SITE SUMMARY: Renaissance walk through Florence, Uffizi Gallery, Duomo Viewing, Academia Gallery (David), Cooking Lesson at the Hotel
LUNCH: Ristorante il Paiolo
DINNER: Country Hotel
SLEEPING: Tenuta il Burchio (Tuscany)
LESSON LEARNED: Fresh pesto is very easy to make and so delicious! We have since made it at least a dozen times at home!
The day started with a quick drive to Florence where we were met by two city guides. The adults and kids were separated and each group paired with a specialty guide. We learned how to identify Medieval from Renaissance architecture on our city walk and also received an excellent tour of the Uffizi Gallery.
TOUR HIGHLIGHT: CITY GUIDES
We've never had a professional guide that could share so much to enhance the art museum experience. Elizabetha was very knowledgable, but taught us in such an interesting way - never a dull moment in her presence! What is the difference between Byzantine and Renaissance art? What is the story behind the Birth of Venus? What's so special about the construction of the Duomo and why are there so many David statues in Florence? These are the pearls you can expect to learn with a quality city guide. You can of course read about these things on your own, but your books probably won't be as interactive as an expert guide!
"Rolling" strozzapreti pasta!
After the museum, we had free time for the afternoon. We chose a relaxed lunch, gelato, shopping in the Florence market and people watching around the Duomo.
Later, we returned to the country hotel and were surprised with a cooking lesson before dinner. The kids were taught how to make pasta and pesto. The pasta used two types of flour and is called strozzapreti, which means strangled priest. There are many explanations for the name, but I recall the kids saying it's because the pasta looks like a rope. Next, it was time to learn how to make pesto sauce for the pasta as captured in the video below: