Day 5: Florence

Today we traveled to the city of Florence. It is a town that has 320,000 inhabitants. Florence is known for its leather, Chianti wine, balsamic vinegar, 13th century renaissance, beautiful countryside, statues, and extra virgin olive oil. We learned that the "Extra Virgin" in the olive oil means the 1st squeeze from the olives. Olives can be squeezed up to 4 times to make olive oil, but the best comes from the original squeeze. Balsamic vinegar is another delicacy that makes Florence unique. It takes over 20 years to make authentic Balsemic Vinegar. The authentic balsamic vinegar is very pure and thick. It also comes in a dark green, glass bottle. The Tuscany countryside of Florence is undescribable. It is extremely hilly and filled with vineyards for making wine and olive trees for the olive oil. A lot of the group purchased some form of leather souvenier to remember their time in Florence. We also got to witness Michaelangelo's David, an enormous piece of work, all made from marble. We also learned the meaning behind the colors of the Italian flag: red = charity, white = faith, and green = hope. Tomorrow is exciting as it will be be gameday.