After the boat tour we disembarked and went to the national maritime museum. It was huge! I think the most interesting thing inside was the display of different types of ship lights. It was really cool. After that, we climbed a steep hill in a park to the Royal Observatory. This is the site of the Prime Meridian, where time begins. Inside the museum we looked at different types of telescopes and clocks. Being a geek, I took interest in the atomic clock. It was a single atom to pinpoint time to a millionth of a second. Today was an amazing day, and despite the downpours and wet jeans and shoes, I think we all came out feeling that we had an amazing day.

-Nick
Grade 10

Elieser loved WICKED!

SPOLIER ALERT - this is basically a summary of the musical, so if you haven't seen it and do not want to know everything about it, do not read this!

Part 1: Lemons, Melons, and Pears, Oh My!
Wicked puts a twist on the classic, The Wizard of Oz, which shares the story of the two witches. It takes place in a flashback of Glinda's after the Wicked Witch dies. It shows how the two met in school and gave background information on the bad witch. Originally loathing each other, Glinda and Alfaba became friends after seeing that they are both nice people. They leave together to meet the Wizard to discover he is not what they expected. He is actually an antagonist while both Glinda and Alfaba are on team protagonist. Act 1 ends with Glinda and Alfaba becoming separated while being pursued by the Wizard's guards. The musical numbers emphasize emotions and feelings of characters. The setting are further detailed by the use of props, projected backgrounds and lighting effects. The play writers did an excellent job incorporating comedy into the plot, enhancing the entertainment value.

The second act is action packed. It changes your perspective of many characters of the original Wizard of Oz. Some characters' background stories cross paths in unexpected ways that you would not expect. Other characters roots are not expected. The production was a brilliant spin off of the original Wizard of Oz that you need to see to believe.

-Elieser
Grade 9

Stonehenge

      Going to Stonehenge I only knew one thing about it, all I knew was Stonehenge was a giant rock pile stacked in a shape a circle. Sadly I didn't even know that Stonehenge was in England. Leaving stonehenge, I learned it was finished in 1600BC, as well who made it, and how it may have been built.
     The rocks that make up Stonehenge were cut and shaped in Wales then the rocks were shipped over. Stonehenge has 3 important rocks the Sassoon, blue stone and the Heel stone. The smaller rocks , the blue stones, make up 2 semi circles around the Sassoon rocks, which are bigger, and those make a full circle in the middle. Even though Stonehenge was made over 3000-5000 years ago by the beacons; they knew about how the sun worked so on June 21st, the summer equinox, something amazing happens. What happens on this day is the light reflects off the heel stone and shines through the middle of the circle. 
     What fascinates me the most is how did these people pick up these giant rocks and stack them? How did the rocks stay standing for this long? Could it have been that that giants made Stonehenge and they just died years after everything was finished? Or Aliens? Maybe then beacons took all the undeserved credit for Stonehenge.  
     Over Thousands of years many objects have been discovered, revealing many things about Stonehenge. Even with all of the discoveries, Stonehenge still remains shrouded in mystery. 

-Kellie
Grade 10

Bath

Hey! Its Nathan everybody! Im here to let you know about today's trip to the city of Bath. It was surprising to see strong Roman influence in Great Britain. A 2,000 year old natural hot spring that Romans used when they occupied the area. While there, I also tasted the water, and immediately felt a little sick. The experience was still pretty cool though. For me, the best part of Bath was the bus ride. 5 hours to catch up on sleeping! Seriously though,  I would definitely recommend you all take the nice trip to Bath. The architecture is great and so is the overall feel of the town.

-Nathan 
Grade 11

Quick Update

Apoligies for ridiculous typos. I've been going through attempting to fix them in the posts. I can understand why they sell external keyboards for these iPad devices.

Will try to get posts up in a bit from Kellie, Nathan, and Eieser about Stonehenge, Bath, and Wicked!

Same trio going for a 7-8 mile run at 5:30am.

-JG

Emily C

We walk through a doorway, transitioning for a few yards (or meters) from the finished, if a bit dingy world of baggage claims and customs, to some darker, unpolished portion of the Heathrow airport, lined with security officials. We turn left, then right, and now we're back into the light, facing a crowd of people with signs. 

