MSB Footsteps of Benedict Tour 2018-2019 | School

MSB Footsteps of Benedict Tour 2018-2019

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23.01.2022 Happy New Year to all our friends and family from Rome! After lunch we met our guide Simone to begin our tour of Rome, partly on the bus and then with some walking. We got to see some beautiful old buildings which really put into perspective for the girls just how young a country Australia is! We were lucky to walk through some markets and get some delicious gelato and then visit the Pantheon before getting dropped at the Circo Massimo to walk up to Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino... a church of the Benedictine order, where we sat together and said the school prayer. Following this we travelled to our accommodation at Caso Santo Spirito where many of us were amazed to find we had views of St. Peters Square from our windows! We went to a local restaurant for dinner and then walked around the Vatican and surrounding streets before finding a place for dessert (we can never have enough gelato!) A much needed rest for all after the 4:30am wake up, before we head off to Monte Cassino for the day.

22.01.2022 An absolutely jam packed day today! First trip on the tube as we ventured out to the city to watch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. We were very excited when the band treated us to an ABBA medley of songs before finishing up. Following this we started our hop on-hop off bus tour of London and Westminster, and shivered through the trip as we braved sitting outside on the top of the bus. We covered a lot of ground before hoping off the bus at the Tower of Lond...on before getting on the boat down the River Thames, where we were very entertained by the running commentary of the Captain who opted to do the tour himself rather than play the recorded tour. Following this we made our way to Harrods (dont stress parents there werent any purchases made!), before finishing in Leicester Square for dinner, with a trip to M&M world for dessert.

21.01.2022 Spent the morning at the lovely Downside Abbey. We were shown around by Steve, who was a fantastic and very knowledgeable guide. He kindly took us into areas that are typically off limits, one highlight being the top level of their library where we were able to view books that were 1000 years old. Their library is quite famous as is the largest monastic library in Britain, and houses around 450,000 books. The church itself is absolutely beautiful, built in the Gothic Revival... style, adorned with beautiful stain glass windows and intricate wood carvings. One of the features of the church (and their most valuable item) is their Madonna with child, that was carved from a single piece of oak, dating back to the 16th century. The girls were quite surprised to learn of an important member of the Downside community - John Bede Polding. Who was educated in a Benedictine school nearby before becoming a monk at Downside, prior to coming to Australia and finding the Good Samaritan Sisters! Following lunch, Father Leo kindly agreed to stop by and have a chat with the girls, detailing his life and how he came to be at Downside. After we returned from Downside we were very excited to finally have access to Laundry services so spent a portion of the afternoon doing that before the girls went off for a couple of hours of shopping before dinner. Weve all throughly enjoyed Bath, and look forward to moving on to York tomorrow - a big drive ahead of us with a pit stop at Stratford-Upon-Avon.

20.01.2022 Guten tag from Germany! Mariah Beary made a new friend on the flight to Munich today but was a little chilly when she stepped off the plane to -1 degree weather! We then went straight to Tutzing where we were greeted by Prioress Ruth and Sister Katerina who gave us some background on the Tutzing sisters and then gave us tour, including their beautiful chapel where we treated them to the school song. As you can imagine after 17 hours of flying and cross through 4 time zones in 3 days the girls are quite exhausted! We have settled in to St Ottiliens for the night and the girls are ready for a big sleep before we attend morning mass and head in to explore Munich tomorrow.

20.01.2022 Our final day in York before we head off to London! In the morning we were set out on a walking tour of York with Elaine, whos family have been doing tours of York for over 50 years. We were taken round some of the main sites and given some background on the history of York. It was quite exciting to get to walk around the city wall, its amazing how well preserved it is and it certainly provided a great view of the city. Following this the girls were given free time to go ex...plore (shop) before a couple hours of quiet time before attending evening mass at St Wilfrids Church, following mass we were very lucky to have the priest came out to greet us and wish us well for the rest of trip and the long journey home. This marks the end of our pilgrimage as we now venture onto London for some sightseeing and shopping!

19.01.2022 Today we split the girls into groups for a Monopoly scavenger hunt! The girls had one staff member with them, but the staff member was not allowed to help in anyway. The girls had to plot their path using a map printout and were not permitted to using roaming data, if they wished to use wifi they could stop at cafes or hotspots. The girls left Ealing before 10:30am and had to be in Leicester Square by 5pm. In place of some board sections there were photo challenges for the gi...rls to complete. We decided to cross off Whitechapel Road, Old Kent Road and Fenchurch, Marylebone and Liverpool St Station as they were too far out. Amazingly we had two groups only miss out on finding 1 place out of those places remaining. We finished the day with our final dinner together at Garfunkels. Now home to re-pack and get a good sleep before we go shopping on Oxford and Regent Street tomorrow and then finally head home!

