Happy Holiday Season

We're busy saying goodbye to 2013 but looking forward to 2014, particularly our J-Term groups arriving on January 4 and 5.

The AIFS Florence Partnership Programs staff are taking a break right now but they will be back in the office on January 2 2014.  

Felice Anno Nuovo Tutti!

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From the Pitti to the Cupola.

Its been a week for exploring Florence.  Even after the students have been living in the city for a couple of months, there is always something to see and do.

Alexandra Lawrence (ItalyAlexandra) was our guide on Tuesday last week, taking the students on a journey of discovery inside the Pitti Palace.

Palazzo Pitti, few steps from the Ponte Vecchio

Alex sets the scene, going through 550+ years of history

Then up several flights of stairs into the Palatine Gallery

As is often the case in Florentine museums, the amount to see was somewhat overwhelming but Alex did a great job picking out the highlights.  All of our students receive a Friends of the Uffizi card when they arrive in the city and are encouraged to visit again and again for free.

The next day, it was the turn of Angela Oberer to share her knowledge of the Baptistery and Duomo with the group.  It was a perfect Fall morning, slightly chilly but clear.  Each student was given a combined ticket allowing them to visit the Baptistery, Duomo Musuem as well as climb the Cupola and Bell tower within a 24hr period.  These are must do things in Florence.

Perfect day for learning in the Piazza del Duomo

The museum is currently undergoing renovation but still worthwhile

Angela explains the doors to the group

Great conditions for climbing the Cupola

Angela explained how it was the case that you couldn't enter the church if you hadn't been baptised, hence the reason why many cities have a Baptistry away from the main church building.  Then she described the meaning of the doors and the (sometimes toxic) process involved in making them.

The students then went into the Duomo museum before heading off to regular classes.  In the breaks between classes they were able to head back to the square and explore at their leisure.

The sunset from the top of the Duomo was fantastic!

AIFS staff also took the chance to climb up.  This is Ged and Ember his six month old daughter.

Under the guidance of prof. Rigon many of the Pasadena Students were in Venice this weekend to soak up the city and in particular visit the Biennale.  Rome is calling them on Friday this week.

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Fall back.

The week following a historic football match was always going to be a little on the slower side.  However the city did continue basking in the glow of victory for a few more days, with the local newspaper, La Nazione giving away a commerative poster on Wednesday.  A few copies have ended up in the study center and we will find homes for them soon...

Soon to be found on the walls of the AIFS study center.

Our friends from Pasadena City College were busy studying for Mid term exams as well as fine tuning travel plans as their Mid Term break began after class on Thursday.  Paris, Amsterdam, London and Barcelona appear to be the most popular locations and we're looking forward to hearing all the stories when classes begin again on Monday November 4.

On Tuesday, all our students attended a guided visit inside our local church, Santa Croce. It was a very pleasant afternoon, the Summer crowds have departed and the church was brightly lit but quiet, allowing Angela our guide to tell us all we ever wished to know.

Santa Croce Church

The students armed with listening devices enter the church.

Plenty to see, including the tomb of Michelangelo.

The remainder of the week has been fairly quiet.  This past weekend, Jordan and Nicole from Oregon took a trip upto Venice and Professor Lyons jetted down to explore Sicily. The Oregon students do have class this week.

Marta from AIFS chats to Nicole and Jordan about where to travel in Italy.

At the end of the week, the clocks changed, giving us all an extra hour in bed.  This has meant a brighter start to the day but by 5pm it is now starting to get dark.  Winter is coming. 

Halloween is also upon us, a quick stroll through the city reveals decorations and costumes are available but certainly on a smaller scale than in the USA.  No doubt some people will be in the mood to make the most of Thursday October 31 as Friday November 1 is the feast of Ognissanti (All Saints Day).  For the majority of Italians it is a public holiday.  It is traditional for Italians to visit the graves of relatives on this day. 

Sunset over Florence, viewed from Fiesole on Sunday October 27 2014.

Have a good week everybody.

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Fifteen years of hurt.

As part of our Study Abroad programs, we try and introduce the students to a broad range of experiences and emotions.  This past week in Florence is a perfect example.

On Wednesday evening, all the students attended and evening class about Chianti Wine.  Todd Bolton from Tuscan Trails came in and told the story of wine in this region from the Etruscans to present day.  This was followed by the chance to sample three types of local wine.

Three types of Chianti on offer.

Hopefully all the students will look at red wine differently in the future.

