Day 1 Airport Departures I got up early as usual that morning; around 5:00am. It was around 6:30 when I and my little sister headed down

stairs. The realisation of me heading to Europe hit me that morning when I was heading down the staircase. I

finally realised that I wouldn't see my sister for the next two weeks; the emotions started to kick in.

Bailey Burns

The Melbourne to Singapore flight definitely tested my mental strength. The flight itself was alright, the food was

pretty good and the movies on the flight were very entertaining. The air stewards were super nice and the seats

were very comfortable. The dreaded Singapore to London stretch was upon us. I believe the flight was about 13

hours but I was so tired I cannot remember. As soon as we got off the plane I wanted to face plant into my bed

but we have places to be and things to see.

Jack Freeman

Day 2 Dungeons, Bens and Royal Gems We had finally arrived in London. Everywhere we went around London there was always beautiful buildings with

cool architecture. After we ate lunch we went to the London dungeons. I found it quite fun but I didn’t get scared.

In the dungeons we went around all of the rooms where actors would be people from hundreds of years ago and

tell you stories. Some of the stories were about the Great Fire of London, Jack the Ripper who was a murderer, the

plague and the types of punishments people would receive in the dungeons just to name a few. After the

dungeons we went on the ferry to the Tower of London. We could only spend a short amount of time there so I

had a look at the Crown Jewels which were really cool. I also got to have a quick look through the Tower. The

outside walkways between the towers were about 4 or 5 meters from the ground so it gave a good view

especially when we were facing the London Bridge. There were also some ravens at the tower. When we got to

the hotel our rooms were ready. We had dinner and because it was Jack’s birthday while we were on the plane,

we had a cake.

Kiarna Nibbs

Day 3 Religion and Theatre

Our second day in London started off with an early trip to the Globe Theatre, located along the on the southern

bank of the River Thames. The Globe Theatre is the British theatre that Shakespeare’s acting troupe performed at

in the 1600s, although the original was burnt down in the Fire of London. We had a guided tour of one of the only

theatre in Britain that does not have a roof. Even when it rains the play will continue, and that is where the saying

‘The show must go on!” comes from.

Next we visited London’s two most famous Cathedrals, St John’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. There we got

awesome panoramic views of London from the very top of St Paul’s, and learnt about the history of the British

monarchs in Westminster Ab bey. Westminster Abbey is the Burial Grounds of many of the British Royals as well

as “THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER” who fought in WW1.

Late in the day, we all joined a very long line to get on the London Eye where we got panoramic views again of

London, especially the buildings along the River Thames. After dinner we went to the West End and viewed a

magnificent performance of Les Miserables. We all went back to the hotel sleepy and tired, but satisfied with the

touring we had to take in the sights of London.

Day 4 The Henges and the Baths

On day 4 we made our way out of London and into the English countryside. We arrived at Stonehenge and were

instantly greeted by beautiful poppy fields.

There were a lot of tourists making their way around the stones and we got audio guides to tell us historical

information and help us guide around the site.

Bath was amazing and the buildings were all old but beautiful. We had a tour around the town and then we met

a guy who had hand trained pigeons and they were all over him. He placed them on our heads! That was pretty

cool! Next we went to the Roman Baths and we saw the famous hot springs and some of the artefacts they had

found. You could see the steam coming off the water and the water looked so clean and beautiful.

For the next few hours we all got to have some free time around the town to shop, sightsee and chill. There were

many sweet shops, gift sh ops and other awesome shops to keep us entertained for hours.

That night we had to pack, as the next day was the day we had to say goodbye to England and head off to the

wonderful country of France.

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Day 5 Train to Lille

We had an early start today as we had to catch the Eurostar to France but we didn’t make it in time so we caught

a later train. Once we got off, we were met by our tour guide at the train station in Lille. We then took a coach to

Fromelles and went through the museum and the cemetery where the lost soldiers of Pheasant Wood had been

buried. There were preparations going on all around us for the Fromelles service in three days. We visited one

more cemetery before going to our h otel.

Edward Sainsbury

Day 6 Graves, Museums and Gates Today we went on a tour of the battle fields and cemeteries of Messines Ridge, Zonnebeke, Broodseinde, Tyne

Cot, Hill 60, and Caterpillar Trench. The battle fields were very interesting seeing the how close the enemy lines

were to each other and then how far apart they got. Seeing the trenches and the fragments of shells and other

bits and pieces that once littered the ground was a thought provoking experience. Even once you’ve been to the

battle fields you can’t imagine what it was like back then with the mud up to your ankles and the shells dropping

around you. Afterwards we travelled to Menin Gate; there were too many names on that structure.

