Florence

Seeing the David!

A couple of days ago, my super arts class got the lucky opportunity to visit and draw the statue of David. Walking into the room is an experience that I will never forget... David was all the way at the end of the room, under a perfect balance of lighting and placement. I was inspired to see many individual artists sitting and drawing the ...

A Cuisine Competition

Ciao! On Wednesday evening, my football team and I arrived back to the apartment sweating, exhausted, and ecstatic to be the victors of the so anticipated soccer match. After a morning of lessons, we were treated to a well-deserved trip to our local pool, where we touched up on our tans, dipped our toes into the cool refreshing water, played ...

Rising Temps and Spirits

On Tuesday morning, for my Italian class, we headed to the train station to board the tram to go to a market on the outskirts of town. Our assignment was to find articles of clothing and prices of foods and write them down. Along the way, we were allowed to stop and look around the vendors or get some food from one of them. This was a fun way ...

Classes + Iron Chef

Three nights a week on Abbey Road's Florence program, students and staff split up into their cooking groups and cook dinner with each other. Whether it's Italian salads or traditional Italian pasta, we cook our own dinner in preparation for the Iron Chef competition. Students have to create two dishes for the judges (staff) and are graded based ...

The David

Pictures don't do the David justice. Getting to witness the David both today for art history and this Wednesday for super arts has convinced me that it is one of the few artistic masterpieces that needs to be seen in person in order for it to be properly experienced. His brooding presence looks effortless, as he hoists the sling over his ...

Salve Roma!

This morning we said “Yassas!” to Greece and “Salve!” to Italy as we boarded the plane and set off for Rome. Known as both the “Eternal City” and the “City of Fountains,” Rome has been a fixture and highlight of European travel for centuries. Any feelings of sadness leaving Athens were immediately remedied once we got off the ...

Lucca, Pisa, and Making Plans

With a busy, enjoyable weekend passed, I'm exhausted but loving the memories! On Saturday, we went to the little, forted medieval town of Lucca, which is about an hour bus-ride from Firenze. Riding through the gates of the wall, I knew it was my kind of town. The small town, non-tourist, historical atmosphere was lovely. Given three hours of ...

Second Week of Classes!

Now that everyone has settled in and gotten to know their way around Florence, classes have become even more exciting. We are finally starting to dive into a higher difficulty level of projects, which is super exciting! In my super arts class, I just finished my own painting and even learned a bunch of techniques I was never taught in my art ...

Pottery, Beaches, and the Duomo

Ciao! We woke up early Sunday morning, excited for a day at the sea shore, despite the fact that we had to rise early. We piled into the bus, and we absorbed the Italian countryside through the windows as we drove. When we finally reached the beach, our noses met with the salty, refreshing sea air. We passed the day filled with joyful leisure, ...

Back to Business

When I woke on Sunday, I was already feeling much better and more lively. I decided I was able to join the group for the day's adventures. Sunday was a great day weather-wise, and so we spent our day at the beach near Pisa. We were given a long time to just play in the ocean or on the beach, walk around the storefronts and vendors, or just ...