Three E's

Staying inside the house when there's an entire world to see is something you will always regret. This weekend we decided not to be slaves to the same weather conditions that challenged us last week. To our surprise the rain let up and we saw Prato for the bustling city it really is. The main focus of our adventures this week were what we like to call the Three E's: Exploration, Exercise, and Experiences.

On Friday we went on one of our optional field trips which turned out to be a hike into the hills bordering the city. After about 4 miles of walking we arrived at a huge villa (Photo 1) amidst the trees. 

Photo 1 - Part of the Villa

Photo 2 - Constanza amd Dr. Brode

Photo 3 -  The Villa Garden

Photo 4 - One of the views from the garden

The man that toured us around the villa was the owner. It was passed down to him from his grandparents and before them it was owned by several highly ranked Italian families in history. He walked us through the process of how they make their own olive oil and jam to sell. The environment was very relaxing with a beautiful garden (Photo 3) balcony in the back overlooking the city (Photo 4) , a bridge above a pond, and several different paths to explore through the trees. he minute we thought we were headed back, they started walking further down the street in the opposite direction. We ended up at a medium sized waterfall, but you had to walk across the most narrow path to get there. Some kids weren't able to go. Because of the elevation, the thin air was already making me light-headed and it got harder to breathe. Because I can't stand doing less than the average person, I told Jeunesse I was fine and we started our dangerous walk to the waterfall (Photo 5). Somehow we made it and the big reveal was something like this. 

Photo 5 - The waterfall

You can decide whether or not it was worth it for us to try to be Indiana Jones and walk a total of 8 miles. 

The minute we stepped out of the hotel Saturday morning, the town was alive and buzzing. On almost every street corner there was something happening. In the square that we call home was a vintage car show (Photo 6) that looked like it was run by the people of Prato.

Photo 6 - The Car Show

Photo 7 -  The Car Show

Photo 8 - The Car Show

Everyone participated as they drove their cars into the lot and parked them for all to admire. The colors of each car bounced off one another as their top coats shone bright in the sun (Photos 7 and 8). After walking through the show, we decided to go aimlessly looking through stores on every side street. Most stores close around 1 to 3:30 for lunch and stay open from around 4 to 9. Everyone takes their breaks around the same time and it makes it easier for you to sleep in on the weekends. While in a store called OVS, most known for makeup and clothes, we ran into Dr. Brode as always. The 3 of us ended up helping each other with style choices, what to buy, and if we could pull certain outfits off. When Dr. Brode finally managed to make herself stop shopping, we parted ways and continued on our adventure. There was a large gathering of people at the end of the street where the town hall is.

Photo 9 - The Orchestral Performance

   Curious, we decided to see what all the movement was and to our surprise it was a full orchestra (Photo 9) waiting to perform their first song. The music filled the air and surrounded us. Ever since we heard them play, Lianne has not been able to shake the feeling of wanting to play an instrument. 

Photo 10 - The Castle Square

The field trip on Monday was a tour of Prato. We expected it to be different from the first tour we took when we got here, but expections and reality are sometimes far off. We went inside the church next to our hotel (Halellujah!).  We also visited the giant house of Francesco Datini and learned how he went from orphan to what we would call the C.E.O. of a multi-branch coorporation. Every city has its history, but Prato has direct connections to the past like ancient castles (Photo 10) that are still standing and documents that date back hundreds of years.

We've finally been able to try most of the restaurants on our meal plan. Our top 3 are Francescaioli (their pesto is delicious), Bar San Francesco (those sandwiches are bomb), and last but not least Ci Garba. There are two more satellite college campuses in Prato. Francescaioli is right underneath the New Haven dorms and waiting for our take out food is actually how we met our first group of New Haven friends. Ci Garba really blew us away with their American style burgers (Photo 11- LS) and fries along with their desserts.

Photo 11 - Ci Garba Burger (Draen by Lianne Smith)

The burger patties are thick and you have to make sure you tell them how cooked you want it because their go-to is medium well. 
You have three options of burgers: cheeseburger, bacon burger, and veggie (literally vegetables in between buns). The most common is the cheeseburger which we've had a couple times now.

The weather here is starting to change from the perfect temperature of around 80 with a breeze to now being 72 but feeling like 60. Lianne had drawing homework for her Plein Air Drawing and Painting class so we headed out to sit on the cold stone to draw the most detailed building in the square. 

Photo 12 - Lianne and Jeunesse freezing (Drawn by Lianne Smith)

Within half an hour of us sitting there and me watching her draw the temperature dropped 15 degrees and the wind picked up speed. I looked over to see her laughing while she tried her hardest to keep her hand from shaking in the cold. She only had a couple more measurements to make before we had to go inside so we stuck it out and shivered through the winds (Photo 12 - LS). Fun Fact: At around 5pm the temperature drops, but once it hits around 1 am there is no wind and it somehow warms up.  In the end we'd have to say that we definitely froze that night but now we know how to dress for the time of day. Hopefully the weather won't be temperamental every day like Florida. We'll keep you updated. Until next time and stay warm!

Lesson Learned

       School days normally drone on, but as this week flew by a lot of lessons came with it; such as learning the streets (more like ally ways) of Prato. You have to make sure that you pay close attention to the details of the buildings and scenery because most of them looks the same and the street names are a little more hidden than an American street sign.

