After 18 months of preparations, particularly to gather the budget – which was very modest indeed – they needed, Elio and Justin managed to convince their parents to let them go for a year, with their high school diploma in hand, a somewhat unique gap year before university studies.

Unfortunately, it was the year of COVID! They adapted their route as much as possible to the constraints created by the pandemic, even though many borders were closed, tests were too expensive for their budget, and quarantines were difficult to avoid. Despite the COVID situation, they were generously welcomed throughout their journey, in a Europe emptied of its usual tourism… but not of its trucks!

Elio and Justin visited ecological projects and met with residents of the different countries they crossed. They collaborated with primary schools and a high school class to allow students to follow their journey remotely via video conferencing and discover Europe with them while studying.

They created a blog for their network of contacts, which expanded during the journey. They were also followed by various media outlets in their region and by the high school newspaper Phosphore.