LEAVING VENICE AND ARRIVING IN FLORENCE by GEORGE MACKINTOSH (2008)
RAIN SOFTLY FELL. Bags built up in the annex hall-way. Little sleep and remaining alcohol added to the unease and emotion of the situation. The day that had always seemed so far off had finally arrived, and few were really ready for it.
The bags leave. The slow stream of people down the corridor starts to pool in the hallway where the bags had stood. They were the next to be taken away. Hugs and hand shakes all round. The loss of one third of the group only now becomes reality. Promises of future reunions and visits abound. The suit arrives and starts the walk, the final walk, to the coach through the streets we now know so well. FIRENZE. The concept seems odd to many. Cars. Bussle. People linger in the final good-byes as the coach starts its engine. Those who are left mount the stairs and find a seat. Well wishers look on. We leave.
AS WE WAVED GOODBYE TO VENICE, I was overwhelmed by a mixture of sadness at leaving the place that had been our home for 6 weeks, and unbelievable excitement at the thought of spending the following week in Florence. My high hopes of discovering an awesome and vibrant city which possessed some of the most famous works of Renaissance Art were not dashed. In face, what faced us was even more incredible. Florence appears to have everything a History of Art student could ever dream of: visits to the greatest sights of the city, particularly private tours of the Academia and the Uffizzi, lectures by Charlie Hall and Jon Whitley, Charles Cecil Art lessons, an afternoon in the Tuscan countryside, scoops and scoops of ice cream and the Florentine Nightlife! I absolutely love Florence and will definitely be going back very soon. I will always keep wonderful memories of the week and would recommend it to all future students on the course.
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