28th
first impressions…
As I said, the program started off in a whirlwind. Our first day, after a brief orientation meeting, we began acquainting ourselves with our new home. We started down the hill around 9:00 in the morning as a group. I remember thinking about how conspicuous 40 white, wide-eyed young adults must look to the average Italian onlooker. Robbie Shackleford, the “dean” of Harding University Florence, led us through the narrow streets of Scandicci - the suburb of Florence where we live. Our tour was both aesthetic and functional. We walked by several beautiful piazzas, enjoyed our first authentic cappuccino, followed closely by gelato, and learned how to get to important buildings, like the bank. At the end of our tour, Robbie gave us an assignment to visit a local market, and left us to get home on our own. The bus routes are simple, and we all learned them quickly.
On our second day, we ventured a little further, going into the heart of Florence. We walked several miles, but I can’t think of any sight more worth it than the incredibly ornate Cathedral of Florence, the religious center of town. We went through the political center of town, the Palazzo Vecchio, (the town hall) stands. The piazza surrounding it is filled with incredible sculptures from the renaissance (mostly copies, since the originals are in museums) including Michelangelo’s David. The city of Florence is helplessly enchanting, from its elaborate architecture to its friendly markets.
