Florence

For our first few days of the trip we staying in Florence, which is a beautiful city rich in history. We did so much in the few days that we were there. It was a lot, but well worth it because I learned so much and really fell in love with the city.

We started by visiting the Boboli gardens. The gardens were so beautiful and felt never ending. The views from the highest part of the garden was unlike anything I had ever seen. Full of beautiful plants but also sculptures and architecture. The wealthy family living in the mansion at the time that the gardens were created, did so because they wanted to be able to enjoy the space for themselves. It is lovely that they wanted to have an outdoor space to enjoy, but coming from a sustainability perspective, it is interesting to think they they felt the need to tame and control the nature in order to enjoy it.

It being our first few days in Florence, we learned about the Arno river which the city was built around. It contributed (and still does) very much to the history and economy of Florence. The river greatly influenced the layout of the city and provided resources for trade and exportation of goods. There are bridges that run from one side of the river to the other and each one served a different purpose (trading, traveling, etc.).

While in Florence, we also visited the Uffizi, a beautiful building with every inch covered in art. We were able to travel through time as we passed from room to room, seeing the different stages of art history, how one effected the next, and how nature was portrayed differently in different time periods.

We also had the delicious opportunity to visit Vivoli Gelaterria where we were able to tour the facility, taste the product, and learn all about the process to make gelato and the importance of good ingredients and the sustainability of the business. The owner made us a treat of mixing prosecco with fresh fruit gelato. It was so yummy!

On our last full day in Florence, we visited 4 David statues! It was amazing to see the different interpretations, and it really strengthened my understanding of why Michelangelo's David was so famous. It was truly amazing to see the statue in person. And now on to Siena and the rest of our trip's adventures.