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Return to the Uffizi Galleries and wine tasting

on May 30, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

This afternoon, we took advantage of our “Friends of the Uffizi” membership to return to the Uffizi for a third visit to see some of the other works that we’d missed on our highlights tour with Nicoletta earlier in the month. Cheryl was most interested in seeing more of the paintings in the gallery’s amazing collection of Botticellis. After a couple hours immersed in art, we then met up with our Road Scholar group for our weekly Friday happy hour–this one in the cellar of a lovely wine bar.

Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio

on May 29, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

This morning, Cheryl’s “Survival Italian” class visited Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio, one of the oldest markets in Florence, to learn how to shop for fresh food in Italian. (The class was supposed to take place early in our stay, but heavy rains that day caused the tour to be postponed.) Here are some of photos of the beautiful produce, meat and seafood offerings they saw.

City of Dante walking tour and a steak dinner to remember

on May 28, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

Following our walk through the Vasari Corridor, we met up with our Road Scholar art history guide Nicoletta for a walking tour through the oldest part of Florence, which was where poet Dante Alighieri once lived.

The Vasari Corridor

on May 28, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

Early in our stay in Florence, we had booked one of the coveted time slots for a walk through the Corridoio Vasariano, an elevated, enclosed passageway that connects the Palazzo Vecchio with the Palazzo Pitti. In 1565, the Medici family had court architect Giorgio Vasari build the 750-meter-long corridor so they could walk between their residence and the seat of government undisturbed and without running risks to their safety.

The Corridor’s unique route passes through the Uffizi Gallery, over the Ponte Vecchio, and through a church, offering panoramic views of Florence. The Corridor reopened to visitors in late 2024 after many years of restoration work.

Gelato – Stories, Traditions & More

on May 27, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

After morning language class and lunch at home, David returned to the school for a presentation on gelato by one of the teachers. Gelato–invented right here in Florence–is almost as important to the culture as pasta and wine. As the locals say, “it’s always time for gelato!”

We learned about the history of gelato, how it’s made, and how to distinguish “tourist gelato” from the good stuff. (And yes, there is a huge difference.) Because this was a school program, rather than one through Road Scholar, it was entirely in Italian.

The musical life of Florence

on May 26, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

Road Scholar provided us with a unique learning opportunity this afternoon: a lesson on the history and evolution of Italian chamber music and opera, not by an academic in a lecture hall, but rather by musicians of Florence’s premier orchestra in a beautiful 500-year-old residence. C’era bellissimo!

Baptistry of San Giovanni and Museo dell’Opera del Duomo

on May 25, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

We slept in for a bit on Sunday morning after our long day in Siena on Saturday. In the afternoon, we returned to the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flowers complex (the Duomo) for a tour of the Baptistry and the Duomo Museum.

Day trip to Siena

on May 24, 2025January 25, 2026By David Goldstein

Going on only five hours of sleep after our late night Friday at the birthday/farewell party, we still made it to the Florence train station at 8:30 Saturday morning for a school-organized trip to Siena. As with all the other tours and programs organized by the language school, it was conducted entirely in Italian, which gave us plenty of practice in listening and speaking. Siena was stunning and the weather was perfect, so we were glad we didn’t decide to skip the tour!

The Duomo and Medici Chapels, and a farewell to friends

on May 23, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

Today schedule was packed, with a guided tour of the Duomo, another tour of the Medici Chapels, our weekly Road Scholar happy hour, and a long farewell dinner with some of our departing friends.

Food tour in Bologna

on May 21, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

After school, we took a fast train from Florence to Bologna. We met up with Cheryl’s sister Suzy and brother-in-law Doug for a food tour of this culinary paradise with Giuseppe, a local guide.

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