Saturday – Fly from USA to Florence

Day 1: Welcome to Florence
Arrive at the Florence Airport and transfer to the hotel. Check-in and settle in. Freshen up. Relax. Enjoy a buffet brunch/lunch. The afternoon is free for you to adjust to the time zone, meet up with your son/daughter and get ready for the week ahead.

In the evening, enjoy a welcome cocktail. We will give you info and an itinerary. You can meet the other people that you will be spending the week with and then we will go out for dinner all together, parents and students.

Day 2: Day Trip to Pisa, Siena & San Gimignano
Visit Tuscany’s most important cities with a lunch stop in the countryside. Take the insta snap at the leaning tower, enjoy some fresh and light white wine in san gimignano and take a tour of the historic center of Siena.

When we get back to Florence we should have worn the jetlag out of you! In the evening you have free time to go out with your son/daughter for dinner.

Day 3: Campus Visit and Steak Dinner
Start the day by inviting your son/daughter to have breakfast in the hotel with you. Then we have reserved the morning for you to go and visit their Study Abroad Campus, perhaps sit in on a class, and then take a break for lunch together.

Meet back at the hotel where our official guides will pick us up and take us on an eco golf cart tour of the center of Florence. Don’t worry, it won’t all be about history, and even better, see it all from the comfort of a golf cart, no walking! Along the way we will make a stop for gelato.

In the evening, together with your son/daughter we will enjoy a glass of prosecco with a view over the rooftops of Florence before going to one of our favorite restaurants for a famous Florentine Steak Dinner.

Day 4: Chianti Winery Tour and Tasting
We will head out in the morning to the countryside immediately outisde Florence, famous for the production of Chianti wine. With epic views over the surrounding countryside, littered with vines, we will tour the castle wine estate followed by a Tuscan lunch with a selection of their wines.

On our way back to Florence, we will make a stop in a local leather factory. The Florence markets are renowned for their leather goods. See how the bags and jackets are produced and of course there will be time to browse and buy.

Arriving back in Florence around 4pm, you have time to relax and wait for your son or daughter to finish class. Tonight you are free to spend time with your family. Check out our blog for a list of restaurants that students are dying to go to but don’t fit into a study abroad budget! Of course we are happy to help you make table reservations.

Day 5: The Uffizi, The Duomo, & Thanksgiving**
Start Thanksgiving with family breakfast. Your son/daughter will have to attend classes today as it is not a holiday in Italy so we will take advantage and spend the day exploring Florence’s most important sights. Choose between a guided tour of the Uffizi Gallery, which houses the world’s largest and most important collection of Renaissance artworks, or climb the dome of the Florence cathedral, an architectural masterpiece by Brunelleschi.

If you elected to climb the Duomo, you can use your ticket to explore the Baptistery, Duomo Museum and if you are felling like climbing a few more stairs, climb the Bell Tower.

Otherwise you have the afternoon free to explore, shop perhaps, and meet up with your son/daughter before dinner.

Celebrate Thanksgiving with a traditional Roast Turkey meal with all the trimmings. We have three restaurants for you to choose from; Accademia Restaurant, The Diner and Ristornate Quinoa (gluten-free). All of these places have been cooking Thanksgiving Dinner in Florence for years and years and from experience we know they get it right! Wine is included. Relax and eat but don’t stay out too late because we have an early start tomorrow.

Day 6: Venice or Vespas?***
You can choose whether you want to take a day trip to Venice or spend the day cruising the countryside from the seat of a Vespa. Don’t forget to bring your driver’s license if you want to ride the Vespa.

We will be traveling to Venice by highspeed train which will deliver us directly in to the center. Train travel is fast and comfortable. Venice is only two hours away.

Check with your son/daughter which option you want to book. We will be asking you to let us know at the time of booking or shortly after, so we can make all of the necessary arrangements.

Day 7: Free Day in Florence with Family
If you booked the photoshoot package this is the day to do it! Wake up and get insta ready. Based on the locations you choose, the photographer will either meet you in the hotel or directly at the location. We will put you in contact with the photgrapher well in advance so you can get to know each other and plan your shoot.

If you have other places that you wish to visit, or want to book some fun things to do in Florence, let us know how we can help.

Day 8: Departure

Relax in the morning and enjoy breakfast with your family before you leave. Please make sure you have informed us of your flight details so we can book your transfer to the airport.

We sincerely hope that we have shown you the best of the best of Florence and we wish you a safe return home.

**For the Spring Itinerary the Thanksgiving Dinner will be replaced with a Sunset Gourmet Picnic at Piazzale Michelangelo
***For the Spring Itinerary the Vespa Tour will be replaced with a Day Trip to Cinque Terre