On Friday, we had another daytrip, this time taking in Pisa and Lucca.  Tuscany has so much to offer in terms of daytrips and activities so it was fun to see the tower and stroll the walls of Lucca.

Nicole and Jordan from Oregon.

The group just before they scatter to take "the" picture...

Then on Sunday, October 20 we introduced all the students to another aspect of Italian Culture.  Calcio.  The city had been brimming with anticipation all week and the stadium was sold out for Fiorentina v Juventus.  December 1998 was the last time Fiorentina beat Juventus in Florence, in Serie A.  Juventus are reigning champions but Fiorentina had gotten off to a good start to the season, so the match was well balanced.

Pasadena City College students proudly display their colors before the game.

A full house against Juve.  The empty seats are to creat a buffer to the traveling support.

The balance disappeared during a one sided first half that saw Juventus score two goals. Fiorentina did not play well at all and at half time, the stadium was silent.

Things did not improve much at the start of the second half, with a couple more chances for Juventus.  However luck began to change for la viola with a penalty which brought the score to 1-2.  At this point most in the stadium would have settled for a draw, even if that would have been undeserved.

The tifosi (including the students) start to believe.

Maybe the Curva Fiesole never stopped believing?

4-2 final score.  An amazing day.

However Giuseppe Rossi, the American born Fiorentina player had other ideas with a devastating display of skill and confidence, he brought Fiorentina level before claiming his hat-trick making it 4-2 to Florence.  From despair to euphoria, the entire ground was in disbelief at the turn around.  The final whistle brought jubilant scenes with the entire city cheering and taking to the streets with an outpouring of joy.  Fifteen years was a long time to wait.

You can watch the match highlights here. 

This coming week the students from Pasadena have midterms before starting their break on Thursday evening.  Our Oregon students have regular classes, including a visit to Santa Croce church as part of their Italian Life & Culture class.

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Calcio and Cooking

You can tell Halloween is around the corner when every Students favorite store "99 cent" is suddenly filled with black and orange objects.  Along with the rapidly darkening evenings and chilly mornings that Winter is on its way.

The place to go for Halloween supplies.

This past week, the students got all sporty with the start of the Inter School Soccer tournament. AIFS has entered a team that takes part in a league made up of other University and study abroad programs in the city.  The first game was on Monday and this was our best ever start to the competition, with a 5-4 victory against CEA.

A fine team don't you think?

2 games so far, one victory, one loss, still all to play for.

It is still early days of the competition, with plenty more games to come, including three this week, beginning Monday October 14.  We will keep you updated.

As well as sporting endavors, our students also turned their hands to another important skill, cooking.  On Wednesday evening all our students gathered at a Cooking school in Oltrano to make a three course meal.

The menu was "Sformato di verdure” followed by hand made “Ravioli di spinaci e ricotta” and the one and only “Panna Cotta” for dessert.

The students are briefed on the program for the evening.

Time to get to work and make that Panna Cotta.

Over the course of a couple of hours, the students worked together to produce all the food and then enjoyed it at the end.  They even got a recipe book to take home.

Otherwise things have been running smoothly here in Florence.  For our Pasadena City College friends, the mid term break is only ten days away, so they have been busy making plans for that.  

In Italian news, sadly there were further deaths of immigrants trying to get to Italy, this time off the coast of Sicily.  This has led to the Italian defence minister saying there will be an increased Naval presence in the Southern Mediterranean.  

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Fall arrives in Florence.

With the world cycling championships on Sunday September 29, it appeared Fall finally arrived.  The heavens opened and there was a deluge.  The event went well, despite the rain and by the time Monday morning came round, everything had been cleared away and it was if nothing had ever happened.

Riders start the descent from Fiesole on Sunday September 29 as part of the Road Cycling World Championships in Tuscany.

The ever wacky world of Italian Politics kicked off (again) with a certain Mr Berlusconi making mischief (again), threatening to upset the coalition government, currently led by Enrico Letta.  For the full details, it is explained well here, otherwise a crisis was overted (again) and all is well for the time being.

Sadly another emotive topic of Italian life was also in the news, with a boat carrying immigrants capsizing on Thursday, with the loss of hundreds of lives.  The accident happened off the coast of Lampedusa, a tiny island that is actually closer to Tunisia than it is to the Italian mainland.

The island has been in the news alot over the past couple of years, with people fleeing the troubles in North Africa, hoping for a better life in Europe.  The Pope visited the island in July and threw a wreath in the sea and condemned the "global indifference" to the plight of refugees. 

