Writing this back at Queenswoodafter an exhausting yet exhilarating weekend in Florence, we struggle to
remember all of what we managed to visit in such a short space of time. 

Friday – Santa Maria Novella and the Academia

Fresh out of the train station we
first visited Santa Maria Novella, the home of Masaccio’s
masterpiece – the Trinity. Following
here we went to the Academia where we admired the infamous David by Michelangelo. Sketches were drawn, sparking slight
competition amongst us! Our long day of travelling left us ravenous; we could
almost hear the focaccia calling our names. Dinner included authentic Italian
dishes. We walked back to the convent where we were staying, full of pizza,
pasta and tiramisu. A good night’s sleep was welcomed after a busy yet
brilliant first day in Florence.

Saturday – The Bargello and the Brancacci Chapel

Saturday began with an early
morning and a visit to the Bargello where we saw Donatello’s St George and the Bacchus. The rest of
the day included the works of Fra Angelico, more sandwiches and shopping.
Inevitably many photos were posed for in the Italian sunshine throughout the
day. At the Brancacci Chapel we had the opportunity to compare Masaccio and
Masolino’s Adam and Eve, which was
made much easier without the necessity of zooming in and out on Wikipedia. The
day was brought to a close with the ordering of a huge plate of seafood that we
worked together to quickly demolish.

Sunday – The Medici Palace and the Uffizi

The final day began with
attempting to fit our excessive amount of souvenirs into our suitcases. Once
packing had been completed we travelled to the Medici Palace where we saw some
beautiful frescos. This was followed by a quick sandwich (there is a recurring
theme here…) and a visit to the Uffizi gallery. The works of Botticelli and
Leonardo da Vinci were a fitting end to a wonderful holiday. Our last few hours
in Florence were spent aiming to match up to the greats by drawing one another
at Pisa airport.

We
would like to thank Dr Bird (Teacher of History of Art), and Mrs Darabi (former Teacher of Italian at Queenswood) for organizing this very
special trip.