Christine
So this summer I used my Chase Sapphire card points and booked a trip to Italy for my daughter and me. She decided to go to an art high school in NYC and so I figured it was the perfect time to go.
Taking Your Teen to Florence, Italy
There is something amazing about taking your child to a city like Florence, Italy. It feels good to be able to be the first to show them this kind of place and you are doing your job as a parent by taking them on an educational adventure like this. We hit all the usuals, the Ponte Vecchio Bridge, the Santa Maria Del la Fiori, the Baptistry doors, the Uffizi, the leather market, lots of great food and of course gelato. But I have to tell you the best part of the adventure was taking the cute, new tram straight into Florence from just outside the city. And I’ll tell you why.
Taking the Tram in Florence
So my daughter is going on fifteen and she’s starting to get more independent. When I booked the hotel in Florence I didn’t realize that I booked it about 20 minutes outside of Florence. We had landed in the train station when we came up from Rome and then hopped in a cab and it was a bit of a drive to the hotel. “Great,” I thought as we moved away from the tile roofs and domes of Florence. But it turned out to be the best thing.
So we got our tickets, the nice, clean, bright tram pulled up. We got in and my daughter was in love. What did she do, she went and sat on the other side of the tram car from me. At first I was insulted and then I realized what was happening. She was trying to pretend she was there on her own, like a student, just getting around. There she was, reading her phone with her headphones and her backpack, sitting on the tram seat, like this is what she did every day. She was feeling pretty proud of herself I think. She did this every time we got on the tram.
So I was watching my daughter grow up a little right before my eyes. When we got off she was a little braver than usual, found a place she wanted to get breakfast and we walked in. She went up to the counter and attempted her Italian and he answered her in English and gave her the pastry she pointed out. She was pretty darn proud of herself. The tram takes you straight into Florence so it was super easy to get to the middle of the city from there. She noticed a big posted for a graphic design school in Florence called the Sign. She was again in love. She wanted to know more about this school so on our last day in Florence we did go check out the school.
The Statue of David In Florence, Italy
Morgan and I made our way through the city and saw all the usual sights. I have to tell you it was really hot in Florence this August but we made due. We headed over to the Academia to see the David. I don’t think the last time I was there I took the time to see the rest of the museum so we took the opportunity to really go through and see everything else. There’s quite a bit of sculpture and Renaissance art up close, so I strongly suggest you take the time to look around. Don’t just go in say Hi to David and leave.
Touring the Uffizi
After that we had lunch at one of the many cool al fresco restaurants in the area and found the price to a bit more reasonable than Rome. Afterward, I brought her to the Uffizi. I looked at Morgan pretty incredulously when she asked me why we needed to go into the Uffizi. I said “you can’t be an art student and not go to the Uffizi, we are going.” So the nice thing about August is that the lines are not insane. We got in after maybe a 10 minute wait and we headed up. The Uffizi as usual is amazing. I made a bee line to see my all time favorite painting. Botticelli’s birth of Venus. And of course across the room was La Primavera. I thought, “OK now I can die.” I’ve actually stood in its presence once before but I was probably 20 and I’m um, not 20 anymore. I’ve also found that since I survived a bout of septic shock last year, my memory of certain things is foggy. I knew I went to the Uffizi before but I couldn’t remember a thing from that trip, so it was nice to renew some of these memories.
So we saw work by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. So many famous names in one place it’s a little overwhelming. My daughter was of course, cooler about it than I was, but I let her wander on her own and we texted to find each other again.
After an amazing time in the Uffizi we went out and walked more around the city. We stopped at the leather market and the walked across the Ponte Vecchio. I thought about the last time I was here I was with my mother and she bought my a tri-colored gold necklace that I still have. Now I was making my new memories with my daughter. She found an old woman selling watercolors. We looked closely and could see they were real and not printed copies. She signed all her work and told us that her name goes way back in Florence as painters and there’s a painting in the Uffizi with her family name and says the artist is a relative. I thought, why doubt her? She’s here living in Florence all her life, why wouldn’t she be related to an artist. My daughter was absolutely fascinated with this woman and chatted with her about going to art school. She loved the watercolors this woman had done and they were indeed very different than the scam ones you can see on the street.