Photo 1 - The bus ticket

       Our first test run field trip was to the mall, which was an adventure because people do not normally travel in groups of 31. Add in semi- rush hour and the fact that it was the first day of school for Prato students, and it became a very hectic moment. As to how we actually arrived there?...Well, we had gone to the first bus stop with everyone ready and waiting and the first bus that came was completely full. We ended up exchanging Italian numbers (getting an Italian SIM is definitely recommended), picking which chaperones went with what group of 15, and figuring out bus schedules and correct pronunciation of stops. Constanza said tell the driver "PARKO PRATO" and he'll show you where to go. Meanwhile the other group took a bus to another stop and walked a few blocks to meet us at the mall. 

        The closest mall that isn't a mini market is called COOP. They have just about anything you would need in terms of day to day from sports equipment to the ingredients you need for dinner to a new computer. There's a pretty open variety of stores and little food places for standing by and hanging out. 

Photo 2 - The old nebulizer

Photo 3- The new nebulizer

       There's been a sickness cycling through the students from Beacon that goes from one to the other regardless of whether or not you're around each other. By attempting to get adjusted to the weather here, you're bound to get sick. Of course the one who should live in a bubble (Lianne) caught it straight away. When you have an asthmatic roommate and know the struggles that come with it when you catch a cold, she had to take her nebulizer to help her breathe. When we went to plug it in, after putting in the medication and setting it up, as soon as she turned it on the battery blew. Instead of the machine blowing the hotel fuse, which we were afraid of, the hotel blew the machine. Constanza was nice enough to go with us to 2 different pharmacies to help translate all of the questions Lianne might've had. Lucky we asked her, because the lady we ended up buying the new nebulizer (Photo 3) from couldn't speak a word of English. She gave us a discount and Lianne's home insurance went through so everything turned out okay. It was kind of hectic that day though due to it also being laundry day. 

 Photo 4- MP Wash Di Dodi Morena

       The washing machines come with the detergent built in. Whoever thought of that has to be well off by now. If you have sensitive skin it might be a problem, but my skin is sensitive and I haven't had anything go wrong. It's a small laundromat with two different sized washers, 4 small and 2 big, and 3 large dryers. It was kind of funny to see Jeunesse put in the 5 Euro bill about 25 times because the machine just would not take it.  NOTE: Its best if you come with only change. One of the ladies that showed up behind us while we were having machine problems had a ridiculous attitude. For what you might ask? IDK. Because of her impatience, she pushed past thw entire line including us to put her money in. A bit of a rough start to learning the laundry etiquette but we got it down now with the help of a few Italian men who were also doing their laundry. But hey, at least our clothes smelled great.

Photo 5 - Drawn by Lianne Smith

        The best lesson we've learned so far is that our rooms have to be cleaned every week day regardless of whether or not the "Do Not Disturb" sign is on the door. Trust us. Resistance is futile. So far the front desk has only called and yelled to get out the room once (Photo 4- LS). We'll leave it up to you if it's a good thing that you almost always have to wake up at around 10 am. We could say that's all but there's always a lesson to learn and always a corner left to be discovered. Arrivederci!

Baby Steps

After 22 hours of bus rides, 7 hours of floating in a plane, and 2 days of figuring out what we need to survive in a foreign country... we still don't know how to survive in a foreign country, but we have accomplished a few baby steps.

The name Inside The Walls comes from a beautiful little city called Prato in Tuscany. A place so rich with history that the entire city is surrounded by a medieval guarding wall with gates permanently open and guarding posts left abandoned. Our hotel is a successful family owned business that has been passed down through generations. The Hotel Giardino (Photo 1- LS) has been nice enough to let us occupy their rooms as the first class of Beacon College to be in Italy (A.K.A. guinea pigs).

(Photo 1 - Drawn by Lianne Smith)

 When walking around Prato you tend to notice the various ethnicities that are also present aside from the native Italians. The most surprising to us was the presence of Africans living in the city. A week before coming to Prato, I got my passport stolen and had to go to the passport office to replace it. The man that processed my passport asked where I was headed and went on to say that the Italians first impression of me would be that she came straight from Africa. Now we know why. 
 On our trip to Florence we got the immediate historical aspect as our lovely guides, Constanza and Sylvia, walked us around the city. Sylvia started with the history of the Medici family and how they grew their empire from bankers of the most famous families and the Pope to becoming royalty themselves. As you walk around the city and near Piazzo di San Lorenzo, you see their family crest (Photo 2- LS) everywhere and there are a few theories as to what it really means.

Medici Family Crest -  (Photo 2- Drawn by Lianne Smith)

The Orange Tree -  Laurentian Library (Photo 3)

• The first theory is that they're coins because they were severely well known bankers
• The second theory is that they represent the balls of a man meaning that they are the strongest family
• A third theory is that they are oranges because in  the center of almost every garden square they built was orange tree (Photo 3).

Regardless of the meaning, they became a very prominent and powerful family in Florence's history and it is evident all around the city.

After Piazza di San Lorenzo, you run into the square of the large Duomo (Photo 4). Its one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, especially at night. The full experience of street music, evening light, fantastic architecture and the thinning of the rushing crowd is one to completely immerse yourself in.

Photo 4 - Duomo

 

  Joined by Dr. Brode, we walked through many streets of leather vendors and designer shops. We experienced just about every targeted cat call you could get from vendors from "You look like Rihanna, come shop here" to "you look young, we have the best student prices". A couple blocks down from the Duomo was an H&M that caught all of our eyes and all of our wallets. The three of us walked out with shopping bags in tow almost missing the train back to Prato. 

On a final note, our end goal is to learn Italian and become so familiar with city that we are seen as locals. Until next week, Ciao!