Today we headed out by coach bus to the town of Lucca, which is surrounded by walls from the 16th and 17th centuries. After lunch and a stroll around town, we all rented bikes and toured the walls. Then we hit the beach in Viareggio! It was a great day, and everyone was ready for a snooze on the way back to Florence.
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After classes today, the group went up to the Boboli Gardens, behind the Palazzo Pitti. They had time to wander around, look at interesting sculptures, and even do some sketching.
Classes are drawing by the Arno, making dresses out of paper, and learning how to make pizza in a local pizzeria. In the afternoon, a group went to the Medici Pharmacy, the oldest in Europe, where you can buy interesting lotions and potions as well as take a break for tea and cake. Some students went to an outdoor yoga class in Italian before dinner (no pictures, sorry!) and then had takeout dinner together in the Piazza Ciompi, and some had dinner with staff in a restaurant. Some chose to see an outdoor movie by the Uffizi after dinner (also no pictures, as it was dark!).
Student Blog by Lynn M.Florence, the artistic, historical, and cultural capital of not only Tuscany, but all Italy has welcomed us gracefully this week. Staying in apartments and learning to live on our own sure has been difficult but this beautiful city enriched and filled with peoples passions, thoughts and dreams have made it all worth it. (CLICK HERE TO READ MORE!)
Today was our first regular day of classes. Students got started after breakfast with their major classes: Photography, Art History, Italian, Studio Art, and Fashion. For lunch, the group went over to the Mercato Centrale, and marveled at the variety of fruits, vegetables, fish, and other fresh food. Electives met in the afternoon. For dinner, some students chose to eat in small groups with one of the staff. After dinner, we offered a photo scavenger hunt around Piazza della Repubblica. And when we came back from dinner, many of us found that there was actually a bit of cool air coming out of the air conditioning units! It's definitely not the arctic blast that we were hoping for, but things are looking up, and cooler temperatures outside will help as well.
We took the train up to Cinqueterre today. Boy, did it pour rain along the way! We were fearing that our beach day would be a washout. We weren't able to hike because of the rain, but we had lunch in Vernazza and explored the town, and then took the train up to the beach in Monterosso al Mare. Some of us had dinner on the beach, and others took the train back to Riomaggiore for a quicker dinner and some photo ops. I've been begging the students to share their photos with me!
Today we took the coach bus to Siena, where our Studio Art instructor, Caeli, told us a bit about the city while we walked over to the Duomo. (She used to live here!) After the Duomo, students explored a bit on their own; some visited the Crypt, or climbed to the top of the arch for a great view. Others perused the boutiques in the old city, and there may have been some gelato... After everyone had dinner with their friends near the Piazza Repubblica, some chose to join Caeli and me for the walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo. What a view!
Our first full day in Florence! We started our classes today. Check out the cooking class in the kitchen of the restaurant next to our Ciompi residence! It sure was toasty out in Florence today, but we found an air-conditioned restaurant for dinner right near the Ciompi restaurant. We had a lovely after-dinner passeggiata over to the Ponte Vecchio, for some excellent social-media-worthy photos. And after this, gelato at Carraia! (No photo, sorry, it all got eaten too fast!)
Siamo arrivati! After our long journey across the Atlantic, we settled into our hotel in Milan. For dinner, we enjoyed delicious pizza, pasta, and dolci (tiramisù...mmm...). Then we braved the rain to see the spectacular Duomo, and walked through the covered gallery to check out the Scala opera house. Some of us even got up early this morning to go back to see the inside of the Duomo! Now, on to Florence!
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Program Director
Kristin Benjamin graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in French and Political Science. She spent her junior year studying in Paris, and subsequently earned a Master's in French Literature from Tufts University. She is currently the chair of the Modern Language Department at Kent School in Kent, CT, where she teaches French and Italian, coaches field hockey and lacrosse, and is engaged in all facets of boarding school life. She has led many student trips to Canada, France, and Italy, and has raised her two daughters to be enthusiastic global citizens. In addition to travel, she enjoys cooking, yoga, and board games. ArchivesCategories |