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

One of the great perks of being a student at ISI Florence is that we are free to travel on weekends when we don’t have classes. Keep in mind that some classes do have weekend excursions, so be sure to hold off on booking travel until you receive your syllabus! Last weekend, students, including myself, took the opportunity to visit many places in Europe, and the experience was definitely worthwhile.

Glasgow, Scotland – Kate Quintana

While at the University of Maryland, Kate Quintana found it difficult to visit her friend in Scotland due to the distance. Therefore, while studying in Florence, she decided that last weekend was the perfect time to make a trip to Glasgow for a visit.

Traveling with the junior’s two friends, Quintana took a train and a flight to get to Glasgow from Florence. “We took a train to Rome first. So that was like an hour and a half. And then we had about a three-hour flight over there,” she said.

While enjoying the company of her friends was her main goal on the itinerary, Quintana was particularly fond of the city’s ambiance and wildlife. “I really loved the city, and I liked the UK vibe it had. We went and saw Highland cows. So that was definitely a highlight of the experience.”

Venice, Italy – Elise Fraser

Elise Fraser, a junior sociology student at the University of Maryland, decided to go to Venice last weekend to experience the second weekend of Carnevale di Venezia, which commemorates the ancient tradition of games and costumes. Lasting from January 31 to February 17, this year’s carnival focuses on the Olympic Games, currently being held in Milan.

“My roommate knew that she wanted to go to the carnival, so we decided to all go together as a group, get dressed u,p and explore the city,” Fraser said.

While she did not plan to attend any scheduled tours during the two days due to her short time in Venice, Fraser was more than satisfied with her experience of getting lost in the city with her friends. “Honestly, just walking around, seeing all the canals and seeing everybody dressed up [was great],” she said.

Aside from the allure of the different costumes and crowds in Venice that weekend, Fraser described her time climbing the Campanile di San Marco, located in Venice’s St. Marco’s Square, as the highlight of her trip.

With Venice only a two-hour direct train ride from Florence, Fraser highly recommends that students visit the famous city on water during their time at ISI.

“Venice is pretty at any time of year. And it’s just, it’s a very unique place, I think everyone can enjoy.”

Milan, Italy – Harper Madigan

Junior political science and legal studies student from Roger Williams University, Harper Madigan, decided to spend the last weekend in Milan for the opening weekend of the 2026 Winter Olympics held in Milan and Cortina.

With the Olympic Winter Games from February 6 to 22, Madigan decided to look up tickets and was pleasantly surprised by the cost of traveling to Milan. “I was just randomly looking at tickets, and they were, like, relatively cheap, and [on] the first day of the Olympics. So we were like, honestly, a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Madigan said.

During her stay, Madigan decided to attend the Women’s Ice Hockey (Switzerland vs. the Czech Republic) game. Aside from the intensity of the hockey, which Madigan had never experienced before, it was the unity and nationalism of the teams that she described as “emotional and together.”

“It was really cool because we got to see different parts of nationalism in different countries. Switzerland’s nationalism compared to how we reflect our nationalism in America [is] way more beautiful,” Madigan said.

Not originally rooting for any team in particular, Madigan began to root for Switzerland while watching the team play and observing its fans in the crowd.

“It was just a really cool win to see the stadium just filled with the flag color and like dancing and sharing and the pride that you could see on their faces…it was really cool,” she said.

Perugia, Italy – Kira Ivarsdottir (that’s me!)

Opting for a day trip on Friday and staying in Florence the rest of the weekend, my roommate and I decided to attend ISI’s day trip to Perugia, which included a tour of the beautiful city and a hands-on session making our own chocolate bar.

Starting with a 2-hour train ride to the city, organized by ISI, we watched the sun rise and illuminate the beautiful sights along the way before arriving. Our chaperones then gave us a brief history of the town as we walked up and down the steep hills of Perugia’s town square.

We were then escorted to ISI’s sister university, The Umbra Institute, where a staff member led us through the city’s underground tunnels. The staff member explained that some of the original architecture, built centuries ago, could still be seen in rock fragments, which I found extremely interesting.

After a tour of the city’s underground areas, our group was free to eat and explore for a couple of hours before returning to our meeting spot. We enjoyed a delicious lunch with friends following the underground tour, before we were led to the Turan Cafe, where our group had the opportunity to make our own chocolate bars while learning about Turan’s practices in handmade, sugar-free chocolate making.

With a bag full of chocolate and Perugia souvenirs, we headed back to the train station later that day to take a train back to Florence.

Whether it’s Milan for the Olympics, Glasgow for the Highland cows, or a day trip to Perugia, traveling to some of the many wonders of Europe is just one of the amazing opportunities that studying at ISI has to offer.