Over spring break 35 students and five chaperons attended the social studies trip to Italy. Initially, the group flew to Amsterdam, and then to Rome. There, they waited for a group of students from Colorado who were on the same tour as them. Once the other group arrived, they took a bus to their hotel in Assisi.

On Sunday (holy day), they witnessed a Catholic mass at St. Francesco Basilica in Assisi. Then they had free time to eat, shop, and take pictures in the beautiful city. They also visited many other historic churches. That night, they took a bus to Florence.

The following day, they took a tour through Florence and saw statues and bridges throughout the city. After the tour they got to climb to the top of the Duomo, which was 463 stairs. At the top, they got to see the view of the entire city of Florence.

“My favorite part of the trip was climbing 463 stairs to get to the top of the Duomo and see an entire panorama of the city of Florence,” Molly Wasserberg (12) said.

After spending two days in Florence, the group loaded the bus and made their way to San Gimignano, a medieval town in Tuscany, Italy. In the countryside students explored little shops and tried new food. The group also went to the World’s #1 ranked gelato shop called Gelateria Dondoli.

“I never had rabbit before, so [I] tried it while I was in San Gimignano,” Thomas Millunchick (12) said.  “It tasted like turkey, but since rabbits are lean animals, there wasn’t much to try.”

“ Incredible history, great little shops, and the world’s best gelato,” said English Department head and chaperone, Ms. Nieves about San Gimignano.      

The following day the group traveled to Rome, and had the busiest day of the entire trip. They started off with a tour of the Colosseum, and then went to the Roman Forums, which are old temples and remains of churches. The group then had free time to explore Rome and go shopping. When they met up again they went to St. Peter’s Basilica.

“My favorite part of the trip was going to St. Peter’s Basilica.” Millunchick said.  “It was just awe-inspiring.  Everything towered over us; made of either marble or gold.  And in the center of the Basilica was this massive dome well above us, with the giant St. Peter’s Baldachin in the middle.  We had learned about it in AP Euro when we were discussing Baroque art style, and thought it was really small.  We were all speechless.”

After dinner that day, everyone went back in Rome to see the Spanish Steps and threw three coins into the Trevi Fountain. The first coin means they will come back to Italy, the second coin means they will find true love, and the third coin was any wish they desired.

The second day in Rome, they went to the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel, where they had to be completely silent and weren’t allowed to take pictures. After the tours the group had the option to go to their tour guide’s best friend’s family restaurant or one of their choice.

Carly Stern (12) said, “It was the best decision to go the restaurant he recommended because I had my favorite meal of spinach and cheese ravioli in walnut sauce. It was the best meal I had during the entire trip!”

Afterwards they had the option to go to St. Paul’s Basilica, where the Pope was at earlier in the day, or to stay in Rome and go shopping. The kids enjoyed their last meal in italy at a local pizzeria in the city of Rome.

“People are not as fast-paced as Americans are,” Wasserberg said. “Also, a lot of people don’t drive cars. I rarely heard sirens or car honks. People seemed so happy and full of life. I couldn’t believe how each street I turned down was more beautiful than the last.”

Mr. Clifford is now in the process ofplanning the next student trip to Italy, so be sure to listen in the announcements for more information!