First Week in Italy

Where to even begin. This week has already been one of the most amazing weeks of my life! I wasn’t really sure of what to expect when I first came here, but I definitely didn’t expect it to be this great. The Tuscan landscape is the most beautiful land I have ever seen. Rows upon rows of bright green grape vines, elegant, drooping, olive trees, rolling hills of green grass and the most beautiful architecture tucked away among the trees and sitting upon the hill tops. . . I could really go on forever about it.

So far, we have visited Scandicci, Florence, and the hot baths at San Giovanni Terme Rapolano. Scandicci is a smaller city outside of Florence. It’s a mostly Italian and is full of little cafes and nice boutiques. It also has a 14th century castle, Castle Acciaiolo. The castle has beautiful grounds with walls covered with ivy and we were also able to attend a medieval fair there as well. While Scandicci is beautiful, Florence is even more so. Everything from the balconies with all the flowers to the simple stone roads is beautiful. The Santa Maria del Fiore is so intricately designed I could study it for hours, and the rose and iris gardens were so colorful and smelled heavenly. Going to the hot baths at San Giovanni was also one of my favorite experiences. The bath center sits atop a beautiful green hill outside of a small little town. The bath house was surrounded by huge, rolling hills, colorful flowers, and ruins from an old home stood on one of the hills across from the area.

So far, the trip has been great. We have a trip to Casentino planned for next week, as well as a few day trips coming up as well. For now, here are a few pictures from some of my adventures so far!

– taylor-