ROYAL CITY - If you missed the November sign-up day for the 2013 Royal City educational tour of Europe, don't fret.

There will be a second chance to sign up on Monday, Dec. 5, and according to Monica Clouse, who made the 2011 tour, you should make every effort to go.

Clouse, a teacher at Red Rock Elementary School, will lead the 2013 tour. The sign-up will take place in her classroom at 6 p.m.

The tour is open to students who attend Royal schools and Royal High graduates. Clouse made the trip with her son Tanner, 18 and her daughter Lanea, 16.

This will be the third Royal City tour of Europe. The first was in 2009. This year's was to historical sites around the Mediterranean Sea.

The 2013 tour will be to Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Clouse expects it to be as exciting as the 2011 tour.

Clouse noted there were 38 participants, students and adults in 2011. They visited ancient and historical sites in Italy and Greece.

Highlights in Rome included the Vatican - center of the Catholic Church - the Pantheon, the Coliseum and the Trivi Fountain. The travelers stopped in Pompeii on the way to Greece.

The excavated ancient city - once buried by the erupting volcano Mt. Vesuvius - is original, except for the wooden parts. Those parts disintegrated when they were exposed to oxygen during excavation.

At Pompeii the travelers discovered the interesting fact that modern sidewalks and crosswalks started with the Romans of Pompeii.

"The students learned that only elite gladiators were allowed to train and live in Pompeii," Clouse said.

"We stopped and toured ancient Olympia," Close added. "Talk about breathtaking. This area was hit by a large earthquake, and most of the temples for the gods were largely destroyed. However, the columns and other pieces lay where they fell."

Clouse noted the travelers walked the roads once walked by ancient Roman athletes. One side was lined with statues to winners. The other side had statues to cheaters so those athletes would be shamed forever. 

Students and parents had the opportunity to race each other in one of the ancient stadiums.

In Athens, the travelers visited the Parthenon, the temple to the mythological Greek goddess Athena.

"Again an ancient site that took our imaginations and our education to places far beyond Royal City," Clouse said.

Clouse noted many of the travelers visited Ephesus in Turkey, important to the Christian community because of the preaching the apostle Paul did there to the Ephesians. Some visited the cave where the apostle John lived after he was exiled to an island.

"When we traveled to the island of Santorini, many of the students hiked up a volcano and swam in the water infused with volcanic minerals," Clouse said. "Our students from small town Royal City experienced things that most people only dream about."

Persons wishing to hear more about the Italy-Greece tour or wanting to learn more about the 2013 tour may contact Clouse at 346-2582 or mclouse@royal.wednet.edu.