Huntington Students Tour Italy
and Switzerland
They discussed it, studied it and spent many hours planning for it and so when a contingent of Huntington High School students, teachers and parent chaperones finally traveled to Italy and Switzerland for 10 days of sightseeing and exploration they were able to thoroughly enjoy and appreciate every minute of it.
The group traveled with Education First Tours, departing July 12 and returning July 21. "We started to the trip in Switzerland, Lucerne and Zurich," said Silvia Gilbert, a Huntington High School foreign language teacher that organized the trek. "We went to Mt. Pilatus to view the Alps. Then we proceeded to the Italian Lakes Region to Lake Como and Garda and a little town called Bellagio. We also visited a beach area by a lake in a little town named Sirmione where the kids went swimming for a while."
The travelers continued on to Venice, enjoyed a Gondola ride and visited Murano, taking in a glass making presentation. "Next it was to Florence where we visited Piazza della Signoria," Ms. Gilbert said. "We viewed the 'David' by Michelangelo and the Uffizi Gallery." The gallery is one of the oldest and most famous art museums in all of western civilization.
A stop in Assisi provided an opportunity to explore the Basilicata of St. Francis. "Then we proceeded to Rome where, of course, we visited the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica the Colosseum and the Forum," Ms. Gilbert said. "We enjoyed a lot of pizza and gelato on a daily basis." The Huntington group also appreciated a daily continental breakfast that is quite different from the fare they are accustomed to at home.
The 11 students on the trip "had a wonderful time," Ms. Gilbert said, "and met many students from Rhode Island, North Carolina and Iowa. They all got along very well and exchanged cell numbers and e-mail addresses. We were combined to form a larger group."
In addition to Ms. Gilbert and her department faculty colleague Lorena Diaz, the traveling party included students Sofia Bialskowski, Carol Cimetta, Marina Siegel, Michael Piazza, Holden Kata, Hanna Murphy, Ana Feliciano, Angeline Ramos, Nathalie Gomez, Hayley Petrizzi and Kerri Ann Giambruno and two parent chaperones.
The trip had many highlights, including a visit to the Sistine Chapel in Rome that left students awestruck. "One thing is learning from books, but it is a totally different experience seeing the works of art in their natural beauty and in their environment," Ms. Gilbert said. "The pictures show a partial view, but being in the Chapel one can appreciate the total beauty all at the same time."
Among the 11 Huntington students were five June graduates and six incoming seniors. "They wanted to go to see the monuments and places they learned about in class," Ms. Gilbert said. "On the trip, these places became real and took on a totally different meaning. At the end of the trip many of the students wanted to know where we will be going next year. It was a very successful tour."