Firstly, I’d like to thank the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) for sponsoring me to go on this trip. I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.

First Day: We got to the airport at 4 a.m. and we flew out to Frankfurt airport at 6:55 a.m. We got to Frankfurt at around 10 a.m. and we met our coach which brought us to this lovely small French town named Colmar. It had lovely Christmas Markets, and we went on a Ferris wheel which overlooked the whole town. Then we got on the bus and went to the Origami Hotel in Strasbourg. We went and got food at a pizzeria near the hotel, and we stayed in our hotel rooms getting to know each other.

Second Day: An early rise at 6:30 a.m. and we got breakfast at the hotel. We got on the bus at 8 a.m. and headed towards the European Parliament. When we got there, we took loads of pictures in front of the building and at the I  Strasbourg sign. After going through security, we had a table to ourselves and we got a few pastries that the parliament provided. Then we were escorted to the hemicycle, I was sitting in seat 209 and at 10:15 a.m. the euroscola session began. We had an introduction to the programme by Robert Metsola (president of the parliament) then a Q&A session with Katarina Barley (vice-president of the parliament) followed by another Q&A session with Dimatri Leveri about cybersecurity. The European Parliament provided lunch. In the afternoon of the session there was a heated debate about cybersecurity and the EU. I personally spoke in the parliament about how member states shouldn’t oversee laws for cybersecurity and that the European Union should implement universal laws that all member states should adhere by. Then we got to vote using the electoral machines at our desks, then a final discussion on what important topics we would discuss if we were MEPs.

After the Euroscola session, we went back to the hotel, and we got ready to go out again. We got the tram into Strasbourg city, and we got food then we explored the Christmas Markets that they had in the town, the lighting in the city was truly magical.

Final Day: We woke up and packed our bags and said goodbye to the Origami Hotel and left for Heidelburg. It was a 2-hour bus journey to Heidelburg where we had a tour of the magnificent Heidelburg castle. We had a very enthusiastic and funny tour guide who told us all about the historical significance and history of the castle, it was fascinating. After the tour, we got free time to explore the town. It was beautiful the buildings were so pretty and had a vintage look about them. Then we left for the airport, and we said goodbye to our coach driver. In the airport we went to the duty free and at 19:50 we boarded the plane and then 2 hours later we were back in Dublin, Ireland. We all said goodbye to one another, but we all knew that it wouldn’t be the last time that we will see each other.

Thank you so much to Martin, Aiden, and Norah who were our supervisors during this trip and provided us all with help when we needed it. Thank you to them as well for organising this trip I’ll be eternally grateful for all the great memories and lifelong friends I made along the way because of this magnificent trip.