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Whilst most people were in bed at 3am on the Friday before half term, 40 students from Years 10-13 were getting ready to leave for the Classics trip to Italy. We passed through Luton airport without incident and arrived in Rome by lunchtime.
After a quick look round our luxury accommodation (a convent) and some friendly, though unintelligible, banter with the owners (the nuns), we had our first slightly bewildering experience of the Metro on our way to the Vatican. We had our second security search of the day before meeting up with our tour guide for Rome, Pino. With him we witnessed the Vatican, including the Sistine Chapel which was incredible, the Coliseum, the Roman Forum and the ancient port of Ostia. From there we went to the Catacombs, a huge series of underground tunnels containing the tombs of early Christians.
After our last night in the convent, we headed for Sorrento by coach, stopping at the beautiful abbey of Monte Cassino en route. Having admired the gorgeous sea-view and getting a feel for the town, the next day we visited the excavated ruins of Herculaneum under the supervision of our fantastic guide Mario. In the afternoon, we walked all the way to the top of Vesuvius amid cries of “I really hope it doesn’t erupt today…”
Next day was the Naples Museum and a tour of Pompeii, including a stop for a group photo outside Caecilius’ house! On our final full day we visited the ancient Greek city of Paestum via the stunning Amalfi Coast. It was another early start (2:30 am) on the last day and we returned home mid-afternoon, exhausted but happy after a brilliant trip. A big thanks to Miss Cooke, Mlle Grignard and Miss Simms for coming with us, and especially to Mrs Everton for organising the trip.
Yr13 Students
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