Michael Gardner

This is where Eloise, Dillon and I had our pilgrimages. In the afternoon at Ypres, we visited the in Flanders Field

museum. It was amazing and looking at so many artefacts and pictures you could almost feel like you were in the

battle. That night we had dinner at this American place where they served us half a chicken which was done in a

KFC sort of way. Most people couldn’t eat it all but some people also had feathers in it. At the end of the day

Eloise, Michael and I had the privilege to lay a wreath at Men in Gate for the nightly memorial service.

Callum Rowberry

Journal -Day 7 Bruges On day 7 we went to the town of Bruges, a town riddled with canals, bridges and cobblestone streets. Bruges is a

beautiful town with flowers everywhere and small shops placed among old buildings. Bruges is known for

chocolate, beer and waffles. There were cafes, chocolate shops, beer breweries and small restaurants through all

of the streets. People often call Bruges “Venice of the north”. Our tour guide also told us a story about the king

and how nasty he was. The town’s people asked for a mental hospital and the king replied, “Close the gates and

then you have your hospital”. After our time at Bruges we left on the coach to Langemark German War Cemetery.

This cemetery holds over 44,000 men buried in mass graves. It is the largest German war cemetery located in the

west.

Jack Freeman

While most of the group travelled to Bruges, Alastair, Ethan, Sarah, Mr Fullarton and I went to the rehearsal day

for the Commemoration Ceremony at Fromelles. That morning we were picked up from our hotel and taken to

Pheasant Wood Cemetery, Fromelles. The first part of the morning was spent waiting around a fair bit, and after

realising we were an hour early we went walking around the tiny country town before we finally found a little

café which served us the best coffees we had all trip. At about 10 o’clock we began a rehearsal of the ceremony

and all four of us got to run through our speeches. After lunch we were told they were happy with our speeches

and let us go.

And as the others wouldn’t be back from Bruges until that evening, we decided to go into town to do some

shopping. That evening, when the rest of the group returned, Eloise had some visitors. Her pen pal and two of her

friends from our sister school, Lycee Fenelon in Lille, France had come to visit us. We had a lovely dinner with

them and it was fun chatting with them in the games room that night. It was really interesting talking to them

and learning about what it’s like to be a teenager in France compared to over here.

Emily Garratt

Journal -Day 8 Fromelles 100th Anniversary

Today was the day the whole trip was planned around, 'The Fromelles Service'. When we got in to the service

Eddie, Alistair, Sarah, Emily and I were taken aside to a different place to sit with some other people involved in

the service. The main advice people gave to Sarah, Emily, Alistair and I was just to read as we did the day before.

Once we were in, we all sat down in our seats. All out in the heat. Two French reporters came in and asked Sarah

and I for an interview. Emily started off the readings very well and Alistair followed her up amazingly. I was just

about to step up to the microphone but when I walked up the host, Major General Dave Chalmers stopped me

and said that there wasn’t enough time for Sarah and I to read as they had to go live.

After the event, Major General Dave Chalmers asked Sarah and me if we could read at the service at VC Corner

two hours later. After a long wait, we got on a bus with some really important people such as news reporters and

some media and headed over to the VC Corner cemetery for the service. We found our seats quite quickly; thank

god they were in the shade this time. The head of direction from the ABC at the service got Sarah and I to quickly

practice where we would be standing and how we would start the service.

After the service, we headed to Amiens for the night. When we arrived we had a little bit of shopping time which

we all really enjoyed as it was our first proper shopping time. Unfortunately, everything was closed which really

sucked because there was some quite big and nice looking stores which we would’ve loved to look at.

Ethan Bradford

Day 9 More War Graves

Today we went for a fairly long drive to the Somme. We got off the coach and got to see a giant crater left in the

ground from where they set off a giant bomb during the war – so giant that an airman, flying over it at the time,

reported seeing chunks of earth that were blown up into the air which were bigger than his plane. It was about 40

metres deep when we saw it but it would’ve been deeper if it wasn’t for erosion. We got to see the remains of a

trench, too. That was a pretty amazing experience being able to stand in one of the actual trenches where men

fought and were probably killed. Next stop was Villers-Bretonneux Cemetery where the soldier who I researched

was commemorated. I did my pilgrimage next to his name on the wall because he didn’t have a marked grave.

That night, we watched a light show on the Amiens Cathedral, where they projected lights and colour all over the

cathedral. It was pretty to watch. There was a speaker who spoke words in French, which none of us could

understand but it didn’t matter. When that was over, it was already past our curfew so we went straight to the

hotel and went to bed.

Kylah Robertson

Day 10 Journey to Paris We made our way to Paris by coach at about 8:30 and on the way we made a stop for a little place called the

Compiegne Armistice Wagon. It was a museum which held the train where the Armistice of WW1 was signed.

