Day 3: Fun Times in Fabulous Florence

Today, we started the day by waking up early to catch our morning train to Florence! The Center was sweet enough to provide small pastries and juice boxes for breakfast, but many of us stopped to grab a bite on the way to the train station. After a beautiful train ride through the Tuscan countryside, we arrived in Firenze S.M.N. train station. We were met by our knowledgeable tour guide, Laura, who provided us with a wealth of knowledge about all of history surrounding us, starting with Santa Maria Novela, and working our way to San Lorenzo and Santa Croce. Most of our tour was spent in Santa Croce, where we were able to appreciate tombs and mausoleums of several famous Italians, including Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli. Afterwards, we were allowed to visit the leather crafting school located in the Santa Croce monastery, where we could observe artisans creating and detailing exquisite leather goods. Next, we made our way to a quaint little restaurant for lunch. We ate a three course meal, consisting of bread and pasta, chicken with cream sauce, and finally ice cream! After lunch, the group divided into smaller independent clusters and we each got to choose our next destination. The majority of us climbed to the top of the Duomo, where we could gaze upon the beauties of Florence. Other points of interest included the Science Museum, the Santa Maria Novela Church, and the outdoor markets. After we had been thoroughly exhausted,. we made our way back to the train station to catch our train back to the Center. We had about an hour to relax before we enjoyed a dinner of even more pasta, perfectly seasoned pork, and biscotti. And of course, we made our daily gelato run after having some time to digest.

Ciao for now!!

Maddy Bailey and Adam Lapucha