Sitting in the office used by the foreign secretary of Emperor Napoleon more than 200 years ago, it is difficult not to be amazed. This beautiful Parisian building, across the street from the Italian Embassy, is now host to Marco Maria Cerbo, head of the permanent delegation of Italy to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
With historical importance radiating from each room, this meeting with Signor Cerbo was a highlight of my political study tour of the European Union.
Europe is the birthplace of politics as we know it, and as part of my studies at Swinburne University I was able to travel there November 2017 for an intensive study tour of the European Union.
Accompanied by fellow Swinburne University politics students, I visited the key institutions of the European Union, and learnt about the crucial political connections between Australia and Europe.
My tour took me across the Continent, allowing me to visit such historical cities as Prague, Berlin, Brussels and Paris.
The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
As I travelled I learnt about the different roles each European institution plays in the political superstructure that holds so much of Europe together.
From the grand chamber of the European Parliament in Brussels to the expansive corridors of European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, each visit gave us a wealth of knowledge about a different aspect of the European Union, and how they all work together to keep the Continent running.
The European Parliament, Brussels
Walking through the halls of institutions and seeing their operation with our own eyes brought what we learnt to life, making for much more exciting lessons than would have been had in a classroom.
As well as the politics, we were awash with culture in each country visited, sampling the food and learning the customs of all the localities.
Visiting monuments such as the Brandenburg Gate and the Eifel tower never cease to disappoint. A personal highlight for me was the tomb of Napoleon in Paris. A huge golden domed roof protects the emperors tomb, in the centre of which sits Napoleon’s gargantuan coffin.
The entire trip truly was an amazing experience, and one that I was very privileged to be a part of.
Dôme des Invalides, tomb of Napoleon I, Paris