I see Satyen's sign before his face -- the blue EF symbol swirling across the eight and a half by eleven, then the bald-shaven man, whose name I've learned on paper, but can't exactly pronounce yet, is in my sight, but gone just as quickly as the flow of foot traffic pulls me over and to the left, where our dazed group envelops other travelers and waits for our guide. 

Satyen, whose name I've now learned is Indian, and has to be pronounced fully -- saht-ee-yen -- ushers us to the bus, learning our names as we pass by. He's excited to meet us, asking about surnames, expressing some excitement upon hearing the name Gavin. He keeps us awake through the haze of upwards of twenty four hours without sleep via a stream of information and energetic remarks about his amazement at being alive. "Eighty percent water! How is it I'm not just a puddle on the floor?" Between the enthusiasm and the accent, we're awake. 

Throughout the day, as we learn about the obelisk damaged by a World War One zeppelin along the River Thames, and the London eye, and countless war memorials, we also get a glimpse into Satyen's life. Ever the Irishman, he jokes with Mr. Galanis about fighting the English. As we discuss the differences between British and American school systems (American "public" school translates into British "private"... Yes, it's confusing), I hear about his son, Indra, who was born three months premature, and how our guide isn't sure where he'll send his child to school. He talks about an alternative to regular schooling, one where kids learn to interact and explore, and I think of Montessori and Renaissance. 

As we stand in Trafalgar Square, looking down Baker Street, Satyen remarks about how David Cameron is a dork, and the Brits really preferred Tony Blair. He points to the Olympic Clock in front of the Natural Gallery, saying that Londoners aren't quite sure what the artists behind the Olympic symbol did with themselves, as it looks like some sort of deconstructed swastika. "Well look at it! What were they doing with all that money?" From then on, it's all we see when we look at the jagged geometry. 

Satyen is a reminder of two things: how small the world is in some places, and how big it really is. Satyen is an Irishman who spent part of his childhood in India, who lives in Western England, who brings groups of Canadians and Americans (who he claims are his favorites) all around Europe and speaks five languages. In some places, international travel is just a few hours on a train. But at the same time, his remarks about the girth and diversity of the US in comparison to Europe remind us that geography, while it is bridged by Internet and television and planes, still limits many. We remember to value our travel and our lives. Like Satyen said as we first entered the bus, it is great to be alive, great that we aren't just puddles on the floor. 

-Emily
Grade 11

A proper football match by Gavin

After going sight seeing most of the day, only three out of the whole group went to a Barclays Premier League football (soccer) game. The game was outstanding! The two teams were Arsenal and Wigan Athletic. As soon as I stepped onto the stadium grounds I had the biggest smile EVER on my face. Arsenal had home advantage and were favored to win the match. As soon as the game began, just about every seat in the stadium (which can hold over 60,000 people) filled up. The game started slowly. The defense for Arsenal were not paying attention and let the Wigan Athletic forwards slip past at lightning speed. They left their goalie alone and Wigan scored their first goal. 1-0 Wigan. About five minutes later the same thing happened? 2-0 Wigan! Arsenal was getting "bloody" mad at this point (particularly the goalie) and they were in need of two goals! As a defenseman myself, I couldn't help but think how important my position is, even though sometimes I forget. Being in the crowd was like being at a concert where everyone knew all of the words. It was interesting to hear thousands of people singing various songs to the tunes of familiar songs. It felt a lot different from games in the US. At about the 23 minute mark, Arsenal scored and the crowd went ridiculous. Proud English soccer fans held their scarfs over their heads, photos were snapped, songs were sung, and we went into halftime, 2-1.

As the second half began, Arsenal and their fans were hungry for that second goal, necessary to tie the game. The Arsenal played some amazing soccer, sorry, football, in the second half but couldn't find the goal to tie the game. The game ended 2-1 Wigan. What I enjoyed most about the game was the crowd. Leaving the stadium to the entrance of the Tube was unreal. People were packed together like sardines slowly passing police on horses and people asking for money for charities for about 30-45 minutes before we finally boarded the tube home. The difference between the fans here and the fans back home is huge, and I would love to go to another game some day.

