Florence or Firenze

On Tuesday morning, 21 June, the students woke up extra early to get ready for a trip to Florence (Firenze in Italian). We took the bus to the Termini train station where we grabbed coffees and a quick bite to eat before getting on the Frecciarossa train. Promptly at 8:10 the train departed and we were all settled for the hour and a half journey to the beautiful region of Tuscany! Upon arrival, we walked to our nearby hotel and the rooms were ready for us! Students dropped off their overnight bags and some stayed to relax a bit before lunch while others went to explore the local market and the covered market with Tracy. There, they found numerous stands of leather goods, souvenirs, local food products, and so much more. They quickly learned that they could negotiate the price with these vendors and nobody left empty-handed. While in Florence for three days, the students had an opportunity to see Michelangelo's famous statue of David at the Accademia, visited a museum dedicated to Galileo, participated in a cooking class and made their own dinner, and even had some free time to explore the city and shop. All of the students really enjoyed their time in Florence and we all think CIEE should open a study center here in the very near future.