2008 Study Abroad Tour to Chartres, France
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Students, area residents return from exciting French tour abroad
UW-Sheboygan tour returned January 24
What started out as “Bon voyage!” and “Au revoir” has become “Wow!” and “The trip of a lifetime!” for UW-Sheboygan students and several area residents who traveled to France earlier this month as part of the 2008 UW-Sheboygan Continuing Education Study Abroad Tour.
On January 24, 51 students, faculty, staff and community residents returned to Sheboygan after a nine-day whirlwind tour of the French countryside as part of the Study Abroad Tour, which focused on Chartres, France.
“Our Study Abroad trip to Chartres was simply wonderful,” said Valerie Graczyk, UW-Sheboygan Continuing Education Director. “We had a terrific group of students who complemented the adults on the tour. Everyone really seemed to enjoy the pace of the trip and all the interesting and historic sites we chose to visit.”
Trip participants left the UW-Sheboygan campus on January 15 and flew from Chicago to Paris to begin their journey. Throughout the nine-day tour, travelers were treated to daily lectures from trip leaders Joe Milicia, UW-Sheboygan English professor, and Karl Byrand, UW-Sheboygan Geography professor, who provided insight into the literature, culture and history of France. Several French and English-speaking tour guides also aided the group as they toured specific sites and locations..
Some of the highlights of the journey included:
• Chartres Cathedral
• Historic town of Chartres
• Eiffel Tower
• Notre Dame Cathedral
• Champs Elyse
• L’arc de Triumphe
• Louvre Museum
• Loire Valley
• Versailles Palace
• Paris Grand Opera House
• River Seine Cruise and much more.
While tours and bus trips were planned throughout the course of the trip, participants were given ample free time to take bus and train trips into Paris and other areas to see and do as they wished. For example, a large group of travelers spent time touring the famous Louvre Museum in Paris and saw the “Mona Lisa” and “Venus DeMilo,” while others took a scenic river cruise down the Seine River through the heart of Paris.
“Our trips were very inclusive, and no one was ever left out,” Graczyk said. “In the evenings, people would try new restaurants together or simply stay in and play cards or enjoy the 50 degree temperatures that graced our entire trip. It was a very relaxing and family friendly trip.”
For UW-Sheboygan sophomore and trip participant Ande Vanderwalker, the Study Abroad trip has created memories that will last a lifetime.
“The trip was wonderfully planned, with a fantastic group of people,” Vanderwalker said. “The opportunities were endless and you never ran out of things to see and do, places to eat, or people to talk to. The instructors and tour guide were so informative that I learned so much more than I ever imagined. It was truly the trip of a lifetime.”
UW-Sheboygan students had the option of earning one credit for the trip by attending the guided tours and breakfast talks and keeping a journal and enrolling in ENG 290/GEO 297: Literature, Culture and Geography of France: Chartres, Paris and the Loire Valley.
Plans for next year’s 2009 Study Abroad are already underway. The trip will be offered January 7-16, 2009, and tour the heart of Italy, including Siena, Florence, Rome and the hill towns throughout Tuscany. A new Spring Break tour, set for March 19-29, 2009, also has been added and will take travelers to Mexico City and Cuernavaca to experience the history, culture, art, music and dance of Mexico.
“I am looking forward to next year when we go to Siena AND Mexico City,” Graczyk added. “Both of these trips will offer our students and area residents a unique ravel experience in these amazing countries.”
For more information on upcoming travel opportunities, call the UW-Sheboygan Continuing Education Office at (920) 459-6617 or e-mail jane.donlon@uwc.edu.