18.01.2022 A nice and relaxing day at Montserrat! We began the day by attending Mass at the Basilica. The church is quite beautiful, with many beautiful ornate candles adorning the edges of the church. After this the girls were given some freedom to explore the Monastery together, with almost all of us taking the funicular up the mountain to Sant Joan. The view at the top was stunning and the photos do not do it justice at all. Following this we were given a tour of the Monastery and s...ome insight into its history by Dom Sergei, he was most delighted with the Tim Tams he received at the end. An early start this morning with our 4am trip to the airport, next stop Brussels!

17.01.2022 A lovely two days in Belgium! The 4am departure from Montserrat was not a fan favourite, but the view of the sunrise above Spain certainly made up for it. After arriving in Belgium we were on the bus with our guide and headed straight into Brussels. On our tour we were taken past many landmark and heritage sites such as the Royal Palace, the Atomium, Brussels Town Hall, Manneken Pis, The Justice Palace and many more. After this we were let out at the Town Hall for a short w...alking tour before we set off for lunch, of course the number 1 priority for everyone was to get a Belgian waffle and they certainly didnt disappoint! Following this we were on to Maredsous! Once arriving we were very excited to find an ice rink as a part of their holiday celebrations, all the girls absolutely loved this, with only a few coming away with some bruises from falls. For our second and final day at Maredsous we started the day with a tour of the Abbey with Father Jean-Marie. We were able to walk through the cloisters, which is typically not open to other guests, as well as through the monks courtyard. The girls were then permitted to go off on their own around the Abbey to explore, with many ending up at the cafeteria to try a Croque Monsieur, this proved to be another fun challenge for the girls as they had to speak French to order their meals. In the afternoon we very fortunate to be welcomed into the school at the Abbey, Le College St Benoit (Benedict). The Directrice (Principal) kindly showed us around, assisted by three students who have recently been on exchange in Australia. It is a small public boarding school with years 7-12 with about 260 students in attendance. We loved the tour and were so fortunate to have the three students with us to answer all the questions the girls threw at them, as they tried to draw similarities and differences between their school experiences.

17.01.2022 After our afternoon prayer yesterday we were lucky enough to be given a tour by Abbot John, who gave us a great deal of insight into the history of the monastery, and we were fortunate enough to get to see parts that are typically out of bounds to visitors. We then gathered again for vespers (evening prayer) before all heading off to bed early as we were exhausted from our day of travel. This morning we were taken on a walking tour of the town by Dom Chris, who has been at the monastery for the last 40 years! As you can imagine we were able to get an extensive history of New Norcia and how it has changed over the last 200 years.

17.01.2022 A wonderful experience today being in the Papal audience. Our group was even given a personal welcome along with the other groups attending, which we were very excited by! We felt extremely blessed to be in the presence of Pope Francis and the girls were very excited to have gifts for loved ones blessed. Another highlight for the girls was certainly the performance at the end, involving juggling, dancing and acrobatics, which we did not at all expect to see but were absolute...ly delighted by. This afternoon we were able to tour the Scavi, which took us underneath St. Peters Square and the Basilica. This is quite an impressive sight, particularly to see how well preserved everything was, despite being filled in with rocks and concrete. At the conclusion of the tour we were able to see the site of St. Peters tomb, and actually lay eyes on one of the boxes that contain his bones. Following this we were able to walk through and see the tombs of each Pope, and then walk through the Basilica. We can say with certainty that the photos do not do this justice, with almost everyones jaws dropping as we entered. We finished off the day by walking back over the River Tiber towards Rome for a couple hours of shopping along the main strip, an activity that was enjoyed by all (perhaps not as much by Mr Fitsimmons).

16.01.2022 Today was our first full day in York! After a lovely buffet breakfast at the hotel we left at 9.30am for a one hour coach ride to the sisters of Stanbrook. There, the sisters helped us celebrate Laurens 15th birthday with a card and a cake. Abbess Andrea gave us a half hour presentation on the history of the Abbey, it was really interesting to hear about how the community came about. We then proceeded with Sister Phillips who showed us the new church and the blessed sacram...ent room. She told us about the Churchs architecture and the construction process. We then had the privilege to sit in for their afternoon prayers. afterwards, we then said the school prayer and sang the school song. We then headed off to Ampleforth Abbey where we were introduced to Father Hugh. He took us to lunch in the cafeteria and gave us a quick talk about the history of the Abbey, the School, and his own journey as a monk and teacher. He proceeded to give us a short tour of the Abbey, the Church and the School grounds before we left to head back to the hotel. We were then given two hours of free time before we had to head out for dinner at 6.30pm at the Yates pub before heading to bed for a good nights sleep! By Emelia Smith and Lucy Pratt

14.01.2022 A busy last day in Munich! We attended morning mass at the beautiful Klosterkirche Herz-Jesu. The girls and (some staff) were very excited by the breakfast option of cereal with chocolate pieces, we all agree it should be available in Australia! We then had a short walk to the station before catching the train into Hauptbahnhof (Central station),to meet our guide Alexander for a walking tour of the city (of course we had to stop for pretzels first). Alexander was able to ...give us great insight into the history of the city and we visited some beautiful buildings and saw some fantastic architecture. Certainly a big contrast to Sydney city architecture, particularly as no building can be taller than the twin towers of famous landmark Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady Cathedral). After finishing the tour we set about to find some traditional german food for lunch, so naturally, most of us settled on McDonalds! We then set off on our train home, making a stop at the St Ottiliens dairy to see the cows and we were very excited to be able to pat some of the calves before heading back to the rooms to relax before supper. Following supper we met with Father Timothy, who spoke with us about St Ottiliens and his role within the abbey, before taking us along to compline (evening prayer).

