Date: July 20, 2024
Location: Florence
Blogger: Sofia Keiser ‘28
Hometown: Rockwall, Texas
Ciao from Florence!
Today, we started our morning with cappuccinos and croissants at the hotel. Then, our tour guide, Giovanni (who is a fan favorite), met us outside and began walking us around the city. Weaving through the narrow streets and alleyways (and trying to avoid being hit by a passing car or Vespa), we made our way through the Piazza della Repubblica to il Duomo, or the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, where we stopped to look at the building’s intricate architecture and beautiful white and green marble designs. We then passed by the Leather Market and a few other town monuments as we made our way to the main attraction for the day: the Uffizi Gallery. There, we split into two groups and entered the gallery with our tour guides.
Inside the Uffizi Gallery, we started by looking at paintings by Giotto. After seeing his frescoes in Assisi, it was cool to be able to recognize the distinct style of both Giotto’s own works and Giotto-inspired pieces. As we continued through the gallery, our tour guide pointed out the humanity and intricate shape that characterizes the early Renaissance artwork, followed by the emergence of more elaborate fashion and color in the later pieces. We saw these concepts flow through the other art in the gallery, until we eventually reached the area that held paintings by Michaelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci (3 of the 4 Ninja Turtles!).
After the tour of the gallery, both tour groups dispersed for lunch. A few of us grabbed sandwiches from a small shop by the gallery, on the way to a big sit-down pizza restaurant where a larger group was eating. Before meeting back up with Giovanni for a continued tour of the city, we (of course) had to stop by a gelato shop. I got the best coffee flavored gelato I’ve had on the trip so far!
Florence was the capital city of Italy before “we took Rome from the greasy hands of the pope” (an exact quote from the unfiltered and very passionate Giovanni), so naturally he had a lot more sites to show us and a lot more history to share. After a while, several people broke off from our group to go back to the hotel or shop, but a small group and I continued with Giovanni across the Ponte Vecchio to the other side of the city. There, we saw the Pitti Palace, the Piazza Santo Spirito, and a beautiful painting in the Basilica di Santo Spirito.
In the late afternoon, we said our heartfelt farewells to Giovanni back on the Ponte Vecchio. The student leaders and I stayed on that side of the bridge to shop. We visited a few clothes and jewelry stores, and we also stopped by a bakery for cannoli. Then, we made the trek back to the hotel, where I had a life mapping meeting with Joel. After discussing my college goals and potential career aspirations, and getting some feedback and advice from the Wise Mr. Wiggins himself, it was time for dinner.
Today at Matto Matto they served us grilled chicken and roasted potatoes, and they let us branch out from the standard options of either sparkling or still water and choose a soda! After dinner, we had a bit more free time to wander and explore the city before going back to the hotel to rest up for another full day in Florence tomorrow!