2023 High Point Italy Program
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Day 9: Rome
Written by Carter V.
After waking up around nine we ate a light breakfast and hit the streets. Our first major stop was through the main shopping street where we window shopped at a plethora of luxury stores. At the end of the road we saw one of the seven Egyptian obelisks of Rome. After this we went to lunch at easily the worst restaurant of the trip. We were given chicken and potatoes that were singularly bland. And a salad that tasted like crunchy watery dirt. Then we walked to Vatican City seeing the museum and the basilica. My favorite parts where the Sistine chapel whose beauty is in my opinion unmatched, and the basilica where it felt like you were an ant walking among giants. After spending a little under three hours at the Vatican we walked to dinner. At dinner I had carbonaras. My carbonara, Tessa’s carbonara, and a little bit of another carbonara, which is safe to say was a very BAD idea in the gastrointestinal sense. However the food was some of, if not the best I’ve evert tasted. After dinner we walked to a gelato shop, where in line Jason and I met a very nice couple from Vermont who was in Rome. At this gelato shop I had two scoops if tiramisu gelato, which were good but not as good as actual tiramisu. After the gelatos we walked back to the hostel around 9:30 and had a nice quiet evening and a good sleep. All in all day 2 of Rome was fantastic and a great life experience, like every other day of this trip!
Day 8: Rome
I woke up at 5am for Chapter 15, then again at 7am for Chapter 16, then finally at 8am where I closed my eyes until 8:30 and then performed my morning routine. After completing my routine I went to wake Jason and Jack, Jason was already awake so I shook Jack until he came to his senses. I then played a round of Pool with Jack against Tessa and Quinn, where we scared them to the point they had to forfeit and go eat breakfast, where we promptly joined them. Everyone ate a light breakfast and then we parted ways to prepare for the incoming trolley at 11am. We played Pool while we were waiting where I refereed in a match between Quinn and Carter vs Jack and Tessa, Jack and Tessa won and then proceeded to play more Pool. Sara, Mia, Jason, and Julia simply stayed outside staring into the Italian countryside as they could not handle the grueling game that was called Pool. Mia, Sara, and Julia performed Mamma Mia with Jazz hands, receiving a stand ovation for their performance, everyone grew impatient waiting for the bus. Carter, Quinn, Julia, Mia, and Sara went on a tour around the vineyard, while Jack and Tessa played airhockey with the Pool balls, where every finger on Jack’s hand was broken. The bus arrived at 12:20, but everyone already decided to eat lunch, which was composed of penne, butter, and cheese. We left at 1pm and spread out across the spacious bus made for 50 people. We drove for about an hour until we took a pit stop. We drove for a while longer until we finally got to Rome at 5:15, after checking in all of our luggage we went to the Colleseum for a guided tour at 5:30. Afterwards we went out to eat at Hostaria da Isidoro al Colosseo. Everybody thoroughly enjoyed their food and we decided to walk through the Roman forum at night and go get Gelato before we went back to the hostel. Once we got to the hostel at 10:20 we decided to do karaoke. Julia, Sara, and Mia sung Dancing Queen-Abba. Jack, Carter, and I sung Bohemian Rapsody-Queen. Mr. Fenlon and Cristina sung Our Song-Taylor Swift with the help of Julia, Tessa, and Quinn. The boys went to their rooms to go to sleep while Tessa, Julia, Quinn, Sara, Mia, an Australian guy, and the hostess sang Cigarette Daydreams-Cage The Elephant. Afterwards, everyone went back to their rooms and went to bed.-Devin
Day 7: Murlo & Siena
Written by Sara D.