13.01.2022 5 countries in 10 days! And what a busy 10 days it has certainly been. After flying in to Barcelona yesterday we were straight on the bus with our tour guide, who of all names was called Montserrat (apparently a very popular name in this area of Spain). We were taken on a tour through downtown Barcelona and among many things, we saw the Olympic Stadium, other Olympic venues, the Royal Palace of Madrid, and the National Art School. Unfortunately, due to time constraints we we...re only able to view the Sagrada Família The Gaudi from above. After this we went to the Picasso Museum. We were truly in awe, particularly of his early works from when he was the same age as the girls! It was very interesting to hear Picassos story and how the events in his life impacted his style of painting across the years. Following this we were straight back on the bus for our drive up the mountain to Montserrat. After many of us struggling to work out the locks on the doors of our rooms we settled in for the night. Today we have a nice relaxing day in Montserrat, and will shortly be attending Saturday Mass.

11.01.2022 And were off! Many thanks to all the families that came out to see us off this morning. Weve arrived safely in New Norcia, Western Australia and will shortly be attending afternoon prayer with the monks before we go out and explore the town later.

10.01.2022 Time to fly! See you soon Spain

09.01.2022 A busy last day in Rome! A big walking tour this morning with us covering about 8km! The girls were absolutely thrilled to see both the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain, with each of them making their wishes with three coins (I think many are wanting to return to Rome!) Following this we had our Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel tour, with our guide from our first day, Simone. We were slightly surprised by how busy the Museum was given this is supposedly the quiet period, ...with our main struggle to keep together in our group for the tour and not fall under people in the busy areas! We saw many old and beautiful statues, paintings and tapestries across the tour, and we were amazed by the attention to detail by the artists, particularly when considering how many months and years they wouldve spent on these works. Of course, the highlight for many was the Sistine Chapel. Its beautiful walls and ceiling are truly a marvel! Following the conclusion of the tour, we had one final and important item on our to do list - have our last Italian gelato! Even though the temperature had dropped considerably and the winds had picked up, this did not deter the girls at all, with some having seconds! An early start tomorrow as we bid farewell to Italy and move on to Spain for our two nights at Montserrat.

09.01.2022 The newly named Mariah Beary is very excited to be upgraded from her place in overhead storage to a seat of her own for our flight to Munich!

08.01.2022 Buongiorno from Rome! We are on the bus for a tour as we head towards our accommodation before we drop our luggage in our rooms and head out on a walking tour later this afternoon.

08.01.2022 The girls and our Bennies bear are ready for our 17 hours of flying to get to Munich!

07.01.2022 Good morning from Dubai! A couple hours to relax and explore the airport before we board our next flight to Munich.

06.01.2022 After a slightly delayed getaway from Maredsous this morning we have finally arrived in London! First stop - Platform 9 3/4...and then Bath!

05.01.2022 A great way to start 2019 by visiting Monte Cassino, the home of Benedict after he left Subiaco. The drive to Monte Cassino is about 2 hours so we made a pit stop on the way to pick up sandwiches for lunch, where the girls were challenged to use some Italian lingo they were taught on the bus by Mrs Forbes, courtesy of one of the girls language books. There were some struggles but we all managed to get exactly what we wanted to order so we can call this a success! We had a wonderful tour guide, Rose, who was most informative. Two highlights were being able to city in Benedicts cell, where we joined together in saying the School Prayer, and the Basilica Cattedrale di Montecassino which had such a beautiful interior, look below for photos and videos from inside!

02.01.2022 Welcome to London! After a long journey from York, we arrived in the early afternoon pulling up along the embankment just opposite the London Eye. We made our way up to Whitehall to see the Horse Guards, before walking up to 10 Downing Street. Unfortunately, the access is quite restricted as you can imagine so you dont get a view of the iconic front door. Following this we walked back up and through Whitehall to come round to the Churchill War Rooms. The War Rooms were abs...olutely fascinating and it was amazing how big they were and how many people it housed, it was also very interesting to hear about the life and times of Winston Churchill. Following the War Rooms we were taken by our guide, Mary, through St James Park. We were all very excited to see some squirrels, although some got too close for comfort! We then walked through to St James Palace, where Charles and Camila reside, before then walking up to Buckingham Palace. We then walked on Westminster Abbey and Big Ben, which is sadly covered up in scaffolding, before getting back on the bus to our accommodation at Ealing.

01.01.2022 Safe to say the girls are very happy with their lunch!