Amarillo—A group of 13 students, four faculty and five parents and adults representing Holy Cross Catholic Academy returned March 18 after a 10-day Spring Break trip with stops in Athens and Rome.
“Our itinerary was incredible,” said Elizabeth Pace, a member of the Holy Cross faculty. “We left Amarillo March 8 and arrived in Greece late in the afternoon the next day. While we were there, we spent time in Athens, at the Acropolis, at Olympic Stadium, in the Plaka District and at the Temple of Zeus. We also took part in a Greek Evening that included authentic Greek dancing, singing and lots of Greek food.
“Our time in Greece also include a tour of Delphi and a visit to the Temple of Apollo, the home of the legendary oracle of Delphi as well as the Delphi Museum.”
The group left Greece March 12 for Italy, taking a ferry boat ride from Patras to Bari.
“In Italy, we visited Capri, Pompeii, Sorrento and Rome,” said Pace. “We were in attendance at the March 14 General Audience with Pope Benedict, where we ran into Bishop (Patrick J.) Zurek.
“We spent a lot of time in Vatican City. We also saw the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Forum, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Piazza Navona, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pope’s Cathedral, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Scala Sancta and several other important Catholic Churches and Roman ruins.”
A number of students were asked by The West Texas Catholic about their impressions about the trip.
Junior Tina Dang
“After spending more than a week in Europe, I would say it was a once in a lifetime experience, but I want to go back.”
Junior Titus Medley
“Not many high school kids can say they have visited the oldest standing city in the world (Athens) and the holiest city in the world (Rome) in the same 10 days. I’m glad to say that I can.”
Junior Jena Rizcallah
“Opa!”
Junior Tina Dueñes
“I have always been interested in Greek mythology as well as the unusual, yet beautiful architecture of Greece. After being in Athens and Delphi, I feel as though the expectations I had going into Greece have been met. As for Italy, I loved it so much more than I had anticipated. Having been to France, Spain and Portugal for World Youth Day, and then Greece, Italy is by far my favorite. My mom dreams of going to Italy, so God willing, I’ll take her sometime in the future.”
Senior Kimarie Balmes
“Every place we went to was so amazing that there was no way to capture it all on camera. You just have to go see it for yourself.”
Sponsor Elizabeth Pace
“I LOVE traveling and to share that love of traveling with my students is probably the most memorable thing I can do as a teacher. Walking through the streets of Rome and Athens, hearing my students talk about how they’ve learned this stuff in school but to SEE it, they won’t ever forget it—well, nothing could have been better about this trip. I don’t know that I could get tired of visiting these places with my students, because each student brings something new to the trip.”