Today was packed with punch as we took on Siena and the major event of the day: the horse racing. We started the day off with a great breakfast and an absolutely amazing view of the farm. We then took an hour and half hike through the back roads and lands of Tuscany with Rubino leading the way to the Etruscan Museum. Once we arrived at the museum most of us went to the bathroom and laid on the floor to cool off. Cristina then translated the entire tour for us as none of us understand Italian. We learned about the Etruscan people, the years 500 and 600 and much more information! We then crossed the street to this amazing all natural restaurant. Everyone had homemade pasta with meat sauce and Julia tried the sage pesto pasta. The waiter let us try their all natural sodas: a green one, brown and orange soda. Jack and I really enjoyed the green one and Mr.Fenlon loved the orange soda. For dessert most of us had the most delicious and rich chocolate mousse that was to die for. While a few of us had panacota which Jack let us try. Simone then picked us up and drove us about 20 minutes to Siena. We saw the most outstanding views of the country side, while some of us ( Julia and Mia )passed out 2 seconds into the ride. Once we arrived in Siena, Carter and Quinn had to go to the bathroom for the 100th time that day. We then walked around the beautiful city and learned that there were flags for each team in the race. We stopped at shops and each of us bought a flag to represent the team we would be supporting. I got the rhino, mia got the fish, julia got the panther, quinn got the turtle, tessa got the elephant, Carter got the shell, Devon got the dragon, Jason got the owl and fenlon and Jack both got the goose. We then stopped for gelato after getting our flags. We continued to walk some more and passed the snail team chanting their song. Along the way we passed other teams as well chanting and learned that some teams had more enemies than others. Jack specifically was getting hunted down by the elephants. We then split up into groups and had the opportunity to walk around the city and see whatever we wanted. We then met up in-front of the entrance and made our way to a sandwich place where we met fellow New Jersians and watched as teams chanted and protected their horses in the streets making their way to the center. After we ate we went straight back to the center so we could get in early to find a good place to stand and watch. Everyone wore their flags as we pranced into the arena making our way to the opposite side to get front row seats. We waited an hour before the race started and watched as hundreds of people flooded into the arena. Each team chanted their songs and it almost sounded like a competition. Definitely an unforgettable experience. The horses started to run in and get in their places. As we awaited the start the man behind Fenlon and I asked that once the three laps were over to move so they could “jump the fence” so of course we did as they said. The snail team won the race in a heated battle and right at the end the shells behind us jumped the fence, well almost everyone was jumping the fences. All of us met up and held hands in a line follow the leader style so we could make our way to the exit. We then took the wrong way out of the exit and passed my people the rhinos as they got ready for a huge meal together. We also passed the geese who were also getting ready for a huge meal together. We then had to be rocky and climb a huge flight of steps to get to our final destination. Simone picked us up and drove us back to the farm. We watched a beautiful sunset as we drove through the green farm lands. Once we arrived at the farm we made our way into the house where some of us went into the kitchen and Devin ate eight yellow plums. We then all parted ways and went to our rooms for bed. Julia mia and I stayed up watching movies and eventually fell asleep. Overall an amazing experience for the day and I’m sure you will all see our flags hanging as soon as we get home.
Day 6: Florence- Murlo
Written by Julia V.
We woke up after watching “the Lorax” late into the night. Some skipped breaky others had a quick one. Then we were off to a random spot on the side of the road to get picked up by a bus. We greeted Simone with a great big bongiorno. Mia and I sat down and Carter and Devon were playing airplanes (not racecars because Devon wasn’t wearing his leather gloves) with the back of our seats and I had to yell at them. 20 minutes later everyone was out. Our sleep was interrupted by an interesting place Simone wanted to show us. Cimitero Americano was the place. It was a memorial for the Americans that died in the Italian campaign. We walked to the end, hoped the bus driver didn’t drive away with all our stuff to pawn it in a shop. At last we find the bus and got on. Fell asleep, then after moving around 5,000 times I woke up for the last time to Simone going across the river with the bus to get to the orchard. It reminded me of a moat for a castle. We stepped off the bus and we were greeted with this nice lady named Antonella. I could have cried, it was so beautiful here. She showed us our rooms but before sara, mia and I could go into our room we had to wait because Rubino pooped on the floor. She’s like oh sorry my dog. The rest of the day was free time. Some rested while others played pool. I on the other hand went in the pool, which was surprisingly warm. Later in the day Sara and I took pictures in our lovey dresses but we forgot a whole spot I wanted to go to, but either way they turned out cute. The landscape is so beautiful. Something you’d see in the movies and more. The mountains have mountains, the trees stand tall with pride and the grape