A&E/Education

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Twenty-two Kincardine District Secondary School art history students, their teachers and adult chaperones travelled to Europe for 12 days of viewing in real life the works they had studied in class, among other activities.

Teachers Cati VanVeen and Erin Thompson, along with Thompson's husband, Jeff, and adults Lisa Storey and Sarah McOrmond, packed up the group for a tour of Rome, Florence and Paris from March 7-19.

VanVeen said it was an amazing trip and the students enjoyed seeing the artwork, at the numerous museums and art galleries, which they had learned about during their classes.

They also enjoyed wishing in the Trevi Fountain, seeing the buskers in The Metro in Paris, and the "screaming match" on the Bateau Mouches on the River Seine in Paris.

The group flew from Toronto and spent four days in Rome, touring the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel and climbing the 500-plus steps to the top of St. Peter's Basilica. The group also toured the Coliseum, and the Borghese Gallery where the Bernini sculptures are displayed.

The students enjoyed lots of gelato and wandered through many art galleries and museums.

From Rome, they went to Florence where they toured the Uffizi Museum, saw the real "David" sculpture in another gallery, and saw the Bridge of Gold, "Ponte Vecchio."

"The weather was gorgeous," said VanVeen, "and we enjoyed great food."

From Florence, they took an overnight train to Paris, with a transfer at Milan.

"This was interesting for a lot of the students," said VanVeen. "We slept in couchetts, like little bunks, three to a side. And when we woke up, we were in Paris."

The group took in Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower (Jeff Thompson was the only one daring enough to climb it), the Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay where all the Impressionist work is found.

"Some students went to the Salvador Dali Museum and others went to the Opera House," said VanVeen. "There was a lot of crepe-eating in Paris."

This is VanVeen's fifth trip. The events are held every other year for Grades 11 and 12 art history students, and have been ongoing since 1986 when they were started by art teacher Carol Johnstone.

An interesting note on this trip was having adult Lisa Storey with her daughter, Rebecca. Lisa went on the art history trip in the 1980s with Johnstone in charge.

Lisa said it wasn't so much that the places had changed, but she had changed. She had forgotten how much walking there was to the trip - about 15 kilometres' worth.

Besides seeing the actual paintings and sculptures they had studied, the students loved being surrounded by beautiful art and architecture. They also learned how to travel, including map-reading and orienteering, and how to be safe and secure in a city the size of Paris, France.

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Wednesday, April 04, 2012