Latest news on the tragedy is available on the web:  BBC / Al Jazeera / CNN

A screen grab from Al Jazeera news shows a glimpse of the scale of this tragedy.

Back in Florence it is safe to say everyone has now settled in and are calling Florence home.  Courses have settled down, students have been taking part in language exchanges with local people and enjoying Italian life.  On Thursday all of the students went on a visit to the Uffizi where they were taken on a tour of the highlights.  All of our students have Amici degli Uffizi passes as part of the program, so they can return as many times as they like for free (we will be encouraging them to do so).

On Friday October 4 it was time to take all the students on a daytrip to Siena & San Gimignano.  Its always a favorite for students and staff and it is nice to get out of the city on a regular basis.

Piazza del Campo - Home of the Palio horse race held twice a year.

Nicole and Jordan from Chemeketa Community College in Oregon enjoy some Gelato in Siena.

After a guided tour of the city, the students enjoyed lunch and free time before we made our way Northwards to San Gimignano.  We passed by row upon row of vines, heavy with grapes, ready to be picked soon.

Some students ventured into the Torture Museum, others made a beeline for the Worlds best Gelato, everyone was happy strolling around and enjoying the view.

Jillian and Allison from Pasadena City College enjoy the view.

With the day coming to the end and dusk falling, we made our way back to Florence for the weekend to begin properly.

This week the students have the first match in the Inter School Soccer tournament they have signed up for, as well as a Cooking Class to enjoy.

Please look at our Facebook page for regular updates.

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Birthdays and Bikes

Hello from Florence.  It has been a slightly odd week for the city with the UCI World Cycling Championships taking place.

Interesting language as always in the local newspapers.

There were various predictions of doom and gloom in advance of the event, transport chaos, lack of emergency services and so on, similar in some ways to all the pre event talk of the London 2012 Olympics.  Yet, many residents are asking what all the fuss was about.  Journeys to work have been easier and the city feels a much more pleasant place to live simply because they have got rid of much of the traffic, particularly the motorini...

Anyway, Monday came around with a chorus of Happy Birthday for Florence Program Co-ordinator Sophie Monkman.

Birthday girl Sophie Monkman chats with the Pasadena City College students at the weekly meeting.

All of the Pasadena students are well, some of them made the most of the weather and ventured to Forte dei Marmi for the day on Saturday to take in an Italian beach experience.  The Art class were busy on Tuesday getting to grips with the Easels, Prof. Rigon keeping a close eye on their technique.

Prof. Rigon gets the group started using Easels.

On Tuesday evening, Marta took the group on a passeggiata to the Southern area of the city, in the Oltrano.  They admired the view from San Miniato al Monte and Piazzale Michelangelo before descending and enjoying a tradition aperitivo.  A very pleasant Italian tradition, "opening your stomach" for the evening ahead.

Caleb, Martin, Austin, Brittany, Caroline and Fernando from Pasadena City College

A chance to relax and reflect upon the first week in Italy.

Of course, while classes were taking place, including a visit to the Bargello for the Art History class, bicylce races were taking place meters from the AIFS Partnership office. The Mens Elite Time Trial passed by on Wednesday.

USA rider Andrew Talansky passes by the AIFS Partnerships office.

2012 Tour de France winner and Olympic Gold Medal winner, Sir Bradley Wiggins passes by the office on his way to second place behind Tony Martin of Germany.

Further races are taking place today, with the main event on Sunday, the Elite Mens race with 208 riders from all over the world taking part.  The entry list is here.

Also this week we have organised some language exchanges between our students and local people.  We've been out and about putting up flyers in local Universities asking for volunteers.  Our students have been keen so far, so we're trying our best to fix them up with a language partner.

Some of the students have decided to head up to Cinque Terre this weekend, once again making the most of the weather before October is upon us.

We also have a small group from Oregon arriving on Saturday, so we're looking forward to welcoming them.  Have a good weekend and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email us - florence@aifs.co.uk. 

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Into the hills on the number 7 bus.

Hard to believe already that is a week since our new friends from Pasadena arrived in Italy.  We've kept them busy with orientation, classes and a welcome dinner, so today we decided to go upto Fiesole and take in the view.

It was a beautiful late Summer day as everyone boarded the bus for the 6 mile journey up the hill.  In one week time the same road will be used as part of the World Cycling Championships.

Blue skies and fresh air greeted the group in Piazza Mino, Fiesole.

