Spring Break 2025 Recap
Choral Trip to France and Spain
Read reflections from Middle and Upper School students who attended the choral trip to France and Spain over spring break.
Day 1: Nice
When we arrived in Nice, we met up with our tour guide for the trip, Stefano. He led us to a bus that took us from the airport to the hotel. After we dropped our things off at the hotel, we walked around the Nice town square, visiting the beach and looking at a multitude of shops. We ended up getting some amazing gelato. After our exploration time was up, we went to dinner at the Cote Lounge. The food was great but the real star of the show was the dessert, a warm pastry with ice cream on the inside. Profiteroles! When we got back to the hotel we rehearsed a traditional French song, which we will sing in a concert soon. It was a great first day in Nice and we are looking forward to what is to come on this trip!
–Mason Foard ’27 and Leo Romano ’28
Our journey started when we woke up yesterday morning, and 27 hours later, we ended in Nice. From school, we took a bus to Dulles Airport and waited three hours at our gate after passing security successfully. We boarded an eight-hour flight to Zurich and were told to get some sleep because we would have another full day the next day. In Zurich, we regrouped and boarded another plane to Nice. Once we arrived, our tour guide Stefano introduced us to Nice and we headed to our eagerly awaited hotel.
Once everyone got some rest, we walked to the main square in Nice and had some free time. Our group got boba tea. Then, we walked to dinner at Cote Lounge and then went back for some rehearsal. After that, the group was wiped and we all headed upstairs to our rooms.
–Caleb K. ’29 and Winston Y. ’29
Day 2: Nice and Cannes
Today we had a guided tour of Nice with plenty of free time to explore an old fort. We also sang a pop-up concert in the cathedral. We got splashed by a waterfall and ate Socca, basically a chickpea pancake. After our exploration of Nice, we traveled to Cannes, where we explored an old fort and saw a beautiful view of the yacht port. Tim and I ate a jam strawberry that was immensely delicious. Afterward, we went shopping because things are actually affordable here. Excited for more singing, tours, and food in Avignon tomorrow.
–Carlos Baleeiro ’27
We started the day with breakfast at the hotel and a little bit of singing practice for tomorrow. Afterward, we headed to the streets of Nice for a two-hour tour. We were then given time in our pods for lunch and free time. Most people enjoyed during that time some socca(chickpea pancakes) and gelato as well. Afterwards we headed to Cannes for some more free time. We explored a castle, went on a beach, and went shopping. We then went to dinner to end our day. I can’t wait for tomorrow's concert and more adventures around new areas of France and Spain.
–Beny R. ’30
We had a tour of Nice today, and we went through the old town. With my pod, I went to the top of a hill overlooking Nice, and it was very beautiful. We also got ice cream, and I was proud of myself for ordering in French. We also went to Cannes. I did not enjoy it as much as Nice, but today was still fire.
–Eamonn K. ’29
Day 3: Avignon
Today, we woke up decently early to get on a bus to Avignon! The ride was beautiful, with picturesque mountains, and small villages along the way, and we had fun frying our vocal cords singing along to Hamilton. When we arrived in Avignon, we stopped at an old church, where we would have a concert later. At this point, I was pretty tired, but we would soon have a delicious lunch with our pods, which would get us all energized again (my pod stopped at a cute French café we found). Today was pretty calm compared to other days, except for the concert, where we got a standing ovation and sang an encore! Overall, today was a great day, and I’m excited for tomorrow!
–Levi G. ’29
On our third day, we got up early to get on a bus to Avignon. After a short walk to the basilica, we dropped off our stuff, admired the architecture, and then went away for lunch. The Cyman pod had an amazing brunch-like meal at a local restaurant and then visited a local candy shop. Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the choir to rehearse our set and immediately noticed the beautiful acoustics that the space provided. As much as we enjoy our auditorium, the reverberations of a holy basilica are an entirely new experience for most of us. Before we opened the doors for our eager audience, the Traveling Men gave a brief preview outside for those passing by. The concert, in total, went swimmingly, with the audience especially appreciating our encore performance dedicated to the town. All in all, it was a great day with a great concert, and I can’t wait for tomorrow’s adventures.
–Idoko Obeya ’25
Day 4: Avignon and Aix en Provence
On the fourth day of this miraculous, awesome, enjoyable, stupendous, exquisite, wondrous adventure, we explored the city of Avignon. For the first half of the day, we went to the Palace of the Popes, a massive castle which had many tower rooms to view. We sang several times in many different rooms of the palace. After that, the group split into smaller groups for lunch. We hustled back to the hotel for a quick transfer to our next location. We went to Aix-en-Provence, known as the “city of a thousand fountains.” We saw beautiful Roman architecture and then had around one hour of free time. In this free time, most got the delicious gelato and explored the city more thoroughly. After we drove back to Avignon, we all went to dinner for an interesting experience. The Traveling Men performed a wonderful performance for the staff of the restaurant as a thank you for putting up with our tomfoolery. Finally, we all went back into our rooms and now are packing up for the next segment of our trip: Barcelona.
–Ben T. ’29 and Andrew C. ’29
Day 5: Barcelona
Today we woke up at around 7 o’clock. We went to the bus and departed the hotel for our five-hour drive to Barcelona. We stopped twice to go to the bathroom and get lunch and other food. After we had lunch, there was about a 30-minute drive to Barcelona. We didn’t go to the hotel from there, but we toured around the area for around two hours. After that, we headed to our latest hotel, where we were to relax for about an hour. After that, we went downstairs and had dinner. There was a buffet, so there were many options for what you could eat. Finally, Noah and I headed up to our hotel room to take a shower and go to bed. We are REALLY looking forward to tomorrow’s day where we get to sing twice with two different choirs.
–Noah K. ’31 and Emory P. ’31
Day 6: Monserrat and Barcelona
Today was a packed day of touring and singing. We started off at Montserrat where we got an amazing tour and the fantastic opportunity to sing alongside one of the oldest boy choirs in the world. We sang two pieces with them and two pieces by ourselves in front of a packed crowd. The boy choir was spectacular and gave both of us chills. After we grabbed lunch, we headed back down to Barcelona, where we got to perform another concert with another choir. The concert was by far the best we have sung so far due to the phenomenal acoustics and the pleasant environment. We even got the chance to sing our final song, Swingin with the Saints, with the other choir. After, we had the amazing experience of talking with the choir at dinner and exchanging information and culture. Amir and I were able to talk to some girls and learn some Spanish and Catalonian words and songs. We even made a TikTok with them! Overall, it was an amazing day, and we are sad that we only have one day left on this tour.
–Zach Fader ’25 and Amir Arnold ‘25
Day 7 (student reflection shared with the group on the last night)
At the start of this trip, as my first time being on a school trip, and to Europe in general, I said that the main thing I was looking forward to in the trip was seeing the architecture of the cities. The funny thing about that is that I have ZERO pictures solely of the environment itself. If you all would look at my camera roll, you would see a lot of photos of ourselves. To that point, what I’ve realized is that although the experiences on the trip, like the singing, the restaurants, the places visited, etc, were fantastic, I think the real highlights for me lie in the enjoyment I had during free time with you all. Whether it was screaming my lungs out doing karaoke in the back of the bus, following some of you all on your extraordinary adventures, or clapping for no apparent reason at the dinner table with you all, the bond I felt between this group and myself was surreal, something I have never felt before. I felt like I finally had a group of people in you all which I actually was somewhat connected to; you all are like family to me, if you will. So I want to deeply thank you all for this wonderful experience we’ve had over the past week. I really mean it.
–Anonymous