Italy 2025 - Day Four 9/17/25

We were up bright and early this morning to make the 80 minute drive into Florence. Known as the "Cradle of the Italian Renaissance", this beautiful city is home to the Piazza Del Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, and the Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore (pictured).

Our first stop was to Misuri, a manufacturer of luxury handcrafted Italian leather. Here we learned about the Florentine art of leather gilding before Chris, Sharon and Jenn walked the runway showing off some of the magnificent Italian leather.

Next we were joined by a local guide who took the group on a tour of downtown Florence ending with a stop at the Accademia Museum. Founded in 1784, the museum hosts a collection of sculptures, picture galleries and paintings. One of the most important works on display at the museum is David by Michelangelo, which was completed around 1504.

The balance of the day was spent exploring Florence independently until we met up with our fellow travelers on the Piazza di Santa Croce. Here we enjoyed a lovely group dinner at Finisterrae Ristorante complete with a birthday celebration for Deb Singer '74!

On our way out of Florence, we made a surprise stop at Piazzale Michelangelo, a public square and viewing terrace that offers stunning views of the city at sunset.

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Cordoba

First our morning started with an alarm - or a lack of one; as Mary Jane and Pat's room never received a wakeup call. So everyone else was on the bus ready to go when they finally got a knock on the door. What troopers they were, though! In 15 minutes they were on the bus with everyone and not long after they were able to laugh at the 'chaos' of it all. Our local guide Isabel was just delightful - and clearly has a love for her city. She tells us that filmmaker Pedro Almodovar is from here as we begin our walk. First we go through the old Jewish center. Nearly all of the city's buildings are white-washed (originally by the women we hear). We stop at an old Jewish synagogue and learn some history of the area. Then we stop at the statue of a famous rabbi ( can you name him ?) which legend is that by rubbing his foot and then touching your own head you will get taller and wiser. most of us did that - some hoping for extra height, others for a...

2011: Day 4 - Vienna

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Following our stop at Plaza Espana in Seville we headed out on foot through the Santa Cruz area and then made our way to the Seville Cathedral . Its Main Mosque and minaret were built using bricks from 1184-1198. In 1248 the building was consecrated as Catholic with construction from 1434-1517 on the Gothic Cathedral. It is the most extensive Gothic cathedral all over the world. It houses the Tomb of Christopher Columbus. Following the guided tour some of us made our way up the 36 ramps to the top of the tower to see panoramic views of this great city!

Stonehill College Alumni Travel

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