Bishop Gorman in Europe
Over the Summer of 2023, Bishop Gorman students and faculty took an eventful trip to several locations in Europe.
The journey started shortly after the end of the 2022-2023 academic year in late May where the travel group headed for Paris, France. The group made stops all over Northern France, notably: the beaches of Normandy, the scenic Loire Valley, and the much favored port city of Saint Malo.
On Memorial Day, the group visited the American Cemetery on the beaches of Normandy and continued a tradition that consists of placing a quarter on a grave. The quarter is meant to match the state from which the fallen soldier was born.
“We had students all over the cemetery, kneeling, standing, praying, whatever that served that moment of silence. This was a really special and emotional moment for us,” states Mr. Lieb who serves as the head coordinator for the annual school Europe trips.
After paying their respects, the group continued West of the Northern French coast to Saint Malo. The “favorited” spot by the whole group as Mr Lieb claims. Originally meant as a stronghold for privateers, Saint Malo had turned into a tourist town surrounded by water highlighting the ominous cathedral, which is why the group enjoyed it so much.
On their final days in France, the group ventured through the Loire Valley towards Paris. The train ride provided views of various French chateaus and castles as Mr Lieb recalls. Soon after, the group made their final stint in Paris where they stopped at the Galerie Lafayette filled with various shops and restaurants.
“It’s a huge, city block of department stores, everything is in it, and it’s a beautiful place,” Mr Lieb states.
The last stretch of the trip had the group visiting London. Senior Daniel Gostanian states that, “the most memorable part for me was the bike ride in London. We went along the countryside in London, and we got to see all of the pretty scenery while also talking and hanging out with friends. It was a very memorable experience.”
Wrapping up in London, the travel group arrived back home in early June, lasting about 12 days in total across seas.
The trip served as an “eye opening experience,” Gostanian adds, “partly due to getting to realize how other parts of the world live.”
This was a common theme expressed among the group as Mr Lieb says that “one of the things I think is important about travel for students is to realize that there are people who live differently than we do. And they eat different things, and they speak different languages, and they have different customs, and they get up at different times of the morning and all those kinds of things.”
The Bishop Gorman Europe trip was an “eye opening experience” that Mr Lieb concludes saying, “for me, it’s a big thing to see. To ensure that we expose the students to a lot of different things and that they can see that we live differently.”