Rome Trip 2018
Thursday 19th April – 12:15
Spirits were high as we left school for East Midlands airport – destination Rome. Our travel arrangements ran like clockwork, with highlights as we flew over the snow-capped peaks of the Alps and the moment Rome loomed large in our vision as we came in to land. We checked in to our hotel room and made ourselves at home before enjoying a fabulous feast of pizza followed by gorgeous gelato.
“The view of such an active city, which was awake until so late was beautiful and exciting as the feeling hearing other people speaking a different language; all with its own culture and traditions. Also the hotel was very professional, with amazing and hospitable rooms made our first day journey a lot more entertaining”. (Sabina, Lois and Bethany)
“The City of Rome was really beautiful and even from the short journey from the airport to the hotel we saw glimpses of the monuments and buildings of Rome. When we arrived at the hotel we had time to settle into our rooms and unpacked before going out for a meal at a local restaurant. After we were all full up on pizza and gelato, we returned to our hotel for the night to be ready for a busy next day.” (Georgia, Holly, Nassr,Ifeanyi and Sophie)
Day 2 – April 20
“As we woke up incredibly early to start both day 3 and 4, we all were quite slow getting up, but as the sun shone our energy came back. Day 3 had lots of walking as day 2 did, and my legs felt like they would fall off!! The scenery was fascinating and so was the architecture of all the buildings. I loved the experience of visiting a new city and country.” (Adam)
After enjoying the luxury of a late start to compensate for the late night previously, we made our way to the Colloseum where we met our first guide, Fabio, who was going to help us understand the rich and exciting history of arguably Rome’s most infamous building. The weather was ‘scorchio’ without a cloud in the sky and we were certainly grateful for the spring water that flows freely from taps around the city. After visiting the Colloseum we had lunch in the grounds of Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum, home to the early Roman Emperors. The welcome shade that these amazing gardens gave us was a welcome relief indeed. Exploring the grounds of Palatine Hill took the rest of the afternoon and it was fascinating to be able to trace the history of Rome itself amongst the ruins of broken palaces, theatres and basilicas and see how the emergence of Christianity began to shape the final days of the Roman Empire. After a quick gelato on the way back to the hotel we enjoyed some down time before going out for dinner and settling down for the evening.
“Today we walked to the Roman Colleseum where we admired the ancient history then we strolled up north of the historical sight and entered the Palatine hill where we walked into ancient Rome. We looked at the emperors homes and slowly passed further and further down the history The Roman Empire. We then came toward the end of our tour and strolled back to our hotel , stopping along the way for ice cream and souvenirs.” (Dylan , Harry , R.J.)
Day 3 – Saturday April 21
“Overall this trip has been amazing, everyone has loved every single minute of this holiday, everything was relaxed and everything was chill, I want to thank the teachers for organising this trip and looking after us. ” (Gaurav)
Rising early we embarked upon the most packed day of our tour away. After breakfast we headed out into the city, led by our tour guide Francesca who showed us some of the ancient parts of the city, from the ruined baths of the early Caesars to the ancient pilgrimage route to the Vatican, marked by obelisks taken from Egypt. Like those early pilgrims, our path was to take us through the streets of the eternal city, stopping to reflect in some amazing places of worship, before crossing the river to enter the Vatican City itself. Whilst we were not meeting the Pope, we did explore the Holy City that lies at the heart of Catholic Christianity. Our breath was taken by the sheer scale of St Peter’s Basilica and our minds challenged by the intricacies of the Sistine Chapel, painted by hand by the great Michelangelo. In this place of wonderment we spent the afternoon, being swept along by the crowds through the great halls full of the great statues, paintings, frescos, tapestries and more to end in a period of reflection within St Peter’s. After our evening meal, we wound down for the evening and closed our eyes to the anticipation of what lay ahead the next day…
“Day 3 was wicked! Even though we walked for ages and ages it was amazing, the atmosphere of Rome is amazing, people are happy, people are smiling and most of all people had a good time, we saw some amazing monuments, the way some buildings have been crafted is unbelievable, and at the end of a long tiring day we treated ourselves to Hard Rock Café. The burgers was amazing and everyone loved it. Great Day!” (Gaurav Jhall)
Day 4 – Sunday April 22
“It was a great experience which made us stronger as a group. We even connected with people we wouldn’t normally talk to. The trip was great”. (Zikra)
Another early start was less eagerly greeted by all; however, after the early morning fog had cleared we strode out into Rome for the last time. The tiredness quickly evaporated as we caught the metro to the Spanish steps to meet our guide Francesca who showed us around the Spanish piazza before leading us to the Trevi fountain. Created by one of the ancient Popes as a symbol of the power and influence of the growing Catholic Church upon Roman life and a gift to the people who live in the eternal city, the Trevi fountain not only looks beautiful but still provides a way for those visiting to help the poor as tradition says that everyone who casts their coins into the fountain will be sure to return. This money is gathered and divided between local charities that help those who need it the most. We concluded our tour for the morning by visiting the Pantheon; a temple to all the gods with its stunning oculus which projected a shaft of light upon the icons and tombs of the very foundations of Rome itself. The sense of awe and wonder was palpable and students enjoyed the history and atmosphere, as they took a moment for quiet reflection.
Our time away concluded after lunch with an entertaining trip to the Time Elevator which took us through the history of Rome using 5D technology. Everyone found this a great way to round off our time away and after a spot of shopping we collected our bags and with a heavy heart (and even heavier feet) we trudged to the coach to start our journey home.
