florence

Our last stop on the field trip was one of the most famous cities in the Tuscany region, Florence. We started with a visit to San Miniato al Monte, a small church at the top of a hill. Our class has always loved this little church because we think it looks like a chicken. While the church was unfortunately closed, we were able to enjoy a beautiful view of Florence from the site.

 

The city itself is extremely busy, and has a completely different vibe than Rome. High-end shopping lines the streets, and you cannot turn a corner without seeing Italian leather.

We began at the Duomo Baptistery, which is in the shape of an octagon. The number eight is very important in Christian symbolism as it signifies the six days of creation, the seventh Day of Rest, and the eighth day of re-creation through baptism. The baptistery ceiling is covered with beautiful mosaics.

We continued on to see the beautiful works of Michelangelo in Florence. We have learned so much about the Medici Chapel and the Laurentian Library in our history classes, but seeing them in person gave me a whole new appreciation for these spaces.

After our classes, we all headed over to the Uffici Gallery to sketch for our drawing class. Everyone stopped to look at our sketches as they walked past.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant to try the famous Florentine steak. The steak was 1.2 kilograms, which comes out to about 42 ounces. We split between the four of us, and it definitely lived up to its recommendations. After dinner we walked to La Carraia, a popular gelateria in Florence, and I had the best biscotto gelato I’ve tried yet.

On our last day, we visited Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens as a class. Unfortunately, we all got stuck in the rain and had to huddle under a cornice for shelter. Our professors gave us the rest of the day free, so I sat and sketched in the Piazza della Repubblica for a while and then headed to the Zara to test out the Florentine shopping.

It was a very busy week traveling, and we were all exhausted on the train ride back to Rome. The first of many school field trips was very successful.