The 4 boys in our group (aged 10-16) at first had absolutely no interest in doing a guided tour of Florence and thought the treasure hunt idea was a bit juvenile for them. In fact, they had opted to do a morning in the Uffizi as it was forecasted to be over 100 F/39 C degrees while we were in Florence and they wanted air conditioning vs walking outside for 2.5 hours in the heat.
After a little convincing, they agreed to the tour and what a fun morning we all had! Giulia was sweet and highlighted Florentine history well which kept our kids engaged and excited as they listened to stories of the Medici family and learned about sculptures and buildings and an ancient “soccer/rugby” field.
The Treasure Hunt which pitted the adults against the kids kept the pace and interest up with a friendly rivalry as we scoured buildings and piazzas for highlighted items along the way.
What was really wonderful was that the Grade 8 curriculum that two of our kids had just studied covered the Renaissance and some of Florence as well and they were avid Percy Jackson series readers back a few years ago so the boys were very proud and excited to be able to shout out answers to many questions or fill in info that Giulia shared with us about famous Florentines, the Renaissance, and Roman mythology that many of us adults had long forgotten. A perfect way to make their education come alive!
Overall, the kids and adults alike all had an entertaining and educational morning with the tour of Florence and the Treasure Hunt - despite the ridiculous heat! The gelato that was included in the tour (at one of the best gelaterias in Florence) also helped to keep spirits high and internal temperatures down! We’d highly recommend this tour and only wish we knew about the Percy Jackson tour of Rome when we were there last week! Grazie mille, Giulia!! Bravo!!
