Heat wave ends...on the day we go to the beach

Hello everyone,

Friday's heat was intense--so we were looking forward to our day on the beach on Saturday. The feverish heat wave broke, however, and when we arrived in Viareggio, a famous resort town, the day was pleasant, but very, very windy. The sea was turbulent and the waves were big, and the Italian lifeguards prohibited doing anything but putting your feet in. The students from California were nonplussed--they see waves like that every day of their lives!

We still managed to enjoy ourselves though, what with the delicious seafood available to munch on for lunch, the people-watching on the beach, and the many high end shops to browse that line the beach front. When we rounded up the group to go to Pisa, the students expressed their interest in having another beach day. Lucky them, next week we'll be at the Cinque Terre!

In Pisa the students were given three options for their late afternoon activities, they could explore the Baptistery and the Cathedral with Stefano as their guide, they could climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa or they could take free time. While many students chose to take free time and wander the Campo dei Miracoli on their own, a handful of students and I accompanied Stefano into the Baptistery, the first stop on the great Pisan tour. The exterior is decorated in the Gothic style, with arches and animalian figures, but the interior of the Battistero is quite spare. The main focus is Pisano's pulpit, which boasts marble reliefs of the histroy of Christ. Pisano's work was heavily influenced by Giotto, visible in his presentation of the crucification.

After the tour, the whole group reunited at a fountain in the center of the square, and we walked together to a nearby pizzeria, where we enjoyed green salad, the pizza of our choice, and one of their yummy desserts (I chose Tiramisu, I can't get enough).

After dinner, exhausted, we piled back into our charter bus and catnapped on the return to Florence. But the night did not end there, the students had been asking to return to the Fortezza da Basso to enjoy another evening of dancing--and as they had been so well behaved, the staff happily obliged. It was a great night, and this morning we slept in til 11:00 am to make sure everyone would be fresh for our Sunday at the pool.

We are about to leave as a group for the pool, where we'll have a picnic and keep cool. This afternoon the students will have time to study and work on their homework, and then they will receive their dinner stipends, so that they can go out into the city and have dinner in a restaurant of their choice with a few friends.

But that's not all! This evening, after dinner, we'll meet up at the Residence for Project Runway! Always a big hit, the students will break up into small groups and will be given secret materials with which they must choose a theme and construct an outfit in keeping with their theme. The staff will also be constructing an outfit for fun-but will not be in competition, as we are also the judges of the students' creations.

Can't wait to put those pictures up. Til then!
Janet