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       The two-week Euro 
        Tour was designed to give students an opportunity to try new activities 
        and to visit many different places and cities in various countries. 
      The trip started off 
        with an overnight drive to Paris where they spent their first two nights 
        in France. Most students took the opportunity to see the famous Paris 
        landmarks and sampled the Parisian nightlife. Our next destination took 
        us to a tiny village in the heart of the Vercors region of France to go 
        walking and rock-climbing.  
      At the end of their 
        two-day stay in the Vercors, the longest and most tiring road journey 
        of the trip took us through the Alps Maritime and south to the coast near 
        Nice. Here we stayed three nights and visited Monte Carlo, Cannes and 
        Nice. Most students had especially wanted to visit the coast during their 
        two week trip and our accommodation during this section had perfect sea 
        views and a huge balcony - this really was the South of France. 
      At the halfway point 
        of the trip and another road journey to look forward to, the group said 
        a sad farewell to France before crossing the border into Italy and Tuscany. 
        Destination Florence, and the little town of Fiesole where we stayed for 
        the Easter celebrations. Florence is a beautiful city and the students 
        soon managed to explore both its well-known sights and lesser ones, including 
        market places selling all sorts of fashions and souvenirs. The mini buses 
        were definitely becoming more crowded and every spare seat was taken up 
        with shopping bags of all description. 
      The drive to Cortina, 
        via Venice for the day, meant an early start of 4am. It was worth it though, 
        as they were able to make the most of the beautiful weather to explore 
        this unique city.  
      What the group awoke 
        to the following morning, which had been hidden by nightfall when they 
        had eventually arrived in Cortina at midnight, was an array of snow covered 
        mountains in every direction. These were the Dolomites, a section of the 
        Alps that borders Italy and Austria. Here the group hill-walked, skied 
        and snow-boarded as well as slept very well, as by now the long days, 
        good food and sunshine were taking their toll. 
      Another early start 
        meant we could cross over into Austria and stop in Innsbruck by lunchtime. 
        As the students explored the city the drivers slept, before driving into 
        the early hours and eventually stopping to camp in Germany near the Belgium 
        border. 
      Soon the trip was 
        over and the statistics of 3687miles of driving and 5 countries visited 
        all added to the stories that are sure to be told by all the students. 
        A fantastic fortnight - a fantastic Euro Tour.   
          
        
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