Firstly a quick visit to the Cathedral to see the foundations of the original church started in 1028 and the relics of Saint Romulus, patron Saint of Fiesole, quickly followed by a favorite Italian tradition...  Coffee and Pastry!

Oh yes, the best way to start the day!

It was good to see that the group are already used to taking their coffee "al banco" standing at the bar and not getting charged for the luxury of sitting down.  With a little rocket fuel in the stomach it was time to head to the slopes of Monte Ceceri "Mount of the Swans".  Along the way we got some fantastic views of Florence down in the valley below, so a perfect opportunity for a group photo!

Pasadena City College Firenze Fall 2013

After the pause for the group photo we continued passing by Olive Groves and ancient footpaths before entering the park.  We made our way through old quarries that had been in use from Roman times right up until the 1900s.  The path was steep in places but the cover from the trees kept us cool.

Following a path that could be over 2000 years old...

Having seen the whole of Florence and beyond, now the views were to the North and East.  The Chianti making vines of Ruffina were in the distance as well as the hills that separate Tuscany from Emilia Romagna.  The path topped out at a square dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci.  In 1506, two years after painting the Mona Lisa, it is believed that a flying machine, designed by Leonardo took its maiden flight from the very spot where we were standing...

1506?  First flight from Fiesole?  

With that in our minds, particularly the thought of someone being so brave/stupid to attempt such a thing four hundred years before the Wright Brothers we headed back towards Fiesole.  After another quick stop to admire the view and an Etruscan burial site, we arrived back in the center of the town.  Bellies were rumbling now as the clock ticked past mid-day so some of the group grabbed something to keep them going.

There was time for one more viewpoint, this time from the Monastery of San Francesco. The view never gets old, each time you see something new.  The majority of the group made a pledge to return, particularly when they have friends and family visiting.

Yes, You do live in Florence.

This weekend, some of the group are heading off to the beach, to make the most of the great weather.  Viareggio/Forte dei Marmi on the West Coast of Tuscany have been mentioned.  Some are doing laundry and studying.  The Cycling Championships start on Sunday with a Team Time Trial that passes through the center of the city, opening up a series of events going on for a week.  We have warned the students that access to school may take a little longer than normal.

Thanks for reading.  If you have any questions about any aspect of our programs, please do not hesitate to get in touch, email us at florence@aifs.co.uk.

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Let's get this program started...

After a break of almost six weeks without students, the AIFS Florence office was looking forward to Friday September 13 as that marked the arrival of students from Pasadena City College.

The city had gotten back to normal following the traditional August shutdown.  The staff were busy cleaning the office and classrooms with some repainting in places.  The history of Piazza Peruzzi where the school is based can be traced back almost seven hundred years, indeed the remains of the Roman Amphitheatre that we can see out of the main classroom window was completed in the year 130AD!

The area around Piazza Peruzzi in 1584.
The current AIFS Study Center is just by the arch where the number 167 is written.

Ged and Marta went to the airport.  The flight was on time and things were not so busy, so we were able to meet the group and get situated pretty quickly.  By 7.30pm, two hours after landing, everyone was in the apartments and unpacking/showering/updating the Facebook status.

If you are coming on a program in the future, always look out for the sign!

Nancy, Brittany and Caroline in their new home.

Of course, it is a Study Abroad program and in order to make the most of class starting on Monday, the weekend was taken up with orientation.  Sophie and Marta spent Saturday going over information about the city, particularly safety and security, particulars about the housing and the events we have planned. Sunday looked into cultural differences and a few tips about travel opportunities.  This was all so the students could hit the ground running and be ready to go for class on Monday.

On Tuesday evening, it was time to take a break from the books and host the new students at a Welcome Dinner.  Marta took the group to La Martinicca for a three course dinner.  

Let's have a "Salute" to the new students!

It was great to see everyone and the dinner went on well into the evening.  One of the highlights is kept to the end with the appearance of the dessert trolley.  Basically, you can have whatever you like. Tiramisu, Torte al Cioccolato, Fruit and Millefoglie (Napoleon cake in the USA, apparently) were the choices and it took 30 minutes to serve everyone, such was the level of decision making!  

The slightly worried looking owner of La Martinicca as dessert choosing begins...

A good time was had by all.  For the rest of the week, classes are continuing as normal, with the weekend beginning on Friday.  This week we're taking the students up to Fiesole to enjoy the view and go for a little hike upto Montececeri.

Of course, we cannot forget that the World Cycling Championships start in Florence on Sunday as well.  More about that later this week.

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