On April 7, 2022, Lindehhurst Students went to ‘Little Italy’! Why? Well lets just say we learned a lot just from walking around one of New York’s popular places. There were many activities that students got to enjoy, such as shopping, hanging out with friends, and learning more about the history of ‘Little Italy’. 

Taking The Train:

When taking the train, all you could hear and see was the excitement of every student. We went straight to the subway to meet our tour guide. After meeting with our tour guide, he told us where we were going and what we would be doing. 

The Tour & History:

The tour began visiting the Old St Patrick’s Basilica. This Basilica is over 200 years old.  Most people in New York know the St. 

Patrick’s is across from Rockefeller Center, but few know that this one was constructed before it.  Before Little Italy was filled with Italians, it was an area heavily populated by the Irish.  It was one of the first Catholic Churches in New York.  The Irish named it after their Patron Saint, St. Patrick. The students toured the Cathedral, the cemetery around the Cathedral and enjoyed a very interesting visit in its Catacombs. The church was used in filming the baptism scenes in Godfather I. 

    After Lunch the students enjoyed a wet walking tour to see some of the well known establishments in the area.  They learned about the first Pizzeria in New York (some say the first in America), Lombardi’s.  Gennaro Lomardi used his baking skills from Naples to build the first Pizzeria here in New York in 1905.  A spot they all loved was Ferrara, a bakery.  This establishment has been there for 130 years.  It first opened in 1892 as “Cafe Ferrara.”  

Grotta Azzurra Restaurant was founded in 1908.  Famous people like Frank Sinatra, Enrico Caruso and Robert Deniro have eaten here.  Frank Sinatra said it was his favorite Italian restaurant, and it was followed by many “Rat Pack” sightings. The restaurant treated us well.

Opinions about the trip from LHS Students and Staff:

    There were many opinions about the trip. In my opinion, the trip was very fun, especially getting to spend time with friends and going for the whole day.

Mr. Rossillo says, “My favorite was having dinner as a Group at Grotta Azzurra Restaurant.  They enjoyed a dinner where the kids could select a pasta and separate entree.  Real Italian style.”

One freshman student, Michelle Estevez, says in her opinion, “I really enjoyed the trip. I thought it was fun, and we were very immersed in Italian culture and history in NYC. Although, I would have rather had the trip on a nicer day. I will most likely be going on the trip next year as well, because I had a very interesting time this year.” 

Another freshman student, Alisha Jean said, “Well the trip was nice. I really loved it minus the rain but I thought it was fun and I’ll go there again next year, the place was beautiful.”

Freshman student, Eddie Katz said, “It was pretty good, I liked all the little shops there and honestly it would’ve been better if the weather was nice but overall pretty fun, the food was good, and I’d do it again in better weather.”

A sophomore student said, “The Italy trip was very fun and it gave me time to spend with friends during the week which was fun and stress free. It was nice to spend time doing something that didn’t contain heavy learning or homework because school can become stressful. Overall I truly enjoyed the trip and I will go next year.”

Sophomore student, Robert Palak, said, “I thought it was very fun. The tour in the cathedral was really interesting and I had fun learning about the history of the city.”

A freshman student said, “I enjoyed the trip, it was fun I kinda wish they would’ve gave us a bus to go on the train station and in my opinion the trip should’ve been planned on a Friday instead of a Thursday because walking around the city all soaked the whole day is very tiring and getting home around 9 and having to wake up early the next day for school.”

Michella Jashyn, junior says, “My favorite part was seeing the Catacombs. I didn’t know so many famous people are buried there.“

Angelina Mavros, senior says, “The history of the Basilica is so interesting.”

EveMarie Longhitano, senior says, “It was so cool to see where the first Pizzeria in New York was.“

Overall, I think almost everyone that went enjoyed going to NYC. Like one sophomore student said, “The Italy trip was very fun and it gave me time to spend with friends during the week which was fun and stress free.” Students and staff were very grateful to make the trip happen again since COVID-19. I definitely would recommend going if you ever have the opportunity, it’s worth your time and a little break from school.