Celtic Roots Global Appalachia is a global studies experience that allows students and the community to explore their Celtic Roots, either through travel or study abroad in the Interdisciplinary A.B. / B.S. or M.A. degree programs and our partnership with the University of the West of Scotland. The 2025 Celtic Roots course and travel practicum will take travelers to Switzerland and Italy to explore places associated with the 2025 Celtic Roots course: Geneva, Montreux, Interlaken/Thun, Como, Lerici, Pisa, Siena, Florence, and Rome. We will follow the literary footsteps and legends of Lord Byron, Mary and Percy Shelley, John Keats, Elizabeth Barrett, Robert Browning, Connon Doyle, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Henry James, John Ruskin, George Sand, Zelda Fitzgerald, and others, as we explore some of the most inspiring and breathtaking sights in Europe and our Celtic Roots—from the romantic Castle of Chillon to the hills of Tuscany, from the heights of the Schilthorn to the streets of Florence and Rome.
06/09/2025 - 06/21/2025
Ground Package Price
$4,725 - based on 20 full paying participants
Air Price
Pending - Price not yet available
Optional Travel Protection Plan
$5,001-6,000 $579
$6,001-7,000 $679
Optional Travel Protection Plan price based on final program price (Ground & Air) - tentative- final price will be determined once airfare quote is confirmed.
Academic Information
APST 430/530 Celtic Roots and Global Appalachia (3 credits)
APST 431/531 Travel Practicum (3 credits)
Trip ID
216696
Optional Add Ons:
Where: TBD
When: TBD
View the full itinerary below or online here.
Geneva, Switzerland
Let yourself be transported on La Rade to discover the shores of Geneva and their secrets. Our audio guide (available in French, German, English and Chinese) will tell you the history of the Jardin Anglais, the Jet d'eau or Swiss watchmaking and will sharesome amazing anecdotes with you. You will be able to admire the parks, the sumptuous villas, the monuments and the Palais des Nations that border the Petit-La (ticket included- quote only). Timetable for 2025 not available yet.
Montreux, Switzerland
Chillon Castle (French: Château de Chillon) is a medieval fortress celebrated for its beauty and is widely regarded as one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Europe. It is situated on an island in Lake Geneva. Chillon has been a military site since Roman times, and its development spans three key periods: the Savoy Period, the Bernese Period, and the Vaudois Period (entrance included).
Interlaken, Switzerland
The valleys and mountains of Lauterbrunen and Reichenbach Falls are a natural wonder beyond anything in Europe. Green mountain meadows that touch the sky, waterfalls that seem to flow directly from the heavens themselves, mountains villages and hills that are alive with so much more than music—indeed, this setting is a spectacular array of green meadows, blue skies, and white snow-capped mountains that that will leave you breathless.
Pisa, Italy
The Piazza dei Miracoli, formally known as Piazza del Duomo is a walled compound in central Pisa, Tuscany, recognized as an important centre of European medieval art and one of the finest architectural complexes in the world. It is dominated by four great religious edifices: Pisa Cathedral, the Pisa Baptistery, the Leaning Tower of Pisa (the cathedral's bell tower), and the Monumental Cemetery (entrances included).
Florence, Italy
Enjoy the Piazza del Duomo, where the cathedral, tower and baptistery exhibit the traditions of Florentine art from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. You will observe the massive and detailed façade of the Duomo before viewing the baptistery’s bronze doors, designed by Ghiberti and which Michelangelo commented were worthy to be the “Gates of Paradise.” Stroll along the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest of Florence’s six bridges. Spend time in the Piazza della Signoria, an open-air museum of sculpture – led by local guide.
Rome, Italy
Tour will include Keats house, Roman Ruins, Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine hill (entrances included with on-site guided visit of Keats house) - Please note that the maximum number of people per group for the Keats house is 25 (including the guide); if more, the group will have to be split – Led by local guide.
DAY-BY-DAY DETAILS
June 9: Nonstop Departure from Dulles to Geneva
June 10: Transportation from the airport to our Geneva hotel, the luxurious Mon Repos, takes us to the heart of historic Geneva, on the lake near the Glass Museum and Museum of the International Red Cross. The revolutionary sanctuary of Voltaire, Geneva is a graceful cosmopolitan city known for its famous lake and international reputation. Explore the shops and cafes before your afternoon cruise on the lake, where the young Romantics Shelley and Byron sailed by day and told ghost stories by night in Byron’s Villa Diodati and where Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein (cruise included). Our Welcome Dinner concludes the day.
June 11 | Geneva: Rise after a full night rest to enjoy your private coach ride to the romantic Castle of Chillon (admission included), setting for Byron’s heroic poem “Prisoner of Chillon,” story of 14th Century revolutionary François Bonivard. After exploring this romantic setting continue to your hotel in Montreux, Fairmont Le Montreux Palace. After check-in, you are free to enjoy lunch, stroll the flower-laden path by the Lake, or enjoy the city. Montreux was a favorite resting place for expatriates Zelda Fitzgerald and Henry James, who wrote many of his stories in this elegant city at the foot of the Alps.
