March 2024
By Emily Chalambaga and Roberto Garcia
This spring break, selected seniors of the class of 2024 set out on an adventure to travel internationally to various destinations in the beautiful country of Italy.
Sadly, this year’s senior trip began on a rocky start due to weather conditions that delayed flights and later canceled days off the trip for most seniors. Flights were organized into 2 flights, A and B, with A being a selection of 5 students and one chaperone having to wake up earlier to have an extra stop in New York. Flight B headed from Austin to Dallas, then straight to the beautiful city of Rome. Flight A went as planned, but unfortunately, flight B did not have that same luck as they were left behind. This left many seniors feeling angry and disappointed about having their long-awaited vacation put on hold.
Thanks to the dedication of the chaperones and tour-group company Explorica, flight plans were made to fly the rest of the senior group on Monday to meet up with group A in Assisi, Italy. After the 11-hour flight, group B took a 2-hour bus ride to meet with group A in the beautiful countryside of Italy. We made our way towards the village, as seniors and chaperones were able to walk into the Basilica and see the church’s architecture and art. The large structure of the church contained the tomb of St. Francis and many pews and holy places to pray and show respect. Seniors were later given the freedom to explore the village, as they found many shops and stores with delicious food and unique items.
After Assisi, we returned to Rome, where we started with two and a half hours of free time to explore the town, shop, and taste the delicious food in the city. After those two hours, we all met up and set out for a tour of the Colosseum, Ancient Rome, and Trevi Foundation, where we learned about the history of Rome, important monuments, buildings, and tourist attractions.
As we reached the halfway point of our trip, we visited the long-awaited Vatican, where we took an intriguing tour of their religious history and artifacts, such as the Pope’s collection and Michelangelo’s art in the famous Sistine Chapel. Afterward, the group was given time to shop for many religious and memorable souvenirs to bring back home for their families and friends. Popular items were rosaries, holy water, and jewelry. But hold on: THE DAY WAS NOT OVER! After the tours, we took a trip to Palazzo del Freddo Giovanni Fassi, a gelato shop, where we had a demonstration of how gelato is made and the history of their business, ending with students getting to choose three flavors of delicious taste and enjoyment.
Next stop, Sorrento! Heading to Sorrento, we stopped at Pompeii, where we first visited a cameo workshop where we were shown how jewelry and sculptures were made through the use of seashells. We then took a tour of the temple ruins of a fallen village caused by a volcano eruption. In these temples, we saw various mummified victims of the eruption and were shown the old society they used to have, such as their public baths, catering fountains, and other questionable things… We later arrived at the town square of Sorrento, where we all did plenty of shopping and eating.
Our last stop was a little island named Capri. In Capri, we took a boat to the Blue Grotto Caves. There, students and chaperones boarded small canoes that took them through a small entrance into the cave, where they saw the miraculous view of the bioluminescent water shining in the dark cave. We later explored more of Capri as we came back to shore and went further into the town. There, many ate and had time to shop at a perfume store named Carthusia Profumi Di Capri.
As we near the end of our trip, we travel back to Rome, where students and chaperones explore the late night of Rome for dinner. Many seniors ended up at a local festival listening to live music and dancing the night away through a conga line!
Although this trip may have started rocky, the Class of 2024 set a mark to close out their year celebrating, making remarkable memories, and now heading into new beginnings and opportunities.
The Cardinal Post 