By Kira Ivarsdottir, University of Maryland | ISI Florence Spring 2026

As a sophomore journalism major from the University of Maryland, my first full week in Florence was filled with new experiences, beautiful sites, exciting classes, and amazing food.

Monday

With a mixture of nerves and excitement, my roommate and I decided to get up extra early on Monday to go to a cafe before class at 9:30 a.m. We decided to stop by Caffè Esse for an espresso and a Nutella croissant, which is not only decently priced but also a 3-minute walk from our apartment in Santa Maria Novella.

After breakfast, we headed to our first class of the day, Italian, which all ISI students are required to take, located in Palazzo Bargagli.

Following our first class, I decided to visit Giunti Odeon–a popular bookstore and cinema in one extravagant building. A 12-minute walk from Palazzo Bargagli, Giunti Odeon offered not only a plethora of books and keepsakes on its lower level but also a cozy study space that shows different movies every day, visible from both the lower and upper levels of the building. With its quiet and comfortable cinema seats, this famous building has quickly become one of my regular after-class spots.

Following a study break, I walked to my last class of the day, Humanism and Humanistic Psychology (PSYC 410), which is located in the Palazzo Rucellai building. Given the fact that the building is that of a palace converted to a school building, it’s hard not to stare at the beautiful paintings on the ceiling during class.  

Longing for a taste of home, we decided to end the day by ordering food from McDonald’s, which is located near the train station in Florence. Depending on the time, it is safer to only walk to McDonald’s and pick it up in person in the earlier hours of the day, and when it gets darker, many students opt to order from the popular food delivery app Deliveroo–Italy’s version of GrubHub.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, my roommate and I decided to visit Caffè Esse again for a quick macchiato and pistachio croissant before heading to our Italian class. Though we were a little tired in the early morning, our Italian professor kept us awake with an enthusiastic lesson. A pattern I have noticed while studying at ISI is that the professors are very passionate not only about the subject they teach but also about the class itself, which makes learning very exciting and motivating.

After Italian, we headed to Palazzo Rucellai for our Contemporary Art: Visualizing Colonialism, Gender, and Globalization from 1945 to the Present (ARTH 340) course, which is a 15-minute walk from Palazzo Bargagli. Having never taken an art history course, I was pleasantly surprised by the course style and was informed by the teacher that some lectures would be held in art facilities and museums around Florence.

I then walked back to Palazzo Bargagli for my final class of the day, which was the Introduction to Photography: Portfolio of Florence course (VART261). After a long but exciting class about the ins and outs of digital photography, I walked back to my apartment in Santa Maria Novella.

After the classes, my roommates and I decided a grocery run was essential, and after researching, we voted to stop at Conad. Conad is very popular amongst study abroad students due to its wide selection of goods, from fresh produce to bathroom products, at reasonable prices.

Later that night, we decided to make dinner using the groceries we had purchased at Conad. After a long day of exploring the city and attending class, making a meal at home with the company of my roommates was exactly what I needed.

Wednesday

With only two classes during the day, my roommate and I set out to find not only a nice coat but also a leather bag. Since I only brought one coat to Florence, which can only be described figuratively as a coat for hurricane weather, I wanted to find a light coat for warmer days.

We started our search in stores I recognized from the States, such as H&M and Zara, both located in the main shopping areas of Florence, along Via Roma and Piazza della Repubblica. Both stores were very crowded, even on a weekday, and we quickly realized that H&M and Zara did not carry the styles we liked. Therefore, we decided to simply explore the many shops around the main shopping areas. After going in and out of many stores, I finally found a coat that fit my price range at Miss Trench, located on Via Porta Rossa. The store carried many cute accessories at the checkout counter, and the staff were very helpful.

Feeling optimistic about finding a bag, we went to one of the main hubs for leather goods, Mercato del Porcellino. We quickly realized, however, that the price of leather bags, especially the larger sizes, was going to cost much more than we were prepared to spend that day. Though we didn’t end up purchasing a leather bag, my roommate found a leather passport holder that she liked, and I landed on a small leather keychain.

We ended the day eating leftovers with the rest of our roommates and finishing homework for our Italian class.

Thursday

After my Italian and Contemporary art classes ended around noon, I headed to my photography class for a field trip to Villa Bardini, located across the river from Palazzo Bargagli. There, my class and I walked up the hill to David Doubilet’s photography exhibit. On the way to the exhibit, our professor encouraged us to take in the sights and take pictures of the fantastic view of Florence from the hilltop. Doubilet’s exhibit was filled with meticulously captured photos of ocean life that encouraged viewers to be more conscious of climate change.