June 12 | Thun: Today we set our sights on the Swiss Alps, our luxury journey a contrast to Mary Godwin’s riding a donkey through these high mountain passes after eloping with her lover Percy Shelley. A lunch stop in Bern, capital of the canton, brings us closer to Thun/Interlocken, our base to explore the Alps—the Lab Hotel in Thun by the Lake our host for two days of breath-taking sights and experiences.
June 13 | Thun: This will be a day whose visual splendor you will never forget: Murren, Reichenbach Falls, picturesque Lauterbrunnen, and mighty Schlithorn from which you view the magnificent Jungfrau and sip hot chocolate in the revolving restaurant at the top of Europe (entrance included).
June 14 | Como: Today we head for Italy via Lake Como, our Hotel Como on the shore of the Italy’s most famous lake.
June 15, Lerici | Pisa: We are on the road to Pisa, via the Bay of Poets and the romantic Italian town of Lerici, where Shelley and Mary spent their last days together and where we shall lunch before wending our way to Pisa and our hotel in the city center, NH Pisa.
June 16 | Florence: This morning we will explore Pisa’s Cathedral, Baptistery, and famed Leaning Tower (entrances included), lunching on our own, after which we will travel the short distance through the hills of Tuscany to Florence, the city of the Medici—making a stop at Piazzale Michaelangelo for a view that will take your breath away. A local guide will meet us at our De Lanzi Hotel after check-in to take us on an afternoon tour to orient us to Florence.
June 17 | Florence: This day belongs completely to you to explore all the sights of Florence that most intrigue you: the Ponti Vecchio, the Pitti Palace, the Duomo with Ghiberti’s bronze doors, the Piazza della Signoria, or perhaps searching for the Brownings’ Case Guidi . . . or you may just sit in the piazza and sip a cup of chocolate. By all means, follow your bliss, in this city of Dante and Lorenzo DeMedici.
June 18 | Siena, Rome: We depart for Rome today, via Siena to lunch and shop in the famous piazza. Our Roman Starhotel Metropole is in the city center, near the Tivoli Fountain.
June 19 | Rome: Our morning begins with half-day tour by a local guide. We will visit Keats’ house by the Spanish Steps, Roman Ruins, Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine (entrances included). The afternoon is yours to explore Rome, perhaps taking a look at the Caravaggio paintings and Bernini sculptures at the Borghese Gallery, St. Peter’s Square, or Giardino Zoologico. Our farewell dinner concludes the day.
June 20 | Rome: For those not opting for the extension, the morning is free to explore Rome before afternoon transport to the airport and back to Dulles. Those opting for the extension can . . . follow your bliss!
June 21-23: (optional) Roman extension to explore the City of Ceasar ($905 per person shared occupancy) with airport transfer and departure on June 23 for Dulles.
Professor of English
sshurbut@shepherd.edu
Dr. Sylvia Bailey Shurbutt has been enriching the academic landscape of Shepherd University since 1987 with her extensive expertise in English pedagogy, 19th-century British literature, linguistics, and Women’s and Appalachian studies. A proud alumnus of the University of Georgia, where she earned her Ph.D. in 1982, Dr. Shurbutt previously imparted her knowledge at Georgia Southern University.
Her scholarly passion lies in the revival of women writers who have been overshadowed in the traditional literary canon. Dr. Shurbutt also has a penchant for travel, especially when it involves leading student travel study tours, providing a global perspective to the educational experience at Shepherd University.
Ray and Madeline Johnston Chair in American History
bbankhur@shepherd.edu
Dr. Bankhurst’s research focuses on migration to the Appalachian frontier in the colonial and revolutionary periods. Before Joining the History Department at Shepherd, Dr. Bankhurst held teaching and research appointments at the London School of Economics; the Institute of Historical Research; and Queen Mary, University of London. His articles have appeared in the Pennsylvania Magazine for History and Biography, The Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies, and Eire/Ireland. The American Council for Irish Studies awarded his first book Ulster Presbyterians and the Scots Irish Diaspora, 1750-1763 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) the Donald Murphy Prize. Bankhurst coedited a collection of essays alongside Nigel Aston entitled Negotiating Toleration: Dissent and the Hanoverian Succession, 1714-1769 (Oxford University Press, 2019).
Dr. Bankhurst is the Co-Director of the Maryland Loyalism Project , a public archive and database documenting the experiences of Chesapeake Loyalists in the Era of the American Revolution.
Use trip ID 216696 to register.
Registration Deadline: February 20, 2025
Scholarship Options: WorldStrides offers a variety of scholarships to help make study abroad possible for all students. There are three scholarship opportunities available: Higher Ed Traveler, Diversity & Inclusion, and the Natalie Shea Memorial Scholarships. You can learn more and apply here.
Financial Assistance: WorldStrides makes more than $2 million in funding available each year to students in financial need seeking educational travel opportunities. To find out if you qualify and apply, click here.
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