January 6 - gelato and a parade

Here is a picture of the gelato shop we went into. Good gelato is always served from a closed container. Each gelato flavor requires different temperatures, so shops that have it piled up all pretty, one next to another, really are not serving the best Gelato. Grom does not do this. It didn't matter that the air temperature was about 4c, gelato is always good. Afterwards many of us went on to enjoy the spectacle of the parade.

January 6 - from one to another

Today, after breakfast on the top floor of Hotel Panorama, we went to the Medici Palace and saw their Chapel adorned with a wrap around wall painting of the Magi. Dr. Leopardi then lectured in the conference room pictured. After we went to the Academia Museum to see Michelangelo's David and other works of his, this was followed by a visit to the Medici's New Sacristy tombs and more Michelangelo sculpture. We shared gelato together from one of the best shops in Florence, Grom, and culminated our official class day with the Epiphany Parade that is meant to mimic the Magi painting we saw early in the day.

January 5 - special delivery

I eluded in my previous post that Dr. Leopardi arrived in a unique way at the meeting point for our dinner together. The video is to big to post, but here are some key frames showing her arrival.

January 5 - dinner TOGETHER

After the walking tour we all went to dinner. Phoebe had finally arrived and other than Oliver suffering from a cold and staying in to rest and sleep we are all here. We met at 7 under the Duomo bell tower. Dr. Leopardi arrived in signature style and then we proceeded over to the restaurant. There was eating and laughing.

January 5 - Restoration labs and walking tour

As the day began we were almost all together. After breakfast we walked over to the Florence Conservation labs and enjoyed a guided tour of the state of the art facilities. The work they do is amazing and we learned about how they protect and preserve the artwork brought to them. Everything from paintings to sculpture to tapestry and other fabric. We were allowed to see up close artwork that few people in the last 500 years have seen that close. After a break for lunch we took a walking tour of Florence to learn about how this Renaissance city grew and developed as well as seeing some of the architecture and art that defines the period.

We are here - or at least most of us

The weary student travelers are arriving in dribs and drabs throughout Tuesday. We are all tired but happy and excited to begin our exploration and adventure tomorrow. For those of us who flew out of LAX on the 6:30 am flight we arrived roughly 24 hours later in Florence none the worse for wear. In the pictures you will see Gretchen, Amy, and Jamie at LAX. In Frankfurt we were united with Emma.
It was cold and dark in Germany with a dusting of snow on the ground, but the sunrise as we flew to Florence seemed a harbinger of things to come...

Italy here we come

For our friends, family, and followers here is a map showing where we will be in the next 3 weeks.
We begin in Florence, staying there from Jan. 4 to Jan. 10
We visit Siena on Jan. 9.
We head to Venice from Jan. 10 to Jan.15.
The mid-term exam is on Jan. 14.
We head to Rome from Jan. 15 to Jan. 22.
Most of us head back to the US on Jan. 22

Assuming a strong and steady internet connection the blog will be updated everyday with news, notes, and pictures beginning on Jan 4.