Written By Emma and Sebastian
On Friday, half of the Terra group took a 3 hour trek down from Paladini to the train station while the others enjoyed a nauseating bus ride scaling the side of the mountain! After what some would call an eventful start to our journey, we refueled with Caprese sandwiches on the hot train platform. All was well though, and we made it to our hostel in Florence. On our first day in Florence, we got acquainted with the city thanks to our cute tour guide Lucca (sadly he is taken). We saw some beautiful sites like the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, and Michelangelo’s David. Seeing something so intricate and significant like the David was breathtaking, and Lucca made sure to fill us in on how the flexing of the statue’s glutes indicated he was in motion. Personally, I was distracted by the view of David.
We also got to meet Curry, the amazing architect of our Italy and Greece program and we were able to reflect with her on what we each wanted to learn about ourselves on our gap year. She spoke with us about her inspiration for creating this trip and what she hopes we gain in regards to climate resilience and sustainable development education. The rest of Florence was jam-packed with activities as the group got to learn about the many methods of sustainable urban gardening. We began Monday with a tour with Giacomo of a recreational center that he and some fellow activists had converted into a community garden where anyone can come to pick fresh herbs, take yoga classes, and enjoy some peace and quiet. We then made our way to Funghi Espresso, an innovative project that repurposes used coffee grounds into soil for different types of mushrooms. Tuesday, we went back to the community garden and tried our hand at making fresh pesto before going to a company called Treedom to learn about their efforts to plant trees globally. Wednesday, we went back to the community garden for our final time to make some delicious hot sauce and in the afternoon, the group was able to enjoy the city independently. All these activities and experiences gave us a lot of perspective on ways we can bring resilience efforts home. Florence, while a busy city, has shown us many examples of being resourceful with what already exists and creating new pathways to give back to the environment- we are so excited to take what we learned into our communities at home. Thursday was our final day where some early risers went to the Uffizi Gallery to see masterpieces from the Renaissance era and we ended our time in Florence with a wonderful group dinner where Emma C. ordered baby food… clearly our Italian still needs some work.
And now for our new tradition that Sebastian and Emma are starting: Week in Photos
