API: Experience Florence, Italy (Scholarships Available)

Stepping off of the bus, onto the cobblestone in Florence was like a fairytale. The city is the most beautiful I have ever seen and the food is second to none. The university also offered great courses including Italian cooking, the impact of the Holocaust on Italian Jews, Italian philosophy, and much more. You could study almost anything here. I would highly recommend this program. We also got to go on excursions to classics like Rome and Venice to name a few.

I purposely chose an abroad program that would allow me to focus on traveling and experience Europe. Lorenzo de Medici had a relatively easy academic program with classes ranging from 3 to 4 days per week. This allowed me plenty of time to explore both inside the city and beyond while also providing a basic academic challenge that introduced me to Italian life.

API staffs were the best! They were always there when you need them, no matter how much trouble you got yourself in, they always helped you with a warm smile on their faces. The trips are the best, they left you enough time do your own stuffs. I also traveled to many other European countries and cities while I studies abroad in Florence, but no where can compare with it, It is small but it has everything you need! The best food, the richest Renaissance history, etc. I would totally do it again!

Traveling abroad to Florence, Italy with API was the experience of a lifetime. I attended Lorenzo De' Medici where I took classes on Monday, Wednesdays, and Thursday. This gave me a lot of time to travel around the city and become very familiar with it. My apartment was in an amazing location. I was on Via San Gallo, about a 5 minute walk from the Duomo, and a block away from the vibrant San Lorenzo market, as well as a close walk to the other LDM buildings. I lived with five other API students, who have become some of my best friends. My apartment building also housed many other API students so I was able to meet so many friends that way. The size of the city is perfect, there is so much to do, yet you can walk everywhere. The city has so much to offerer and is unbelievably beautiful (especially as the weather warms up).
API also has so much to offer. Within the study abroad package there were four amazing excursions to Rome, Venice, Lucca and Tuscany. They were amazing trips and were a great time to meet other API students.
I would highly recommend API to anyone. Traveling to Florence with API was the best experience to date, and I think that everyone should go abroad.

I loved my experience with API in Florence, Italy. My apartment had a good location; close to Mercato Centrale, the Duomo, and several of the LdM academic buildings. I shared an apartment with 4 other API females. The only downside of our living arrangement was that we were the only API students in the building. Other API apartments had more than one apartment per building with students within the program. However, we had nice Italian neighbors who we did not see to often beside leaving and entering the breezeway of the building. We had a few mechanical problems with some kitchen appliances, but API was helpful and quick about having them be fixed.
My daily schedule varied from day to day. I only had classes Monday through Wednesday. LdM did not hold classes on Fridays. My classes were not always in the same building, usually a 3-4 minuet walk to my next class. I enjoyed this time in between classes because it allowed me time to casually walk around the city.
I walked every where! I found the public bus schedule within the city to be very confusing. Unless I was going to Fiesole, which overlooks the city of Florence, I never bothered with taking transportation while in Florence.
I had studied Italian before I arrived and while enrolled in LdM, I continued to take it. I was not fluent in the language, but knew enough to get by. The Italians appreciate the effort! Florence is a popular abroad destination and many of the shops, cafes, and restaurant staff can speak English. However, it more fun to try and speak as much of their language as you can!

I had a wonderful experience studying abroad through API at Lorenzo de Medici in Florence, Italy. API provided me with a trip of a lifetime. They did a great job at engaging the students with the Italian culture by providing us with many cultural excursions and activities. The staff were extremely friendly, and always available whenever you needed them. I enjoyed the class I took at LDM and my professor was very knowledgeable. All of the students are located in apartments within the city, and within walking distance to classes. API did a great job at providing me with an amazing memory that I will always think about. I would love to do it again, and I definitely recommended API to any student who is thinking about studying abroad.

API Florence is a fantastic program in so many ways. Everyone lives in apartments in the center of town with other students in the program. I lived right next to Piazza del Duomo (amazing views, let me tell you!). All of the class buildings were centrally located too. All of my non-language classes took us out into the city at least once. In one class, we went out everyday to look at what we had been talking about.

Some of my favorite perks of this program over other were the four day/weekend trips with the program (we did Rome, Venice during Carnevale, Siena, Perugia and Lucca) and the city museum pass. It saved me a lot of money and I could go to the Uffizi or the Boboli Gardens whenever I wanted, no wait, no money, just grab a ticket and head in. The program staff even helped me contact the landlord when a roof tile came loose and we got a small leak during a rainstorm.

API is AMAZING. This time last year, all I knew was that I wanted to study abroad. I had no idea which program to choose, so I began my search by looking at websites such as this. Thankfully, I was convinced by a review on a website much like this one. I am now hoping to do the same for someone else. I honestly don't know how I could have had a more worthwhile or life changing experience through a different program. It was the perfect amount of supervision with the staff and freedom with my peers. I had so much fun taking in the culture and history that I could while still feeling safe and secure. My apartment in Florence was literally five steps away from The David. I'm actually half-wishing I wasn't writing this review right now because it's making me upset that I can't go back.
First of all, the apartments are AMAZING! Talk about the complete Italian experience. I was prepared to be living in a tiny one-room apartment with six other girls, but they are very spacious with many rooms, a living room, fully equipped kitchen, and two bathrooms! We had absolutely no problems. We were also in a building with other Italian neighbors which really helped assimilate you to the environment. The ONLY thing is that if you are there in the summer, it gets HOT!! I mean, we were literally melting during a couple nights. So I would highly recommend bringing something to help you cool down (a wet towel and water bottle for me did not suffice). I know some had air conditioning, but our particular unit did not.
I took Foundation Oil Painting (I'm a Nursing Major) and it was SO much fun! It wasn't too challenging. We got to listen to music in class, it was so relaxing and I learned so much!
The food is AMAZING (OF COURSE)! Gusta Pizza is a must. So is the very first gelato shop you come to when you cross the Ponte Vecchio (GET PINEAPPLE GELATO--it is the best here!) Everywhere else is equally delicious, of course. Also, did I mention there is a Secret Bakery? YES. a Secret Bakery. It is only open at night, and there is no sign. If you're lucky, sometimes you can follow your nose (of find some other wanderers at night) to the frosted glass doors where you knock three times and wait for the most delicious treats to be secretly brought to you! One of my favorite memories was searching for the Secret Bakery!
I also felt very safe in Florence. There were a couple of times when my roommates would leave our doors unlocked at the apartment, but nothing was ever stolen. I DO know a couple of students that were with us who were pickpocketed as we were out at night, so I would just recommend having a side purse that you can always have your eye on, or just keep your money in a front pocket where no one can reach it. Never bring ALL of your money or credit cards with you. It does get a little creepy at night, as some italians do tend to whistle at you and/or walk behind you. I always stayed with at least one other person. If you just ignore them they usually give up, and nothing ever happened beyond that. Besides a couple of whistles at night, there was nothing else that caused me to feel unsafe!
Overall, I couldn't have done it without the API advisors. I loved going on all of the excursions each weekend (Cinque Terre, Rome, Padova, Verona, Venice--all included in tuition) and I loved talking to the advisors. They were all so nice and hilarious. They also lived right around the corner, so if you ever needed them, they were just a few steps away. Another one of my favorite things about the program was the group cooking class. We all went to a giant kitchen where we all learned to cook a three course meal (we got all the recipes afterwards). Studying abroad is best and worst thing you can possibly do. It's a life changing experience: once you're home all you want to do it go back. I encourage you to Study Abroad and guarantee that you can't go wrong with API! I wouldn't trade the memories or friendships for anything.