Outside the front of the building was the greatest thing I had seen on this trip, an actual tank from WW1, a late

war Renault FT 17 (easily told by the machinegun in place of a cannon), and the first line of “modern tanks” with

a rotating turret rather than a sponson.

After this we headed towards Paris. We were provided with a coach tour of Paris seeing the more well-known

monuments and attractions such as, the Arc De Triomphe, Notre Dame and of course, the Eiffel Tower. We

stopped to get a view and photos of the Tower where we were also introduced to the street peddlers of Paris,

whose favorite phrase was “5 for 1 euro”. When we arrived at the hotel we said our goodbyes to our crazy French

coach driver, Claude and walked in with our heads held high and our hands in our pockets.

Dillon Monks

Day 11 Glitz and Glitter

This morning we met up with our guide (Geraldine) to visit the Palace of Versailles state apartments. The minute

we got there I was blown away by the size and how pretty it was and I could’ve spent forever staring at it.

Everything was so immaculate and perfect it looked almost fake. When you first walk up to the palace there is a

giant standing area, called the outer courtyard, and up the top of it there is a gate entirely of gold which has the

inner courtyard inside of it. Where we first walked in, it starts with a flight of stairs which led to a few rooms that

have beautiful statues, paintings, and marble pictures. There is a room with a fireplace and a sculpture of two

slaves made of gold on the wall. Their hands were tied behind their backs with vines. Above them is Louis XVI on a

horse holding a sword with men who have fallen beneath him. This was really pretty and it was one of the

highlights of the palace for me.

The next room is the most well-known one, the Hall of Mirrors. All along the left side of the room it is completely

made of mirrors which reflects the view outside and the paintings on the roof. In the middle of the hall you walk

through one of the mirrors to get through to the room where it has the Signing Table for the Treaty of Versailles.

The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war

between Germany and the Allied Powers and was signed on 28 June 1919.

When the tour was done we got to go to the shop to get some gifts for our family and friends.

Natalie Panton

The day finally ended with us taking an amazing cruise on the River Seine. This was amazing as we got to see

parts of the city we hadn't seen yet. The most amazing part was towards the end of the cruise when the sun was

going down and the sky become full pink. While this was happening, we got a look at the Notre Dame and the sun

hit the cathedral in the most spectacular way. It was an amazing end to an amazing day.

Bailey Burns

Day 12 Art Shops and the Eiffel Tower

After all the build-up, we finally went to the place I’d been waiting to go to for almost 2 years; the Eiffel Tower.

Before the Eiffel Tower we had a stop-over In the Louvre where the Mona Lisa is. Personally I didn’t enjoy the

Louvre as much as other people might of but I did love seeing the Mona Lisa. It’s actually a lot smaller than you

would expect it to be.

After that the group headed off to the Eiffel Tower probably the highlight of the trip for me. Unfortunately, I do

have a fear of heights but I can tell you I don’t anymore. From the top you can see all of France. It is the most

spectacular view and if you are ever in France I would recommend going there.

Indigo Harper

Day 13 Disneyland On Sunday we packed our bags, went to the bus, and headed to the “Happiest place in the world”, Disney Land. It

was the most anticipated place on the trip but I think it exceeded our expectations. The theme park was huge,

bigger than I expected and the amount of people there were insane. There was 3 different groups and my group

went to many different rides including Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tower of Terror, The Aerosmith,

Space Mountain 2 and many others. My favourite was the Pirates of the Caribbean where we went on a boat

through many different locations from the movies and encountered a few big drops. By the end we were all very

tired but we stuck it out until the end where the firework show happened. It was very magical and encompassed

many Disney movies and songs. Sadly it was the end of the tour and our last full day in Europe. I am sure it was

most people’s favourite day.

Jake Riseley

Day 14 Homeward Bound Today everyone was tired for very obvious reasons & nearly everybody was ready to go home. We started the day

by going to Charles de Gaulle Airport and waiting in line for quite a long time just so we could get our boarding

tickets so we could board the plane.

There was nothing really noteworthy about the plane except for when we hit some turbulence and we dropped

10,000ft in altitude in 10 seconds. When we landed in Singapore we had little to no-time to get past airport

security and on our next flight to Australia which was a very smooth flight. When we got to Australia we had

quite a lot more time to get our bags and other necessities like Krispy Kreme donuts. It also gave us the

opportunity to celebrate Eddie’s birthday.

The flight to Hobart was very rough indeed, especially landing. When we got off the plane I’m not sure whether

people where more relieved to see their families or finally be back from 23 hours of flying.

Harrison Graham