Reflecting Back on Highlights of 2011

By Paul Mattesini | EF Tour Director

December is a natural month for looking back over the year and I thought I would share some fun memories from 2011 on the road. So, in no particular order, here is the highlights reel.

The Human Cathedral –Take 4-6 male students and get them to be the walls and roof of your cathedral by facing each other and pushing their hands together above their heads. Then get another student to hang from the hands in the middle (those on the side are decoration). As they buckle under the weight you explain that this is what the roof would do to the high walls of a Gothic cathedral, it would bow the walls. Introduce 4-6 females to push into the males (by standing behind them and leaning into their shoulders with their hands) thereby taking on the role of flying buttress. The added support means that when our ‘roof’ attempts to hang again the cathedral can take the weight…..it’s better in person. I did this recently in Assisi with a super group from California; I have yet to discover a better way of introducing teenagers to the concept of 12th century ecclesiastical architecture.

Greece in March – I was on a Rome to Athens tour, enjoying a superb guided tour of Olympia in early spring sunshine. Guides in Greece, in my opinion, do the best job of engaging groups into their subject. Ancient civilizations might not always appear as the most fascinating topics but I am constantly amazed at how these guides weave their narrative from ancient to modern and remind us that nothing is new under the sun. It’s been a tough year for Greece, but I am still hard pushed to think of a better country to tour in.

Getting it wrong – Put 45 people behind me and I am generally fine and will rarely mess up. On my own, however, it’s often a different story. Back in June I needed a hotel room in Dublin on the Saturday night (the 18th) before my group arrived. Take That (a band that is a big deal in Britain/Europe) were playing that weekend and rooms were hard to come by, so I was delighted when I got one in a great hotel at a very attractive price. I arrived, went to check in and discovered my reservation was indeed for the 18th…..of November. A quick refund, a panicked internet search and a cab ride later and I got the last room going in town, at a B&B directly next to Croke Park, venue for the gig. All 80,001 of us enjoyed the show.

Teacher Appreciation Weekend – From time to time EF will offer a convention of some sort in Edinburgh and I will elbow my way to the front of the line of Tour Directors wanting to lead the event. I have done a couple of Hogmanay trips (superb fun, really, you should jump at the opportunity to go next time it’s offered – cannot think of many better cities in which to spend New Year). Anyway, last October EF held a Teacher Appreciation Weekend and while some headed for Belize (understandable) and others thought Berlin was the place to be (less so), I had a superb weekend in Edinburgh with a group of fabulous teachers. Few cities are so perfect for the long weekend and I look forward to being back soon.

The Suitcase – Is it really almost a year since the bag came into my life?

The Blog – It is coming up on two years since I was invited to share weekly thoughts on, quite frankly, whatever I like under the wide gamut of European travel. I have had a great time doing this; I look forward to more in the future. I really want to pay tribute to the people who put this blog together and to the other contributors for all their effort. Anyway, for the record – this was my favorite and get ready for a follow up as the circus hits Azerbaijan in May 2012. Some pieces write themselves.

Thanks to all the Group Leaders who helped out so much, the students who were so much fun to travel with and to all the staff at EF, it really is a team effort, and we are a pretty amazing team. I’m looking forward to 2012 for sure.

Flickr photo via Txanny, Maria Keays

(Editor’s note: Paul Mattesini’s posts appear Tuesdays on Following the Equator. If you have a travel question for our resident expert tour director, or an idea for a blog post topic, you can email Paul here, and he will answer readers’ questions in future posts.)