A trip 14 months in the making will finally come to fruition on Thursday as 13 students and teachers from Riverview Collegiate embark on an exciting adventure to Italy.

The group will be seeing the European country from top to bottom as they go on the tour.

Jeff Kitts, a teacher at Riverview, explained what he most excites him about the trip. "I'm excited to see some things in Italy, but I'm really excited to see this group of kids leave. We've got four that have never flown, we've got some kids that have never left the province, so to see their excitement and them to enjoy something that's totally different."

The trip is nine days long and will include visits to Rome, the Vatican, Florence, Milan, Pompeii, and more. 

Jessica Kreutzer, a senior at Riverview, will be going on the trip, she noted what she was most excited about. "I'm excited to see the culture, I'm excited to see the food and the views," she said. "I've never been outside of Canada, so seeing more of what the world has to offer."

For Natalie Moggey, another student going on the trip, she's excited because Italy is somewhere that she's always dreamed of going, "Italy has always been number one on my travel list so going there is super exciting," said Moggey. "As soon as we started to research [the trip] people were getting excited, but I was excited as soon as it was announced."

Kitts also added that he was most intrigued with going to visit the Colosseum.