Tuscany Archives | Page 4 of 5 | LANDMARK ADVENTURES

Santa Croce Basilica, the “Pantheon of the Artists”

on May 12, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

This week’s Road Scholar theme is The Italian Renaissance. After language class and lunch at a famous market, we met back up with our classmates for a guided tour of the art and history inside the Basilica di Santa Croce, sometimes called the “Pantheon of the Artists” for all the famous painters, sculptors, authors and other luminaries who are buried within its walls.

Relaxation and lunch with a view

on May 11, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

After a very busy week, we were ready for a quiet day today. We slept late, enjoyed a leisurely breakfast (and a few espressi) at home, had lunch and did homework at the casual restaurant in the Bardini Garden, then went grocery shopping and cooked dinner.

Day trip to Arezzo

on May 10, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

Today we joined a group including two other Road Scholars and several students from Switzerland for a school-sponsored day trip to Arezzo in Tuscany.

Afternoon with David’s cousins

on May 9, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

We spent this afternoon with David’s second cousin David Shacter and his wife Melody, who are on their own tour of Italy and stopped for a couple days in Florence. Then it was on to our weekly happy hour to catch up with our fellow Road Scholars.

Pitti Palace museums – Royal Apartments, Palatine Gallery and Fashion & Costumes

on May 8, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

Today, we returned to the Pitti Palace to visit three more of its museums: the Royal Apartments, the Palatine Gallery, and the Fashion & Costume Museum.

Cooking class!

on May 7, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

This afternoon, we and another couple from our Road Scholar group traveled to the home of a local chef for a hands-on Italian cooking class. It was informative, entertaining, and SO much fun, and at the end we got to eat what we’d made!

Il pane toscano

on May 6, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

After language class, lunch outdoors, and a visit to the supermarket, David went back to the school for a seminar about Tuscan bread, while Cheryl returned home to study and do laundry and ironing.

Language class and thunderstorms

on May 5, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

This morning we started our second week of language classes. My class played two games to practice the most common (but probably most difficult) Italian past tense, called passato prossimo. The afternoon brought heavy thunderstorms, but the skies cleared up enough for a surprise fireworks show at night.

First look at the Duomo, and studying with a view

on May 4, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

This afternoon we took advantage of what’s supposed to be the last rain-free day of the next week to walk into an area of Florence that we hadn’t yet visited. We did our homework and studying with a view of the Florence skyline, and enjoyed yet another delicious dinner at a restaurant recommended in one of our guide books.

Pitti Palace – Treasury of the Grand Dukes

on May 3, 2025November 16, 2025By David Goldstein

After starting the afternoon at our favorite gelateria, we visited the opulent Treasury of the Grand Dukes, the summer apartments of the Medicis, in the historic Pitti Palace, which is part of the Uffizi Galleries.

Tag: Tuscany