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!