Written By John and Ellie
On Saturday, the group packed up early and ventured toward the birthplace of the renaissance, Firenze (Florence). After setting up at our new hostel, we spent our free time further exploring and appreciating the beautiful architecture around us.
On Sunday, we were sent on a scavenger hunt, and through our wanderings got to know the heart of Florence. Our final destination of the scavenger hunt was a lavish cafe called Caffé Gilli. Afterwards we were able to roam around the city until curfew. Most of us shopped around while others recharged in our hostel.
On Monday, we traveled to a charming small garden where we met Giacomo the manager of the garden. He immersed us in his extensive knowledge and discussed how his farm came to be – we were also invited to taste the fresh and delicious plants he grew. For our final activity, we picked out flowers and herbs and made homemade tea. On our way back, we stopped at a Fusion restaurant where we filled up on delicious Argentinian empanadas and Mexican style burritos. Once our stomachs were satisfied, we were provided with some downtime. At 3pm we headed to the biggest church in Florence, Cathedral of Santa Maria, and were joined with Lauren’s partner Luca. Luca filled us with his energy and passion and closed the tour with a notably outstanding gelato spot. Afterwards, we had further exploration and relaxation time.
On Tuesday we headed back to Giacomo’s magical garden, where he provided us with more insights about his work, and taught us how to make herbal aromatic salts and mosquito-repelling match sticks. Afterwards we took a bus to Fiesole and trekked up the Vinci hill, the same one upon which Leonardo de Vinci did his first flying experiments. Here, Lauren shared her wine wisdom, showing us how to differentiate wines based on their smell and color, and then let us taste some of the world’s most high quality wines. Shortly after, we had a group dinner at a restaurant called Ostaria Dei Centopoveri. We were then given time to say farewell to the city that infused us with great beauty and fascinating history.
On Wednesday the group packed up and headed out of Florence to Garfagnana via 2 trains and a bus ride. Upon our arrival, we met the owner of our campsite, Colm, and the rest of his volunteers. He gave a tour around his manmade land and showed us our tents, yurt, and tree house. Afterwards we circled around a cozy campfire where we got to try roasted chestnuts, made by Colm himself. For dinner, Amy made us delicious butternut squash curry with fluffy white rice.
