BY KATIE ALLEN

Wadsworth High School’s Grizzlies Abroad program will be returning in 2023 to tour Italy, France and Spain.

The Grizzlies Abroad leaders last tried to organize a trip to Eastern Europe in 2020, but it was canceled due to COVID-19. This upcoming trip will be their first trip since 2018 when they went to Peru.

“We’ve been looking for an opportunity to restart the program but new COVID-19 phases kept coming so we kept postponing it,” said Eric Heffinger,  teacher at Wadsworth and head of this program. “We are really hopeful now that a year out, COVID restrictions go down and a year’s time from now, we will be completely good to go and in the clear.”

The next trip will take place during the spring break of 2023 and students will go to Italy, France, Spain, Vatican City and Monaco. This trip is planned through the company Explorica. Plane tickets, hotel fees, admission costs, transportation, tour guides, breakfast and dinner are all included in the cost of the trip. The full iterary and sign up information can be found on the group’s official tour page.

The very first of the many meetings to come took place Thursday, February 24. This introduction meeting went over all the places students will visit and went through the itinerary. Some of the places students will go include the Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, Colosseum, Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Monacan Prince’s Palace. If anyone interested missed the meeting, the recording can be watched on https://watch.screencastify.com/v/yU6TcHJEh7sxW5jk49mZ .

“After the first meeting, minus some parents, maybe even some parents, I think it could be 35 to 40 [travelers], which is a really nice sized group. It felt like it could be one of the bigger groups we’ve ever had,” said Jason Knapp,  teacher at Wadsworth and chaperone for the trip.

Following the current itinerary, students will take leave on March 30 leading to the first day in Rome. The trip will last ten days and students will fly out of Barcelona on April 8. The price for students is $3,535 and the price for parents is $4,020. This includes the early bird discount which saves $150, but the discout expires on March 17, 2022. This price covers all expenses excluding travel protection, lunch, and any souvenirs. 

To be eligible to join the trip, students must be active students at Wadsworth High in 2023. Students that are participating may also bring family members along with them.

For current updates follow @grizzliesabroad on Instagram and Facebook. Any questions can be emailed to Eric Heffinger at [email protected].