My daughter ended up buying two paintings and now they sit in her room waiting to be hung up. I thought it was a great memory from her trip to Florence. She’s now convinced by the way that she wants to go to college in Florence. So I said well, you better get rolling on the Italian lessons.
We hit a few more restaurants and walked a lot more then took the tram back to our hotel. In the morning we left our bags with the front desk and took the tram again back to the city and had breakfast al fresco. There are definitely worse places to have breakfast than to have the Brunelesci’s dome in the background. My daughter had not had a chance to go back to school shopping so we went to some of the shops we saw and bought some back to school clothes. How is that for first day of school clothes? We also bought some handbags for me and some nice lingerie. I got three really nice bras for only $90 so I think I’m just going to go back to Florence with some empty suitcases. I hope she goes to school there so I have an excuse to go shopping.
Checking Out Some Colleges in Florence, Italy
After that we went outa nearby design college. The outside wasn’t much but we got to check out the area where the school was. It was a little outside the old, touristy part of town. But the best part was this amazing school housing space right next store. It’s like a WeWork for students and it has a courtyard and pool, and cafeteria and a beautiful bike room. The kids all get bikes when they take up a room. The place was run by a company out of the Netherlands and they just expanded into Florence, so it was brand new. Morgan was intrigued. Of course she was embarrassed when I dragged her in but I said look, we’re not going to be back here anytime soon so we should check it out while we’re here. So we asked the lady some questions and she let us look around. We took a brochure and I’m definitely putting this on our list. I would very much like it if she went to Florence for college, but just not sure they have a lot of programs taught in English. At least definitely taking some classes in the summer would be a good thing.
While we think the college that we had gone to look at may have closed down after Covid, there are plenty of other design programs in the city.
We had lunch, went back and got our bags and then got a cab to the Florence train station. I was a little worried about how it would be at the train station since I read a bunch of reviews saying it was a bit intense and confusing. When I got there I thought it was cute. Then I reminded myself that I live ten minutes from grand central station and that not everyone who writes travel reviews on TripAdvisor comes from where I come from. So there’s nothing to worry about in the Florence train station. Or the one in Rome for that matter. We bought our tickets and on the high speed train to Venice.
Hi speed trains in Europe are just awesome I must say. We took a train that went over 200 miles an hour up to Venice and it was complete luxury. Great, big, wide seats, plenty of table top space, plugs to charge your stuff and they come around with food. Also plenty of places to put your bags. I wish we had trains like this all over the US. The Acela to Boston is as close as you get but it doesn’t go 200 miles an hour or make you think you are on a private plane. My daughter loved taking these trains and I know she’ll remember it. It’s really fun to turn on Google maps and the train wifi and watch how fast you are moving and passing towns.
So if you are thinking of visiting Italy, you really need to stop in Florence. It’s a slightly calmer, more manageable city than Rome but just as beautiful. I’d honestly feel better if my daughter was going to school in Florence rather than Rome. All the cities are great, but Florence is just clean and bright and easy-paced. Make sure you bring extra room in your suitcases because out of all the cities we went I found the best bargains there. And oh my God the leather handbags. So gorgeous. I could have brought the whole market home. I got a beautiful patent leather handbag that doubles as a backpack that I’ve gotten tons of compliments on already. For $40! I can’t even imagine what this would be in the states and it’s just as good as anything I’ve seen on 5th ave. So plan on shopping and eating. And bring good walking shoes. I think when I stay again I will do the same thing with the tram. The prices for the hotels were great and we didn’t have to be those people dragging rolling suitcases across the cobblestone in the city. Just make sure the hotel is close to the Tram. In addition, the tram will take you straight to the airport if that’s your next stop. It also brings you straight to the train station if you plan on going elsewhere in Italy. Have fun!
