From April 5 to April 14, SWHS students traveled from the high school to Europe. Students traveled to Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, and even spent a couple of hours in Germany during a 5 hour layover. Below is a description of all the places that students were able to visit, as well as interesting activities that they spent their time doing. (Not included are the two travel days, April 5 and April 14, since both of these days were spent entirely on a plane, bus, or in an airport.)

Day 1: Saturday, April 6

On the first day of the trip, the group arrived in Madrid at around 12 in the afternoon and split into two groups. One group traveled to a Real Madrid soccer game, while the other group went shopping along some of the streets of Madrid. On the streets of Madrid, they visited one of the most famous streets, Las Ramblas, a strip of stores, restaurants, and saw beautiful agriculture.

Day 2: Sunday, April 7

On the second day of the trip, students mostly went sightseeing. Their first stop was the Royal Palace, which began its construction in 1735. They then went on to the Prada Museum. At this museum, they competed in teams in a scavenger hunt to see who could find select paintings throughout the building and describe a certain fact about them; the teachers won on account of cheating! There was then a walking-tour of Madrid, which included returning to Las Ramblas, along with a conclusion of dinner in city-centre.

Day 3: Monday, April 8

The third day was not the most interesting of days, as the first portion was mainly a travel day; students rode on a bullet train to Barcelona. As soon as they got there, students explored Catalonia Square, where students partook in a shopping spree and admired the city.

Day 4: Tuesday, April 9

The fourth day was extremely busy, as it was scheduled entirely as a sightseeing day. Students explored la Placa de Gaudi, Basilica de Sagrada Familia y Park Güell. Students then took a bike tour, which led students in groups through the busy streets of Barcelona. They rode through a park, to a beach, across boardwalks, and eventually through the rain! Later on, students were given the opportunity to either visit an authentic flamenco show, or go shopping around the city.

Day 5: Wednesday, April 10

On the fifth day, students were again split in groups. For about 6 hours, students either went shopping or participated in a ¨taste of spain,¨ a cooking competition. In this activity, teams were appointed, and groups were tasked with buying a list of ingredients with only 8 euros. They then prepared the food based on a recipe given to them. At about 6:30, students met back up and had dinner in the MareMagnum. At the end of the end, students rushed to grab their suitcases as they prepared to board a ferry.

Day 6: Thursday April 11

Day six was specifically meant for travel, as students were on a ferry until 8:30 pm. On the ferry, students decided to play card games, look out over the balcony, or catch up on sleep in their room.

Day 7: Friday, April 12

On day seven, students toured multiple places including the coliseum, the roman forum, and the Quartiere Ostiens. All places have beautiful and historically significant architecture. They also toured part of the catacombs, where the scariest thing they viewed was moss, as well as teeth.

Day 8: Saturday, April 13

The last day of the trip, students explored other beautiful landmarks including the Trevi Fountain, Sant’Eustachio, and the Vatican, where students were able to purchase jewelry that had been blessed by the pope.

Students were thrilled to have gotten the opportunity to travel on this trip and are still reeling from the excitement of it all. Junior, Morgan Saylor, elaborates on her time in Barcelona by noting that “I really loved biking in Barcelona, it was really fun to do an activity with friends while exploring the city and the boardwalk by the ocean.” Hopefully the student body will be able to take more trips out of the country in order to immerse more students in other cultures as this trip allowed many to do.