Did you know that Bermuda played a role in the American Civil War?

Do you have any idea where Bermuda's first newspaper was printed?

Do you know anything about the oldest Anglican Church in the entire Western Hemisphere?

Have you ever visited Mitchell House, St. Peter's Church, Tucker House, The Globe Hotel and many other historical sites in the beautiful Island of Bermuda?

These are only some of the questions which I had to find the answers to during my school's M2 visit to 'Ye Olde Towne of St. George' one Thursday in January.

I was looking forward to this because it meant a whole day out of school, but I was in for a shock. I had no idea that it was going to be so exciting and interesting.

St. Peter's Church was very interesting. While we were walking around I spotted a list of names of people who died in World War II. The most unbelievable name I saw was Ewart Brown but I quickly figured out that it must have been his grandfather or some other relative. One interesting part about St. Peter's Church was the graveyard which had a majority of babies buried there.

I figured that must have been because medicine was not available or there were a lot of diseases that the Bermudians of long ago could not cure. While we were touring the back of the church, I noticed another graveyard which was separated from the first one. I soon found out that this graveyard was where black people were buried long ago.

That really bothered me for a while but then I remembered a teacher telling us that there was segregation in Bermuda long ago. The very best part about St. Peter's was when Miss Spencer played 'Amazing Grace' on the organ — it was AMAZING!

Would I visit it again? Definitely, yes.

I would also go back to Mitchell House (St. George's Historical Society Museum). Mitchell House was built for a newlywed couple and downstairs of this house was where newspapers were made. There are three chimneys at Mitchell House which makes it not quite ordinary. We saw things like sea fans which were used to sift flour and sea whips which were used to beat eggs. There were no fancy mixers back then. The window on the side of Mitchell House was once a part of St. George's old jail where Reverend Stephenson was imprisoned for preaching to blacks.

Tucker House used to be the home of the late Mr. Henry Tucker, he was the President of the Governor's Council. There was a lot of antique silver, crystal, china and Bermuda cedar chairs and tables in Tucker House. All of these things made Tucker House one of the richest houses in Bermuda. When we left Tucker House we were walking along an alley called Barber's Alley. I thought that was a weird name for a road but then I learned why it had that name. On the side of Tucker House, Joseph Rainey, a freed black man, operated a barber shop there. I wonder what kind of tools he used in his shop.

The other interesting place for me was The Globe Hotel near St. George's Square. This is where Governor Samuel Dey lived.

The Globe Hotel shows a lot about the role Bermuda played in the Civil War. A Confederate agent named Norman Walker used The Globe Hotel as his personal headquarters while he supplied guns and ammunition for the war. I never thought little Bermuda would have had anything to do with something so important. After we left The Globe Hotel, I never found out if it ever was an actual hotel though.

So although I was looking forward to a full day away from school I had no idea that I was going to learn so much and have fun at the same time. I recommend a tour to St. George's for locals and tourists. I also recommend more field trips like this in school.