As the semester comes to an end, we are all enjoying our final hours in Italy. The weather couldn’t be better in Venice right now. Yesterday we had a tour of San Marco Cathedral and the surrounding area. Today we went to the glass blowing island of Murano and the island known for its lace called Burano. Although we are sad that this amazing semester is coming to an end, the experiences and friendships made during this trip will never be forgotten.
Spring in Certaldo 2013
Yesterday was our final exhibition. After months of hard work, we turned our studio into a gallery to exhibit the student’s work. The community joined us for our reception. People came with catered food and we all talked about our experiences and Italy inspired works. Today we are running around cleaning our apartments and packing. With bittersweet goodbyes, we depart for Venice on Monday.
Sunday, before our last week of classes, we traveled to Cinque Terre (five small villages on the rugged coast of the Italian Riviera)! The weather was warm and sunny. We had a wonderful overnight trip and went hiking on the cliffs high above the water, along with swimming and kayaking in the Ligurian Sea. We all had an amazing time.
As this semester quickly goes by, we are staying busy! With the tourist season and the recent Easter holiday, Certaldo Alto is getting livelier. We are all taking advantage of every minute every day because we don’t want this semester to end!
The photo class enjoyed doing night photography on a clear evening. Italian class is taking advantage of the warmer weather and our beautiful courtyard, while the drawing class is having critiques. We are all getting ready for our final exhibition.
We finally got some warm sunny weather in Certaldo! Here are some photos of the painting class taking advantage of the beautiful day.
We had a great time visiting the nearby Tuscan towns of San Gimignano and Volterra. In San Gimignano we saw some amazing frescos at The Collegiata di San Gimignano and ate award-winning gelato. Others climbed one of the many towers to get a panoramic view of the hillside. Then we hopped back on the bus and headed over to Volterra where some of us toured the Etruscan Guarnacci Museum with wonderful jewelry and ceramic collections while others explored the less crowed town.
During semester break we explored another part of Italy. After a bus tour of Naples, we arrived in our beautiful hotel in Vico Equense. The next day we went on a tour of Pompeii and in the afternoon 12 of us hiked to the top of Mount Vesuvius in the clouds! On Monday we had a private bus tour of the Amalfi Coast, stopping in Amalfi and Positano. It was sunny and warm and we loved being on the edge of the Mediterranean. The rest of the week we split up for independent travel. Groups traveled to London, Barcelona, Switzerland and Sicily. What a great spring break!!
On Friday we had our overnight trip to Florence. We had an amazing dinner and enjoyed shopping, going to museums and churches.
Saturday, before we headed back home to Certaldo, a group of us went to San Miniato al Monte for a wonderful view looking down on all of Florence.
As the semester break quickly approaches, we are all working hard in the classrooms and enjoying the sunny weather. We are looking forward to an exciting weekend where we spend the night in Florence!
This past weekend we did day trips to Florence and Siena! On Friday we went to the Uffizi—one of the most amazing museums in Italy.
Saturday we caught the train to Siena. Silvia Giorgi, our Art History teacher, acted as our tour guide. We saw the gorgeous Cathedral and the so-called Crypt underneath the church. Lastly we visited the Museo del Opera and climbed the narrow spiral staircases for a view of all of Siena!
