History teacher Robyn Brushett takes students to France during winter break

Some teachers like to teach. World History teacher Robyn Brushett likes to take her students into the world she teaches about.

As a non-school sponsored, or not district affiliated trip, Brushett took eleven students and art teacher Jodi Johnson to France from Feb. 18 to 27.

“[History is] not the same when you read it out of a book,” Brushett said. “But the best part is seeing students getting excited about trying new things and seeing new places.”

Before the trip, the attending adults held several meetings with the parents of the travelers and settled on a tour with the ACIS tour company and tour guide, Timothy Godby.

The day the students arrived was spent in Montmartre and other parts of Paris.

“[The trip] made me see how differently Americans live [from people in France] and [I liked] seeing the different cultures.” junior Chloe Simmons said.

The next day focused on excursions to the D-Day beaches of World War II including the Caen Memorial Peace Museum, the American War Cemetery, and Museum at Omaha Beach. On the third day, they went on a tour of Paris, which included the Arc de Triomphe, Place de Concorde, Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and Notre Dame.

As the week continued, the tourists spent free time roaming around Paris and taking a trip to Versailles, catching photos of the court of Louis XIV.  The sixth day began with an early morning wake up call and a train ride to Avignon to see the Papal Palace, Pont du Gard, and the Roman city of Nimes, with the a well-maintained Roman arena.  A favorite of many students was the morning horseback tour on the seventh day in the Camargue region next to the southern coast.

“[The horseback riding] was unrealistic—really, really pretty. There were flamingos next to us, and it was really relaxing,” Simmons said.

After a visit to Aigues-Mortes, a town with medieval city walls, the day ended in Nice. The eighth and ninth days were spent touring the city of St. Paul perched on a hill, the ruined caster of the village of Eze, the Fragonard Perfume Factory, and the Grimaldi palace in Monaco.

Finally, the journey across the foreign country led to a departure as the students packed their bags and headed home on day ten, back to their history class where learning about the world takes on a whole new meaning.