The first day in England was priceless, despite spending a lot of money, and falling asleep on the Tube on the way home from the game.

-Gavin
Grade 9

Morning run!!!

"Run Europe" has commenced. Alex F., Emily C. and I got in a 5 kilometer run this morning complete with suburban neighborhoods, steep hills, high winds, and plenty of smiles. Excited for the day!! It's a rainy one.
-JG

What's in store for Tuesday?

1) For 3 of us, a 6:30am run in the city before breakfast!! (it's 1:30am now, someone do the math for me?)
2) A long bus ride to see Stonehenge and Bath
3) Fish & Chips dinner
4) Some of us will be attending a production of WICKED
5) More late night blog recaps!!!! Good Night Springfield. -Galanis, Cote, Carmichael and the rest of the Renaissance Abroad Crew

A look at Monday from Linnell

We arrived a bit after 6 am. Most of us had been up since early Sunday morning and some were approaching 24 hours of being awake. A the airport we met our tour guide, Satyen, and then hopped onto our coach. We headed to our hotel as most Londoners headed to work. When we got to the hotel our rooms weren't ready so we dropped off our bags into one of our rooms that was prepared and headed to the Tube station across the street from the hotel. The Tube is what they call their subway. Since many of us did not sleep on the plane, many were exhausted, but we pushed through for our own good! After the ride we ate breakfast in a small park. We spent a lot of time around the Thames River and Traglafar Square. We visited the National Gallery Art Museum. Our tour guide told us all museums are free because they pay higher taxes over here. I was so tired in the square that I fell asleep sitting with the group at the Olympic countdown clock. After this, we went to Covenant Garden, ate lunch, and did some shopping. We continued our circle around the river, passing by the London Eye, which is an enormous Ferris Wheel that takes 30 minutes to go around and costs 20 pounds. After a ridiculous among of awake time, we made it back to the hotel for dinner and went right to sleep. Most of the day seemed like a dream, partly due to exhaustion and partly due to the wonder of being in London again!
-Linnell
Grade 10

Moises' Travels

As I woke up, I could hear the birds chirping out the window sill. I got up and slumly waddled to the restroom. I'm just just kidding. In the days leading up to the the trip I did a little last minute organization. I had to first get my clean laundry and go back home. Then, after I packed my bags, I went to a few stores to get my last few things for the trip such as headphones. I also put money on my pre-paid card. When we reached the school, everyone, with the exception of me, Elieser, and our families, gathered in a large circle. I have no clue what they were doing. We quickly went onto the bus. The trip to Boston was over an hour, but it felt like 20 minutes. The whole process in the airport was actually pretty quick. We waited for quite a while before we got onto the plane. The trip to England wasn't that bad. Our first plane had movies, music, games, etc. and although the music wasn't very good, the movies were. There were a few movies that were in theaters just months ago. When we reached Heathrow Airport, everyone was tired. Even though everyone was tired, and maybe a little grumpy, we were all excited for our trip.
-Moises
Grade 9

Marissa's First Flight

My first flight was pretty intense. I didn't have a window seat like I had wanted, but Ally was nice enough to switch with me. I was sitting next to Kellie and when we took off I was freaking out! The plane was shrieking when we were going down the runway and it was really loud. When we got into the air it shook some more and I was nervous because I am afraid of heights. Being that far off the ground in a shaking piece of metal was not comforting! But once we were higher up the plane stopped shaking, and I felt okay. The higher up we got, the better the view became! I have photos of our view of the coast as we left, and then of the ocean and the clouds. When it got boring to look out the window, I watched Napoleon Dynamite on the screen that was in the back of the seat in front of me. After the movie, I fell asleep and did not wake up until the sun was rising and we were approaching the airport in London. Once we were below the clouds, it looked sooooooo cool. I took like 30 photos of what I saw and I had my face against the window for the descent. The ground looked like little squares of green and as we got closer the shapes of cars and buildings became visible. It was awesome!
-Marissa
Grade 10

