Ferragosto and beyond...

Once again, it has been a while.  Summers go by so quickly as it is our busiest time in terms of groups arriving and departing.  Thank You to all our Summer Students for coming and spending time with us in Firenze.

We've had all the usual trips, Pisa, Lucca, Siena, San Gimignano, Rome, Venice as well as a hop over to the beautiful island of Elba.  Each of our programs is different and is customized to the desires of the faculty.

We've sampled wine and oil from the region, made our own pizza and studied gelato. We've taken in free concerts around the city, enjoyed opera and plenty of group meals. Some of us ran a 10k as part of the San Giovanni celebrations before enjoying the fireworks along the river.

Now the city is quiet.  Many shops and services are closed with signs posted saying they will be back at work on the August 26 or September 2.  That's just the way things work here.

In the AIFS office, work continues preparing for the arrival of Pasadena City College on September 13.

Across the city, our good friend Todd Bolton (of Tuscan Trails), our Wine expect had a wonderful Ferragosto with the arrival of a baby girl, Sophia Ines Bolton.  Congratulations to Elisa and Todd.

Welcome Sophia Ines Bolton!

For our American friends, we hope you had a good Summer.  Those of you in the Education business, good luck getting back to work.  Too those in Europe, there are a few more weeks to enjoy the sun, sea and the mountains.

If you have any questions about what we do, please don't hesitate to get in touch.  Email us via florence@aifs.co.uk.

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Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast Part I

Whilst the students have been studying abroad in Florence, they have had opportunities to travel.  Spain, France, Switzerland, Ireland and the UK have been popular destinations, like always.


Its always fun to remind the students what a beautiful country Italy is, with the 54 students that signed up for the AIFS tour to Sorrento, we were able to do that.


The group left by high speed train (Florence - Naples) directly after class on the 29th March.  From there we took a private coach around the Bay of Naples onto the Sorrento Peninsula and settled into our hotel.  The next day was a relatively early start for Breakfast and a day spent on Capri.

On arrival on Capri we took our own Private Boat Tour around the Island.  Silvana our guide gave us the commentary.

It was a beautiful day and the scenery particularly impressive. 

Everything is better by boat, right?

We were lucky enough on this trip to be able to get into the World Famous Blue Grotto.  (Extra Charge, of course).  

After a High Speed Ferry ride over to Capri, we hopped on a smaller boat for a cruise around the Island.  Everybody was enjoying the sunshine and despite a couple of waves here and there, the going was smooth.  As the tide was being friendly, those that wanted to were able to pay extra and visit the Blue Grotto.  Something everyone should do once in their lives..?


The cruise over, it was time to head up to Anacapri, the highest point on the Island.  We had our very own Private Minibuses to tackle the steep winding road.

Some enjoyed the Minibus ride to the top, some didn't...

There was an opportunity to catch a ski lift to the top of Monte Solano for wonderful views.

After a busy day, it was time to take the Ferry back to the mainland

It was a busy day but everyone was sad to leave Capri.  However this was only the end of Day 1.  What more did this wonderful part of the World have to offer?

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Florence Food Tour

Just after the Mid Term Break, some of the students and Faculty from Northern California signed up for a Food Tour of Florence.

Our guides Sandra and Tanya took small groups into the smaller side streets of Florence and introduced them to different types of Meat and Cheese, amongst other things...

The tour begins outside school with a small selection of fried rice balls.
A guilty pleasure...

A local shopkeeper talks about his wares.

In the Mercato Centrale, you can never be sure what you will come across...
Hearts, Livers, Feet...  Some of the students felt it was more like a Biology lesson!

We were able to try Four different cheeses.  A Parmesan Cheese that was aged 30 months was particularly popular, along with various types of local Ricotta and Pecorino (Sheep) Cheese.  Nice.

It was a great opportunity after living in Florence for almost two months, to rediscover the city again.  To pay more attention when hurrying to class and to try those side streets as you never know what might be down there.

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