Liam Gilroy | Reporter
Last week a large gathering of S6 including myself and 6 teachers travelled to Rome for a week, on our long awaited holiday.
As well as being a pleasure trip we also enjoyed our time learning about the city itself and certain places found around the City such as the Coliseum. We also spent two separate days in the Vatican.
On Sunday (the day of our flight to Rome) we were required to be present at the school at around three o’clock in the morning with all our personal belongings to take with us. This left most of us sleeping on the flight to regenerate our necessary energy as later on in the same day we would have a tour of the Coliseum and the surrounding area including the Roman Forum.
After we clambered off the plane, we then received our bags and made our way onto the coach that would basically become our second home for the next few days. Upon arrival at our hotel, we were greeted by the friendly staff who would be looking after our needs.
After lunch we made our way to the Coliseum. I found the sights were very astonishing but as we lacked sleep we were envisioning Gladiators having battles in front of us. Later in that same day we then all went out for dinner to a local restaurant and enjoyed a two course meal of pasta for starter and pizza. After dinner we then journeyed to the Trevi Fountain where we spent the best part of 40 minutes admiring the tremendous structure before getting on the coach to go back to the hotel.
Following a long lie after the extremely jam-packed first day, we arose for the second day of activities which started of with breakfast in our hotel. We received a briefing from the teachers informing us of the details of the day, learning we would first venture into the Catacombs and then to a Vineyard were we would be able to taste local products including some of their very own wine and olive oil.
The Catacombs were very intriguing as they were full of old caskets which possessed interesting sketches, drawings of the disciples of Jesus and others representing other Roman Catholic symbols from parables of the bible such as the fish and there were also parts of human remains found within some of the caskets.
Leaving the Catacombs, we stopped in a very picturesque village (Castel Romani to Castel Gandolfo an Lake Albano) high up in the mountains on the outskirts of Rome where we would be allowed to venture off and buy our own lunch (with an agreed meeting point, of course!).
Getting back on the coach, we travelled the short distance to Castel De Paolis where we would be walked through wine production and offered samples of white and red wine which we were able to then purchase for our families back home. We then stopped off in Frascati for dinner and walked around the glorious town including St Peter’s Cathedral.
On the second last day, we enjoyed our first of two days spent in the Vatican, being taken on the Scavi tour which took us underneath the City/State. After taking part in this insightful tour, we then visited the main part of the St Peter’s Basilica where we witnessed the Altar Cattedra, the famous Michelangelo Pieta Statue and the tomb of St John Paul the II. We continued downwards deep into the tomb of St Peter. We then walked for about 20 minutes into the heart of Rome where we would eat our beautifully prepared lunch. After this short refuelling stop, we carried on to the incredible Spanish where we would be picked up by the coach once again and spent the rest of the evening relaxing by the pool at the hotel, having dinner here as well.
Wednesday was our final day and after our early rise at six o’clock in the morning, we departed for the Vatican once again in order to get good seats for the audience with the Pope. The ceremony was extra special as it was the feast day of St Francis so it lasted a little longer longer than usual, undoubtedly adding to the wonderful experience. After getting our items blessed, we left the Vatican and had lunch at Borgo Pio. Following lunch we then were taken on a guided tour of the area by our group leader (teacher) through Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Piazza del Popolo, Sant’Ignazio Church and finally the Spanish Steps where we would walk up to reach our “last supper” curtesy of Hard Rock Café.
The next day we travelled to Fiumicino Airport for our return flight to Glasgow and we then got back to the school at around 4:15pm.
Was this trip worth it?
Definitely! Getting to see a new part of the world with your classmates and teachers is a fabulous experience and Rome was certainly a beautiful and cultural city. I am certain that many of us will look back at this adventure in years to come, remembering our time at St. Andrews and St. Brides High School fondly.
