and finally.....

I forgot to say 'thank you' to Caitlin for the excellent work on the blog while we were in Florence. Thanks to Holly for her contribution too and to Mrs Reed for the group photo choreography!

Miss Hanlon

Back in Sheffield

Thank you girls for being such inspiring travelling companions! You were a credit to your parents and guardians, the school and, most importantly, yourselves. We were very proud of you all.

It has been a real pleasure to share with you some of the wonders of Florence, Siena and San Gimignano. This has been just a taster of Italy and it's lovely to hear many of you saying that you hope to return in the future to explore more Art, Architecture and Italian culture.

Thanks as well to everyone back in school who helped our trip run smoothly, particularly to Mrs Hamer and Miss Senior (and not to forget the translation work from Miss Salmon).

Enjoy the rest of the holidays and we shall look forward to seeing your sketchbooks when we return to school!

Miss Hanlon and Mrs Reed

Landed. Good flight. Getting sorted at baggage reclaim and then will beleaving London. Students will text parents our estimated time ofarrival when we get on the coach. Here are a few final shots from ourtime in Italy...arrivederci e buona pasqua.

Leaving Pisa now...see you soon.

San Marco monastery with frescoes by Fra Angelico. The Last Supper byGhirlandaio.

Last day.

Last night in Florence. Santa Maria del Fiore. And Lizzie recording(olives) primary sources.

Siena and San Gimignano

We started today off with an early coach trip to Siena where we walked through the picturesque streets to the Siena Duomo. It shares some common features with Florence's Duomo but also many differences which were nice to compare. We had some time to sketch inside the Duomo before heading into the Piazza del Campo where we found lunch and had some time for shopping. After a short walk back to the coach, we drove on again to San Gimignano.

The sun came out as we arrived in San Ginignano where we were free to wander and submerse ourselves in the village.

It was a buzzing tourist destination in the centre so we found time to walk to the outskirts where we could enjoy beautiful views of the Tuscan country side. We had some time for ice cream from the winner of Tuscanys best ice cream and headed back to the coach one again.

There was no singing on the coach on the way back to Florence because everyone was so tired from our busy day. We had a late tea at La Republica restaurant and packed before getting an early night.