A week has already flown by, so I thought it was about time I show you where I spend most of my mornings here in Florence, the language school! As well as the famous Harold Acton Library the British Institute own another space for their famous language centre which is based on the north side of the Arno in the beautiful Piazza Strozzi, just a quick stroll across Ponte Santa Trinita and through Via de Tornabuoni and Via Porta Rossa (both streets studded with every exciting designer shop you can imagine). Handily it's got the wonderful Odeon bistro coffee shop based just below it and the famous Cinema Odeon Firenze right around the corner, so right in the thick of things while still just outside of the main tourist trails. The long corridors are lined with gorgeous art works, an assortment of comfortable chairs and a couple of very welcome vending machines.
Every morning just before 10am I climb the many flights of stairs up to the last floor (there is a lift but I figure it's good practice to counter the vast quantities of delicious pasta I'm consuming). Here, usually in room 11, I study with my fellow Beginners till 12:45 (with a coffee break – ovviamente!). There are quite a lot of us at the institute this spring term, so we're divided into groups, for us there's Group 1 and Group 2, with everyone from a Hungarian banker, gap year and university students, post-university students, writers, musicians and nursing assistants. A wonderful mix of people from all walks of life who are all just as excited to be in Florence learning Italian. Perfetto!
