This post features student writing.

Thursday, June 28
We woke up at a crisp 5:30 AM and boarded our first train. Four trains and seven long hours later, we arrived at the vibrant and lively city of Florence, Italy. After a tiring journey we settled into our travelers’ suite in the heart of Florence. After the first of many gelato stops, we made our way down to the bustling leather market, then bought some groceries for breakfast the following morning. Later in the day we went to go see the famous statue of David by Michelangelo at the Galleria dell’Accademia. We ate a classic Italian meal, then explored Florence’s night life.

Friday, June 29
We awoke with a fresh home cooked breakfast prepared by our fellow students, then took a nice walk to a local self-sustainable community garden where we picked fruitful herbs to make teabags and pesto. Many of us went to local cafes for lunch and dove into the Italian culture by visiting the unique boutiques and shops of Florence, while others went to the town laundromat. Later in the day we took part in an Italian gesture class and learned simple ways to communicate with Italian speakers. For dinner, some students prepared the delicious garden grown pesto pasta.

Saturday, June 30
We woke up Saturday morning and got our breakfast from a classic Italian market. Then we made or way to the Uffizi Gallery, where we participated in a competitive scavenger hunt and saw amazing and famous works of art. Then we had some time to explore the city and get lunch at places of our choice. After that we hiked up a long staircase to get to an amazing view of the beautiful city of Florence where we took lots of pictures and ate lots of ice cream. We got the once in a lifetime opportunity to visit an Italian monastery and we even got to hear the monks sing! That evening we ate a full Italian meal of pizza and pasta. After another round of gelato, we explored the city and experienced the night life of Florence.

Sunday, July 1
For breakfast we ate some yummy Italian pastries and fresh fruit then hopped on a bus and made our way to the city of Siena, where we roamed around and visited local shops and restaurants while also witnessing the preparations for the local horse race. Some of our students went to the market and bought ingredients for our pasta dinner. We arrived back in Florence and gathered together for our last group meeting in preparation for the homestay! Thank you, Florence, we had the best time!

— Sky & Cristina