Le Moyne College Stories

My journey to Italy began with leaving the airport with my religion class and stepping into an entirely new and beautiful place. Florence, Italy was extremely different from what I am used to living in New York. I could not help but observe the amazing architecture, scenery and people as soon as we landed. The class had to take a bus to Hotel Bonifacio and as I watched the beautiful views out the window, I still could not grasp that I was in such a wonderful place. As soon as we arrived to the hotel, we quickly settled in, and then began our adventures. Most of the days were spent touring Florence where we got to see the Piazza del Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Piazzale Michelangelo, Piazza della Signoria, Piazza Santa Croce and so much more. The best part was how different Italy’s buildings were from what we are used to. They have so much more meaning to their ancient appearance and I loved how Professor Glennon made sure we understood the historical background and religious aspects on all of these buildings. A few other destinations explored were Cinque Terre, Venice, Tuscany and Rome. In Cinque Terre, I was able to see the colorful houses and ancient vineyards that cling to the coastline. My favorite part of Venice was when I rode on a gondola where I was able to see how the people that live there only get around by canals and boats. There were so many amazing places that I got to see in Rome including the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Vatican Museums, Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain.It is amazing to think of how I learned about all these places when I was younger in history class and now I was able to see and learn about them in person. The entire experience and many adventures were unbelievably amazing and I can’t help but always think back to how much fun our class had in Italy. We all learned a lot about Italy’s culture, architecture and religious aspects and it is so fascinating to see how much different their country is from ours. I am so grateful I was able to be a part of such a wonderful adventure and I would definitely go back one day. Contributed by Amanda Arnold