Italy Trip April 2006

Rome was huge! And filled with so many ruins. It had the most landmarks known to everyone, but it was not my favourite place. Assisi was my favourite place because it felt the most like a stereotyped Italy. The pace of life there was slow and everything we did was at a leisurely pace. From our hotel we could see over Assisi and the plains surrounding it. The roads were made entirely of large stones and made the town feel very rustic. The rest of Italy was incredible, but it was too much to write down.

Tom Knight

Italy was so amazing it is too hard to pick my favourite place. Going to Italy was extremely worthwhile as we saw in real life all the things we have been learning about in Latin.

Kaitlen O'Connor

On March the 10th 2005 our teacher announced "We're going to Rome". Personally I thought she was mad, going all the way to Rome, Italy. But sure enough after a year of fundraising on the 13th of April 2006, 17 other Hargest students and 6 teachers were boarding a plane to take us to Italy! During our 14 day stay we visited heaps of places.

Hamish McKay

Overall my favourite part of our trip was Sorrento, because it had a completely different lifestyle from the rest of Italy. In Sorrento they still have siestas so all the shops were shut from the hours of 11.00am till about 3.00pm, which meant the shops were all open late at night. The things that made Sorrento so beautiful other than the night life, was that it was built on the coast, and Sorrento is where the orange and lemon trees are grown. Overall our entire trip to Italy was great and every part of it was enjoyable.

Bianca Burgess-Heald

When we visited Italy over the first term holidays, we saw many amazing sights and stayed in a huge variety of cities and towns. One city we spent some time in was Venice. Venice is unique for the reason that it is situated on sinking islands off the east coast of Northern Italy. As a result, it has a number of waterways of varying sizes. My good friend Tom and I spent about five hours there, wandering the streets and waterways. During this time we also ate lunch in a strange bar, ascended a bell tower and visited a glass blowing shop. I really enjoyed Venice, along with the rest of the trip.

Jonathan Cuff

Our trip started in Rome where we met our tour guide. Our tour started with a brief visit to Ostia Antica while waiting to check into our hotel. After settling into our hotel, we took the metro to the Trevi Fountain. From here we saw the Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Roman Baths, Catacombs and had time to do some independent exploring. On Easter Sunday we were lucky enough to get into the Vatican Square for Easter Mass with the Pope. Next we travelled to Venice with a stop in Bologna breaking the long drive. In Venice we went on gondolas through the canals. In Verona, our next stop, Juliet's balcony and the golden arena were the highlights. While traveling to Florence we stopped to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In Florence we saw many churches and great artworks including the famous statue of David. Next we spent a night in the sleepy town of Assisi. After Pompeii, Herculaneum and Monte Cassino, we made our way back to Rome where we ended our journey with a tour of the Vatican, Roman Forum and Colosseum. The best part of the trip was sharing all these fabulous experiences and sights of Italy with heaps of friends and the best tour guide ever, Elke.

Gini Howden