trees in the orchard are so green and happy to be alive. The house is just perfect for Antonella and her husband. Their walls are some type of light sage green color, the ceiling arched in with red bricks, while the floor has big square tiles that are also brick red colored. It’s such a unique house. Somewhere in the mix of things we had lunch. A light lunch Antonella said. We all laughed after what she brought out to us. It was the best lasagna we ever had (besides mia, she didn’t like it). I got the veggie one and it was a type of lettuce that’s only in Italy or something like that. The texture was weird and it reminded me of mushrooms but I still ate it. It was still very good, and very filling. I definitely would have had more if I could. The meat one looked so good I almost tried it but did not. I rate over all a 10/10 and beyond. I could only imagine how good the meat one tasted. Then she brought out dessert. It was a cup of assorted fruit. Mr. Fenlon was NOT a fan of that. We all hounded her for the lasagna recipe the rest of the time spent there. Then we had dinner and that was scrumptious. But I liked the lasagna more. It was homemade pizza. It was still a 10/10 of course. I asked how they made the pizza and she said she made it from scratch. It took her 3 days to make the pizza because they grew their own yeast. I thought that was so crazy. She was like no crazy. I would never have imagined it being that homemade. The pizza was almost like a Sicilian but not. It was thick with a lot of holes allowing the sauce to semi seep into it. That was perfection. After dinner they played some more pool and some went to get ready for bed. Sara and I wanted to watch “the Lorax” but there was no wifi and I didn’t think to download it so the two of us and Mr.fenlon tried for a solid 20 minutes to figure out how to use screen mirroring and screen share, but nothing worked. We had to settle on a different movie. We got ready and all for bed and we started to watch a movie I previously downloaded at home for the trip just incase something like this happened. So we watched Goodnight Mommy on Amazon prime. This movie is so weird. I would recommend it.The crickets were so loud. That and the movie peacefully put me to sleep and I slept so good.
Day 5: Florence
Written by Mia D .
“mia mia it’s 8:15 time to get up” sara said. if you guys didn’t know she’s my personal alarm clock. anyways, i strolled out of bed and started to get ready with the girls. after a long session of make up, hair, and talking we eventually made it to breakfast. before i could even get to bite my croissant, julia was already asking me to rate the food for her chicken joe account. after breakfast we headed off to our first stop which was the Uffizi museum. we saw a bunch of medieval and renaissance art and amazing statues. after the museum we made our way to the food and leather market. everyone got $20 to spend and it was more then enough. Me, Sara, and Julia got sandwiches and then ice pops. after finishing our food we went to shop at the leather market. thankfully we had jack because we where able to haggle with the sellers and get there prices down. after finishing our food we made our way to the boboli gardens where i took an hour nap in the grass with julia. we walked around and took a bunch of amazing photos and enjoyed the scenery. we started to get hungry so we made our way to the famous gusta pizza. since we where trying to catch the sunset we ended up taking our food to to and eating it on the stairs in the city. me and Crisitina had pesto and mozzarella pizza and we ate the entire thing. it was the best pizza i’ve ever had in my life. right after finishing our food we hustled to the top of a mountain to see the sunset. it was absolutely beautiful and so relaxing. on our way back to the hotel i reminisced on our amazing day and how lucky we where to be able to see all these amazing things and to have Cristina as our guide!
Day 4: Florence
Written by Quinn G.
In the morning we ate breakfast and took the train to Florence and then checked in to our hotel. We walked to lunch and on the way we passed a church with the largest dome in Europe. We tried taking pictures but pictures couldn’t do it justice. After that we stopped for sandwiches and got some of the best gelato we’ve had so far. We hiked up to a rose garden on top of a very steep hill and walked around to enjoy the beautiful view. On the way we saw a bunch of artist’s shops and street signs that were graffitied by a well known artist. After that, we headed back down the hill to a huge leather market and walked around. They had bags in every color and a bunch of other things like jackets and wallets. We then went on a guided tour of Florence where we learned more about the church, mid-evil stories, and got sparkling water out of the wall which made Mr. Fenlon and Christina’s water bottles explode. We walked around the Palazzo Veccio and learned about the stories behind it and the above ground tunnel that connects the two sides of the palace across the river. We walked around a bunch of old narrow streets that reminded me of the ones in Harry Potter, we also heard about the story of Dante and got to see his “house” and a church for the year 1000. After our tour we had an amazing dinner where some of us ate pâté and some of us ate a lot of pâté. We also got some desserts like tiramisu and chocolate mousse. After that Julia made a tiktok with everyone’s impressions of how they would ask for the bill. We walked back to our hotel for the night and none of us could figure out how to work the shower, and Mia got burnt by the shower water. Then we all had to fall asleep to a random Italian movie playing on full volume on Julia’s iPad.