Following the field trip, my roommate and I decided to find one of the famous photo booths commonly referred to in Italy as Fotoautomatica. These photo booths are popular for their many locations across Italy and their vintage black-and-white style. Once we found a booth 8 minutes away, we excitedly took photos. Taking photos in the Fotoautomatica booth can be a fun way to memorialize the first week of studying abroad. We also decided to take individual photos as well as photos together, in the hope that we will take photos again at the end of the four months and compare our first-week photos.

We decided to end the day with dinner at a local restaurant called La Spada, where ISI students can receive a discount; details are in the ISI Florence app. The restaurant itself is warm and welcoming, with prices not too high and with good-sized portions. If students don’t feel like sitting down, they can also purchase takeout from La Spada at the door on the side of the restaurant, which offers regular menu items at a significantly discounted price. My favorite item on the menu is La Spada’s spaghetti alla carbonara.

Friday

ISI Florence holds classes Monday through Thursday, allowing students to travel and explore from Friday to Sunday. One of the benefits of studying abroad with ISI is that they frequently offer trips guided by members of the school. My roommates and I decided to take advantage of one of ISI’s guided tours of Pisa and Lucca during our first week.

Though the trip was only one day long, we saw many things, and one of ISI’s professors taught us about the wonders of Pisa and the long history of Lucca.

Traveling on a bus booked by ISI, we started the day in Pisa, where our group visited three buildings in addition to the famous leaning tower.

Our group then took the bus to a small but gorgeous city called Lucca, which has become my favorite city in Italy so far. After lunch with the largest calzone I have ever seen in my life, we were encouraged to ride bikes along the wall surrounding Lucca, which takes about an hour to ride around. Because my roommates and I wanted to make things more difficult for ourselves, we decided to take a four-seater bike, which we quickly realized was much harder to control than we anticipated. The view from the top of the wall was like nothing I had ever seen, and I highly encourage visitors to walk the trail, if not bike it.

After the bike ride, we were given the option to take a guided walking tour or explore the rest of Lucca on our own. Opting for the individual option, my roommates and I walked around for a couple of hours and found a round courtyard almost hidden from the rest of the city, which we sat in and admired for much of our stay in Lucca.

By the time we were called back onto the bus, there was a unanimous wave of exhaustion from a day filled with excitement and exploration, making it easy to go to bed that night.

Saturday

Getting up to a late start on Saturday due to our exhaustion from the excursion the day before, we decided to keep the day light by simply walking around and seeing where the streets would take us.

While walking around Florence, my roommate and I discovered a restaurant called Rooster Cafe. The cafe was filled with many study abroad students and tourists, which was understandable given the cafe’s American-style menu–consisting of everything from matcha lattes to smash burgers and burritos. Though food in Florence is nothing short of divine, in my opinion, getting food similar to what we get in the States can make a student feel less homesick.

After a burrito-and-burger breakfast, we stumbled upon a makeup store called Kiko Milano that engraves your name or location in any color of lip gloss for about 12 euros. Thinking an engraved lip gloss from Florence would be a nice souvenir, my roommate and I decided to purchase one with each of our names engraved.

Our last stop of the day was a vintage thrift store called Humana Vintage, where my roommate and I spent more than an hour. The store was filled with whimsical, colorful clothing at low prices. The store even had an entire section in the front dedicated to vintage trench coats, which I highly recommend students check out if they are still looking for a light coat in Florence at a low price.

Sunday

With no set plans for the day, my roommate and I decided to relax in the apartment after a lively week. Feeling a little homesick, I decided to call my family to update them on all my endeavors in Florence. Homesickness is a common phenomenon amongst study abroad students, and something as simple as a text or a phone call to your loved ones can do wonders for your mental health while abroad. Also common amongst study abroad students is keeping a journal handy in case the writing inspiration strikes. Whether it’s writing to remember Florence after the semester ends or to simply write down thoughts, journaling is a great outlet.

I started to feel under the weather by the time dinner rolled around, so I decided to try making pastina soup, otherwise known as “Italian Penicillin.” Using the star-shaped pasta known as pastina, I grabbed celery, garlic, carrots, and chicken broth and made the soup from scratch, which took about an hour. For a primary baker who is mildly afraid of the stove, preparing the soup was easy enough for me to handle. After boiling all the ingredients together, I doused the soup with a generous amount of olive oil and Parmesan cheese. After happily eating two bowls with a steaming cup of chamomile tea, I am happy to report that the soup, dubbed “Italian Penicillin,” was nothing short of the perfect remedy for my congestion.