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Fontbonne Takes on Europe During Spring Break

Samantha Mitchell '25


Every year Fontbonne goes on a trip during spring break. This year the trip was to France and Italy. Fontbonne is partnered with a tour company called ACIS and they are given a tour guide from them.

This trip was an amazing experience for all of the students and staff who went. The trip was 9 days long. The trip left from JFK airport on April 6th and arrived back on April 14th. There were four chaperones who went with the school: Mr. Petric, Mr. Cleary, Mr. Surdyka and Ms. DiCarlo.


The first day was an overnight flight out of JFK. The flight left at 7:30 pm EST. And arrived in Paris around 9 am CEST. The flight was about 7 and ½ hours.


On day 2, the trip arrived in Paris. Everyone was ecstatic to see the Eiffel Tower and all the other amazing sights of Paris. Another of the magnificent landmarks that was seen on the first day was Notre Dame.

“Although we were unable to go inside, it was still really cool to be able to see it,” explained Jacqueline Bochierri ‘25.


After we saw Notre Dame, we continued on our walking tour of the city. We were able to see amazing views of the Seine River and the Eiffel Tower. After, the walking tour the whole group headed to dinner together.


Once we were done with dinner, it was the moment we were all waiting for: time to go see the Eiffel Tower. We were able to go to the very top of the tower and see the extraordinary view of the city.


“It was my dream growing up to see the Eiffel Tower in person and I can’t believe it actually came true,” said Giada Amendolara ‘25.


Day 3 was our second and last day in Paris. We got an early start and got some croissants and cafe au laits, or lattes.


This was a very exciting day because we were going to the Louvre. We were able to see a lot of famous pieces of artwork. Seeing the Mona Lisa in person was breathtaking. At night we were able to go on a river tour on the Seine River.


“Seeing the Eiffel Tower from the Seine River was so pretty; it felt unreal,” Jordana Terzuoli explained.

On day 4 we had a very early flight out of Paris into Nice. Once we arrived in Nice, we got lunch and looked at the bright blue Mediterranean sea. Then we went on a bike tour, which was very fun.


“My favorite part of the whole trip was the bike tour. It was so different from everything else we did,” said Giavanna Castelle.


On day 5 we took a bus tour up the mountains of Nice. At the top of the mountain there was an amazing view. We were able to see the whole city. Later we went to a perfume making class. It was a very interesting experience where we were taught about how perfume is made and were able to make our own, which we took home with us.


On day 6, we left France and drove into Pisa. Everyone was very excited to be in Italy. As much as we loved France, we knew that there was so much more to see in Italy.


We were able to see the Leaning Tower and all of the other monuments surrounding it, including the cathedral. After we stopped in Pisa, we continued into Florence.


On day 7, we went on a walking tour of Florence in the morning. In the afternoon we went to see a very important part of Renaissance history, Michelangelo’s David. Everyone was thrilled to see this beautiful piece of art, especially Mr. Cleary. After dinner we continued on to Rome.


Day 8 was a very compelling day. First we went to see the Colosseum. “It’s amazing how the Colosseum is still so pretty considering how old it is,” said Adrianna Iljazi. Then we went to see the Vatican. We saw the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. We ended this trip of a lifetime with an authentic pizza dinner, then went on an evening stroll to Piazza Navona.


The trip ended on day 9 when we departed from Rome, back to New York. Everyone was very happy to see their families after a long time of being away.


Overall this was an extraordinary experience for all who went and I'm sure anyone who was on the trip would go back in a heartbeat.




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