My Education

In times past, young wealthy English men and women went on the Grand Tour of Europe. It was seen as a time to complete their education by travel in search of Western civilisation's roots. France and Italy were compulsory waypoints to see Europe before and after the Renaissance.

This year, 2010, has been our own Grand Tour. While others did this travelling in their youth, I had to wait until the freedom years once children had left home. So, in many ways we have been making up for lost time, with a desire to visit many sites that would take many years if we lived more conveniently.

Although I am trained in the Sciences, it is the humanities that grasp my attention after work. Art, architecture, politics, language and history are all pursuits that fascinate.

Each place visited has cultural features that have been on the must-see list.
Museums, castles, art galleries, artifacts, cathedrals are all there, and we have had a tight itinerary to see this sampling of European history. Favourite museums visited include the British Museum, Scienza, and Vatican. And the Uffizi, Belvedere and Guggenheim art galleries are certainly worth the effort.

We have seen many castles in various states of condition; from the Welsh (Chepstow and Conwy) and Scottish (Urquhart) castles in poor repair to the touristy and well-maintained English castles such as Tower of London, Nottingham and Warwick castles. There are the renovated and World Heritage listed castles at Carcassonne and Zaragosa. Each has its own story weaved into the lives of famous kings and queens.

Then there are the places of worship, including Melrose Abbey, Mont Saint-Michel, York, Westminster, Canterbury, Cologne, Orvieto, Florence, Santa Croce, Siena, Pisa, St. Peter’s, and St. Mark's Basilica.

Visiting these relics, plus battlefields and scenes of famous historical events are leaving an indelible mark on me. I am being affected by their beauty, charm, and stories, each with a small segment of history's great patchwork. For the first time I am getting to sense and understand the fascinating history and not just read vicariously from across the world. And one of the most stunning revelations is the great extent and influence of the Romans across these countries.