Day 3: Venices
Written by Jack L
I woke up at 8:55AM. Then we went down to breakfast. We got ready for the day and brought nothing with us but our phones and wallets. First stop was the doge palace and our friend and tour guide Jason helped us understand why the ceilings were full of gold. The swords and armor were in a display case so we couldn’t use them on each other and fight. We went downstairs into the dungeon and it was perfect for the vertically challenged Italian men. (devin and I) After the palace, we went to a supermercato; got bread, deli meat, mozzarella, grapes, chips, cookies, chocolate wafers, peaches and 1.5 liter water bottles. we then walked to a beautiful garden that had some really nice flowers and we looked at some but then found shade. After the garden we were starving, so we walked very fast to the park we ate at yesterday. We got there and opened everything and ate it all. we all finished pretty quickly and all decided to lay there and relax in the shade. At 2:30 we went on a very nice boat ride and saw 3 different islands. the first one we went to, we saw glass blowing and it was really cool but we were all burning hot in the demonstration room. after that we went to this other island that had a canal in the middle of the whole thing and it was a little town with a tall tower. finally we went to this other island that had the whole rainbow for color, on the houses. it was a nice little town that had gelato, after we had a great time looking at the different islands. Tessa Quinn,Jack,and Devin thought it was a great idea that while they were on the back of the boat, that they should buy an island that was for sale for 300,000 euro. also during the end of the ride jack wouldn’t stop nagging Christina to let him jump off the boat. it was really hot, but she said no. After the boat ride and island seeking we were giving 40 minutes of shopping and doing what you wanted in groups. We carried on and looked in different stores. Everyone meet up at the location we were told after the time so we can all go to dinner. The dinner and desert were amazing, we all had great conversations and even some stupid ones. While we all were exhausted from having an amazing day really exploring Venice. Christina listened to her maps and put us into a dead end. Jack was tired and helped her get back to the hotel and everyone was happy. Today was a great day and very eventful.
Day 2
Day 1: Duomos & Kimonos
Written by Tessa C
Today we got off the airplane after a 7 hour and 19 minute flight. When we landed we got stopped by a huge line of people getting their passports checked, we, being a group, got to cut the line and go into another line. Once we got through the line and got our passports checked, we went to find our luggage. At first we thought our luggage was gone so Mr. Fenlon went to solve our situation but then all our bags came out around the bend. We then found Christina our amazing tour guide in which we got going straight away. We went to find out bus and waited a couple minutes for the bus to come. The bus was very hot and some of us sat right next to the HEATER for the hour bus ride. Once we left the bus we started walking towards our hotel and when we found the hotel we checked in went to our rooms got changed and came back down to go get lunch. About 2 minutes from our hotel we found a cute pizza place where we all got mini personal pies and Mr. Fenlon even got the Americana. Once we left lunch we wandered through a shopping center where carter used the bathroom and everyone else explored the stores. We then walked towards the church and the girls got blocked from entering because their shoulders and knees were seen so they went to find kimonos that looked like dryer sheets to go inside. We then walked all the way to the castle of Milan where we sat next to a fountain and all of our butts got dirty. Once we felt ready to leave, we walked towards our restaurant for the evening where we got MANY bottles of water. All of our meals were delicious but then we thanked the owner and went to get gelato. The walk to gelato was around 5 minutes and I got custard cream and milk which in my opinion was very good. We then walked to the hotel where the girls walked to the fourth floor and the guys were on the first and eventually fell asleep. That was the end of day 1 and a great way to start the trip.
Day 1 MILAN
- almost lost luggage
- waited for bus forever
- then really hot bus
- got changed at hotel and went to lunch PIZZA
- walked to church
- duomos/kimonos
- in church
- castle
- dinner
- gelato
- sleep