Students visit to historic sites in Venice, Florence, and Rome, Italy. The course will focus on the cultural and artistic highlights of these three cities and will stress the importance of Italian architecture and art in the development of Western Europe. Students will visit the Basilica of St. Mark’s in Venice, the Duomo in Florence, and the Sistine Chapel in Rome. There will also be opportunities to visit art museums and attend a live concert.
Jan. 17 - Back from Italy
Our group has returned safely as of last night. We're glad to be home, but what a wonderful time we had. I had rather limited Internet access, so pictures and "after-the-fact" highlights will be posted soon
Jan. 16 - Travel Day, Coming Home
Well, sadly, Wednesday was the day to say Arrividerci to Italy. We flew from Rome to Washington Dulles, where we had the miraculous experience of getting through customs, rechecking our bags, and security in 30 minutes in order to make our Chicago flight.
We're glad to be home but have so many wonderful memories of our trip! I'd like to give special recognition to our students, who were stellar in their attitudes, "can-do" spirit, curiosity and appreciation of the significance of the trip, and general kindness and generosity. I feel so blessed to have gotten to travel with these students! Praise God for safe travels and unforgettable experiences.
Best travel group ever, l. to r., back row: Sarah Jongetjes, Allison Karlock, Marv Van Wyck, Victoria Van Hofwegen, Helen Van Wyck, Jeanie & Carl Kammeraad, Catherine White, Brian Deckinga, Kyle Harms, Hannah Snow, Lindsay Slager; front row: Molly Johnson, Lauren Jackson, Vicki Drenth, Kaitlyn Manning
Jan. 15 - Rome
On Tuesday, the most packed day of the trip, we did Rome. You might think it's not possible to "do" Rome in a day, but we saw an astonishing array of sights on our last day in Italy. We started the day with a tour of the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel with our city guide, Antonio. He took us through some of the dazzling riches of these museums.
Our next stop was St. Peter's Basilica, overwhelming in its size and grandeur. It's the largest church in the world, and the paintings, artwork, chapels, and sheer scope of this space are not things we'll forget. We were also grateful to have sunshine for part of our last day.



