One of Hilary Machovina’s memories of Europe is watching two 10-year-old boys sketch an old cathedral, not because they had to but because they wanted to.

People appreciate art so much more over there, she said. It was amazing to see such young children encouraged to work with and explore art.

A junior in interior design from Belleville, Machovina was a member of last year’s Le Petit Grand Tour d’Architecture, and she says the tour gave her a greater appreciation for international students.

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For once you’re a foreigner in another country, and you can understand what international students go through in another country, she said.

Two architecture professors, Jon Davey and Denny Hays, will again lead a backpacking tour of Europe from May 10 to June 13. The Little Grand Tour of Architecture will begin in London, England, and will end in Istanbul, Turkey. During the course of the trip, students will visit cities in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Greece and Turkey.

Historically, as architecture students completed their academic degrees, it became customary for them to tour Europe to gain a broader depth of knowledge about architecture and culture.

Davey said the goal of the tour is to expose people to culture, food, people and cosmopolitan life.

So we’ve put together a tour of our own, Davey said. What makes this one unique, though, is that we’ve brought in technology.

The technology that will be used on the trek includes digital cameras, portable computers, scanners and satellite up-links to the SIU website. Students will capture their experiences on digital cameras, download the images to laptop computers, compose web pages and send them back to be put on the SIU website.

Local elementary and high schools are encouraged to communicate with the students and request images that the students have posted on the website at www.siu.edu/~archtour.

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The Little Grand Tour of Architecture has established relationships with various European institutions. These institutions provide aid to the student travelers in the form of guest lecturers, contacts and general assistance.

Hays said cultural issues are a very important part of the trip. The culture is more than you see in a classroom or on a wall. There’s something ingrained there, he said. Our goal is to get the students out of the hotel, out into the streets and not just sitting around watching CNN.

Davey said he thinks it is important for students to experience the architecture and interact with the people.

It gives them a better feel of the people who are going to use their architecture, he said.

Jamie Victorin, a junior in interior design from Naperville who went on the tour in 1997, said the trip was an unforgettable experience.

A lot of us didn’t know each other very well, Victorin said. I went there basically not knowing anyone who was going, but in the end I wound up making a lot of really great friends.

Hays said this tour is truly distance learning.

Students who come back from this trip are better students, he said. It’s as simple as that.

The tour is not limited to architecture or interior design students, nor is it limited to SIUC students. He said there are students signed up from the University of Illinois, SIUE and Southern Missouri State University.

There are five slots left, so interested students should contact Davey or Hays as soon as possible. The trip costs about $4,800, which includes airfare, lodging, some meals and museum passes.

Davey said he believes going on this tour is the best way to experience architecture.

You have to feel the textures of the buildings, hear the reverberation of the acoustics, smell the stone and see people’s interaction with each other in the building, he said.

You have to be there. Anything else is critical fiction.

People interested in participating in the program should contact John Davey or Denny Hays at 453-3734.