Quick check in - JG

Greetings family and friends. I have two entries I'm about to post (which you will likely have already read since they will appear above this one). Our schedules are extremely busy from morning til night and it seems blog posts will likely only be posted after 11pm, which for you folks is 6. Try to check in on the blog between 6 and 8 each night. Coming up soon are posts from Gavin, Emily C, Moises, Marissa, and Linnell. I will be assigning topics to 3 to 4 students each day. They will write during the day and then I will type & post at night after everyone is safe in their respective hotel rooms. Hope all's well across the pond! JG

Another quick check in from London

Caught a little wifi at an ice cream shop! The flight went well. All people and baggage made it in one piece! Our tour guide, Satyen the Irishman is an incredible guide and we are enjoying his company and expertise immensely. More significant post about our day to come..... All is well across the pond!! -Mr. Galanis (I promise I will not be the only one to post, we just haven't had much opportunity yet, it's been go go go!!!)

So long, City of Homes

The moment we have been anticipating for almost a year is finally here! Thank you so much to all of the families for the warm send-off. -Mr. Galanis

A poem for my travelers...

Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE poetry. I came across a poem that I wanted to share with my travelers...

"Travel"
by Edna St. Vincent Millay

THE railroad track is miles away,
And the day is loud with voices speaking,
Yet there isn't a train goes by all day
But I hear its whistle shrieking.

All night there isn't a train goes by,
Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming,
But I see its cinders red on the sky,
And hear its engine steaming.

My heart is warm with the friends I make,
And better friends I'll not be knowing;
Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take,
No matter where it's going.

5 Days 'til Departure!

As the travelers count down the days, I'm sure that for many of us, the pre-trip jitters are starting to set in.

"I hope I don't forget anything."

"Who do I need to bring back gifts for?"

"Who do I know who has one of those charger things I can borrow?"

"What do I still need to buy before I leave?"

"I better do this laundry!"

As was recommended at the last meeting we had at our fearless leader's home, I found myself navigating to dontforgetyourtoothbrush.com which I have found to be hugely helpful. Some of the suggestions they put on the suggested list don't apply and some were downright amusing. I don't think I'll be shutting off the pump on my personal pond, preparing my greenhouse, or packing my overalls for this trip! It's nice that you can customize your list by deleting their suggestions and adding your own. For any travelers who haven't set up an account with dontforgetyourtoothbrush, I'll say that it has definitely put me at ease as I prepare myself for leading this educational & cultural journey.

Just for fun, I'll share my lists with you.... (note: still a work in progress!) Maybe this will help someone remember something or folks can remind me of things I'm forgetting (This means YOU, Miss Cote!)!!

1 WEEK BEFORE
Call Lawnmower Repair Place
Mow Lawn
Call Phone company
Call Health Insurance
Buy sunglasses
Meet up with Shelli to borrow travel power adapter
Charge phone card
e-mail itinerary to Uncle Paul
Get a good recommendation for a book to download on ipad

1 DAY BEFORE
Put tags on bags
Leave copy of passport at home

NIGHT BEFORE
Pack!
Charge Batteries for ipad, camera, phone
Set out travel clothes

AS YOU LEAVE
Move cat food bowl to floor with 1.5 scoops
Leave porch light on
Turn down/off heat

Packing List
Athletic shorts
10 miler long sleeve tee
Student information folder
IPad
Kinvaras (running sneakers)
Medium bag
Wallet
Camera battery charger
Small "Europe" bag
iPad charger
3 pair smartwool socks
Foreign Plug Adaptors
Umbrella
Bathing Suit
2 pairs jeans
1 pair dress pants
1 button up shirt
1 tie
1 undershirt
1 hoodie
8 pairs underwear
Don't Forget Your Toothbrush!
lotion
Toothpaste
Deodorant
Walking Shoes
Watch
Raincoat
Hat or Cap
6 pair cotton Socks
black Jacket
1 Belt
1 pair Shorts
8 T-Shirts
Itinerary
Photocopies of passport and insurance policy
Mobile Phone Charger
Mobile Phone
Camera
iPod Water Bottle
First Aid Kit
Vitamin supplements
Sunglasses
Snacks for journey

Good luck to everyone else putting together your lists and I look forward to seeing folks in the Renaissance parking lot on Sunday!!!

-Mr. Galanis