International Summers: Florence

Andiamo!

July 23

We left Rome and made our way through the lush hills of Tuscany towards the medieval hill town of San Gimignano, surrounded by fortified walls and full of small winding cobblestone streets. It is famous for saffron, Vernaccia wine, and beautiful vistas.

We had only a short time here in the UNESCO world heritage site, but we managed to discover tiny churches hidden in stealthy back streets, and enjoy food only produced in this tiny corner of Italy.  

Florence/Firenze

After lunch we continued on to Florence arriving in the mid-afternoon, and immediately left with our guide for a walking tour. 

We discovered how centrally located we are with short walks to the Duomo, the Uffizi gallery, L’Accademia, and the Ponte Vecchio covered bridge – first commissioned by emperor Hadrian in 126AD but rebuilt over the centuries to its present form in 1345. It is the only bridge in Florence not bombed during WWII.

After our tour of the city, we met back at the hotel for students to get some work done and then headed out for a Florentine dinner.  

Stay tuned for more from Florence! And please see our Instagram page Blyth_Academy_Gritaly23 for additional photos and stories. 

Yours in Firenze,