What better way to learn the craft of travel writing than by actually packing your bags and hopping on a plane to another country?

Michael Pearson, associate professor of English and director of the creative writing program, recently presented that opportunity to 14 students and faculty members when he led a travel writing seminar in England and France May 8-20.

Pearson has written numerous travel articles that have appeared in such publications as The New York Times, the Atlanta Constitution and The Boston Globe. He's also the author of two travel-related novels, "Imagined Places: Journeys into Literary America" and "A Place That's Known."

Pearson said he believes the experiential learning aspect of the group's recent trip was crucial. "We were able to be there in the context of work where we could experience travel writing physically as well as intellectually. I was able to teach travel writing in terms of actuality, along with the great fun that goes along with travel."

The group explored London, Stratford-upon-Avon, Canterbury, York and Paris.

Jennifer Sloggie, a graduate student in English with a professional writing emphasis, said the trip was an excellent opportunity for her to grow as a writer.

"I learned what it's like to be a visitor in another culture, something I had never experienced before, having rarely traveled outside Virginia," she said. "I learned a lot about culture and human nature - both from the 'native' people of the cities we visited and from the 'non-natives' that were part of my class - which will definitely help me as a writer."

In addition to Pearson, Tim Seibles, Janet Bing and Charles Ruhl, three other faculty members from the English department, went along for the fun.

"Tim was great fun to have on the trip. It was also wonderful to have Janet Bing along. She took on the role of mother to some of the girls at certain times on the trip. It was also great to have Charles, with his sharp sensibility," said Pearson.

The seminar offered three hours of credit to undergraduate and graduate students. Participants were required to research and write one or more travel articles to be turned in two weeks from the time of their return to the United States.

Undergraduates could write either three stories of 1,200 words or one story of 2,500 to 3,000 words. Graduate students were required to write either three stories of 2,000 words or one story of 4,000 to 5,000 words.

Pearson said the objective was to have the students write an article or articles of "publishable" length.

A number of students and faculty members who went on the trip have submitted their articles for publication. Bing, a professor of English, has contacted PortFolio magazine in Virginia Beach, and one student has submitted a story to Victoria magazine as well as Old Dominion's College of Arts and Letters magazine.

Pearson said he let the students choose what they wanted to write about. Articles turned in after the trip covered topics such as "Paris in a Blur," the cathedrals of England, bargain hunting in England, exploring York and recreating British tea time.

The group spent the greatest amount of time in London, about five days overall. One highlight of the trip was attending a rendition of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" at the Globe Theatre. "Seeing 'The Tempest' was an amazing and astonishing experience, everyone felt that. It was like being one of the groundlings in the film 'Shakespeare in Love,'" said Pearson.

After spending three days in London, and taking a day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon and another to Canterbury, the group was off to France.

The two days the group spent in Paris were the first for Pearson, a seasoned traveler. "We all enjoyed Paris. Two days were not enough. Paris is exotic, but not too exotic. It's within our cultural view," he said.

The travelers only got to spend about two hours in the famous art museum, the Louvre, which wasn't anywhere near being long enough, Pearson lamented.

From Paris, the group returned to London via the Eurostar train, traveling through the Chunnel, and from there on to York for two days.

"I hadn't expected them to enjoy York that much. But the students loved it. They found it to be a very manageable little city," Pearson said.

One of the things that Pearson found exciting about the whole experience was the relationship forged among all 15 travelers. "I was really amazed at how quickly we got to know each other. All of us were virtual strangers when we got on the plane in Norfolk on May 8. By the third day, you felt you had a sense of everyone's personality. It would take at least a year to develop that kind of relationship in a regular classroom setting."

Pearson also said the group watched out for one another throughout the entire trip.

"I don't think I have ever taken a class that allowed the students to become such close friends, with each other and with the teachers," said Sloggie. "We really did become close during our 13 days of traveling. We didn't originally plan to spend so much of our free time together, but I think we had dinner as a group almost every night, and we usually visited the same museums, sights, etc., during the day."

"I couldn't tell you anything bad about the trip from my point of view," noted Pearson. "I was amazed at how smoothly everything went. It was a terrific experience."

Of course, the travelers experienced a few minor problems that caused some "temporary tension." One student missed the initial flight from Norfolk to Charlotte, N.C., but caught the next plane out and was able to meet the group before they left the country. On the way back, the bags of another student were "misplaced" by customs, and her fellow travelers had to fly back to Norfolk without her.

Now with the first seminar behind him, Pearson said he hopes to conduct travel writing seminars for at least another five years.

"One of the great things about this seminar," said Pearson, "is that I'm not teaching geography; I'm teaching travel writing. It's not location-specific - we can go anywhere. Maybe one year we'll do a few days in Italy, maybe the next we'll do two weeks in Greece."

The itinerary for next year's seminar will change slightly, allowing for five days in both Paris and London, as well as two days each in Edinburgh, Scotland, and York, England.