This morning brought a nice surprise for me. I've been bringing students to Florence for almost 20 years and learned something new today. Our tour director Rudi suggested that we stop at the American cemetery on our way out of Florence. I didn't even know there was an American cemetery this far south. He explained the politics of Italy during WWII and the role of the Allied Forces in finally driving the Germans out of the country, It was a beautiful place where over 4.000 U.S. soldiers from the Italian theatre are buried. It also honors over 1,000 that were un-recovered during the campaigns. I'm always so impressed to see how well these memorials are kept up so far away from home.
Next stop was San Gimignano. This is an amazing medieval town full of towers. The towers were a way of showing off the wealth of the family. At one time the city had over 70 towers but now there are only about 13 still standing. The kids got to climb the 223 steps to the top of the Torre Grossa, the largest tower still standing. From there the views of the Tuscan countryside are spectacular.
The rest of the day was a quiet one on the bus. We arrived at our hotel WAY outside of Rome around 8pm. After dinner we had a cake and celebrated Leah's 16th birthday.
Next stop was San Gimignano. This is an amazing medieval town full of towers. The towers were a way of showing off the wealth of the family. At one time the city had over 70 towers but now there are only about 13 still standing. The kids got to climb the 223 steps to the top of the Torre Grossa, the largest tower still standing. From there the views of the Tuscan countryside are spectacular.
The rest of the day was a quiet one on the bus. We arrived at our hotel WAY outside of Rome around 8pm. After dinner we had a cake and celebrated Leah's 16th birthday.
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