FRIDAY...e FINE SETTIMANA

Ciao Again..



FRIDAY, JULY 11th

ART HISTORY

Students went to Palazzo Davanzati.. a beautiful Renaissance villa with highly decorated frescoed walls.

AFTERNOON...

Where does one buy the most elegant shoes in Florence??? Why Salvatore Ferragamo of course..students did not purchase any of his shoes but rather, went to the MuseoFerragamo . The museum is located in one of the most imposing medieval towers remaining from the 13th century directly on the Arno. The museum has a collection of vintage Ferragamo glamorous women including: Audrey Hepburn, Princess Grace, Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe

EVENING

The student's had a choice of three activities tonight: Soceer with Antonio, Climbing Giotto's Campanile at the Duomo or a night on their own. The majority took the opportunity to climb the Giotto's bell tower and rewarded with a stunning panoramic view of Florence.

SATURDAY.....SAN GIMIGNANO.. AND SIENA

Today was our first excursion into the beautiful Tuscan countryside. Along the way we were treated to the peaceful sight of rows upon rows of "girasole...sunflowers"..some students wanted to stop the bus and draw the sunflowers a la van Gogh. We first arrived at the peacefull hilltop town of San Gimingnano, known for having 14 medieval towers still in existance and back in it's heyday the town was considered the "Manhattan" of Tuscany. Antonio was our tour guide and he taught the students a new song.."You say Bubonic..I say plague....you say..."While there the students saw beautiful views of the countryside and ate world famous gelato by a medieval well.

SIENA

On the way back to Florence we stopped at it's biggest rival town: Siena. Patrizia was our tour guide and we all learned how the Florentines and Sienese were bitter rivals....(perhaps to this day??) and that the after the plague the Medicis bought up a lot of real estate. We also learned about the famous 90 minute horse race held twice a year called the "Palio" in Piazzo del Campo. Patrizia took some students to Siena's famous Duomo, the has a beautiful facade and interior composed of striped black and white marble. The interior is extremely impressive, with many masterpieces including Donatello's famous bronze statue of "St. John the Baptist as well as Andrea Pisano's exquisite carved relief pulpit. We also were treated to the beautiful floor "graffiti" that usually are covered.

EVENING

We offered several options: a walk up the hill to Palazze Michaelangelo to see the Florence's stunning panoramic or free time to explore the wonders of the historical center. Of course everyone went in search of the best gelato...yeap..we all agree, the best can be found near the Duomo at "Grom". They offer all sorts of unusual flavors not found at other gelataria, but hey..it's early still and there are about 500 other gelataria to hit still. We'll keep you posted!

SUNDAY

AFTERNOON

"Don't cha rain on my parade!"..lyrics from 50 cents?? Nope, the students cry when the heavens unleashed a torrent of rain late morning as we all prepared for our Fiesole excursion..never mind!! It cleared up and we explored Fiesole late afternoon. If you have seen the movie "A Room with a View" that view is Fiesole. Fiesole is located about 7 kilometers from Fiesole and is about 300 meters high. Many of the English aristocrats lived there in the 19Th century and revitalized the historic town, and had it's many cultural sites restored to their former grandeur.
We all walked to a 13th century Francisican Convent, and gazed out at the many cypress trees and elegant Renaissance villas and historical center of Florence..what a view!

EVENING


We all put our best togs on and went to dinner at a pizza restaurant in Piazza Mercato called "O Sole Mio"....(yep, they had the accordion players playing the song as well!!). After we went to another gelataria...(forget what I wrote..the students think this place has the best gelato!!) and the students tried some fruit flavored gelato...papaya, mango, fragole, frutti dei bosco, passion fruit....yummy, yummy in the tummy.

It was a beautiful, cool evening (well relatively speaking!) and birds were chirping from a near tree..everyone was chatting and laughing as if they had known each other their whole lives. The staff are happy for them. We want them to always remember this moment, where ever they go, or whatever they do, no matter what may happen, they can think back to this special time and hold it in their hearts forever....



GREAT WEEK GUYS!! YOU WERE GREAT!! AWESOME!!