In the spring of 1968, we were undergraduates at Florida State University, and we were presented with an opportunity to spend a quarter/trimester abroad in Florence. Even then, we had a bit of the travel bug. FSU had had an international program in Florence from the mid-60s, and FSU students had contributed much in the rescue and restoration of its cultural treasures after the great Arno flood of 1966. In 1968, due to a calendar change, the program opened to students who were not studying Italian, we applied, and were sorely tempted, right up to the deadline for accepting our offers of admission.
But we didn't. Instead, we got married that summer, deciding to do all our future travels together. Our honeymoon was our first road trip. We wouldn't get to Florence until 1979, doing our first long European tour.
So imagine our pleasure, as we were walking down the Via dei Neri after our final bifstecca Fiorentina on this campaign, finding the FSU/Florence palazzo/campus. The security folks understood "alumni" readily enough and let us inside for a few pix and lots of old memories.
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| From the Tallahassee Democrat, no doubt, mid-60s |
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| The flood, 1966 |
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Honoring the FSU students and faculty
who worked to save Florence |
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| 50-some years later |
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| Us, there |
