Hello blogosphere, a new place where I can share my amazing
travel experiences in Italy! I’m currently attending Accademia Italiana (AI), a
design school in Florence and will begin to blog about my life here as a
student. It is currently my fourth week living in Florence, and it has been
absolutely incredible so far. I have traveled to beautiful places, eaten my
weight in pizza, and continue to learn about different cultures. I anticipate
my posts will mostly contain stories of my travel, blogs about fashion, and
lots and lots of food. But for now I will give an overview of my most recent
trips and experiences!
Siena and San
Gimignano
I am so lucky to attend AI because there are several weekend
trips provided through the university. At the end of our orientation week we
took a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano, two beautiful Tuscan towns just a
few hours away from Florence.
Our day started in Siena in a torrential
downpour. But even the rain could not take away from the gorgeous views of the
hills and town. We met a tour guide who led us through St. Catherine’s
Cathedral and then Duomo di Siena. Learning about St. Catherine of Siena was
interesting because they have the head and finger of St. Catherine on display,
and apparently other parts of her body are in other churches across Italy.
The
Duomo is a must see, featuring intricate mosaic tile floors depicting scenes
from the bible as well as important symbols of Siena and Italy. One of my
favorite parts of the Duomo was the “Library” room which holds beautifully hand
bound song books and scriptures. The frescoes in the room are massive and all
of the artifacts appear in excellent condition. The saturated colors, gold leaf
details, and ornate designs place you back in time.
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| View of Siena |
After a few hours in Siena we were on our way to San Gimignano,
a medieval town that is nestled high up in the Tuscan hills. The views on the
bus ride of ripe vineyards ready for the harvest. We stopped in “The World’s
Best Ice Cream” shop and their sign proved true. The chocolate and coffee
flavors were my favorite, but you can’t go wrong when it comes to gelato. I
wish we had more time to enjoy the views and the sunset but we had to be on our
way back to Florence.
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| View from the top of San Gimignano |
I will also include a link to a video I made of my first week
adventures, including this trip here and below! I hope you will enjoy the video and post! Ciao!
