Fully Booked

There's always something for a Beacon student to do on the weekends from mandatory field trips to hanging out with friends or getting a tour by our favorite tour guide, Silvia (Photo 1). This past week we jumped on every opportunity that came our way. It was a week full of movie nights, all-nighters and adventures. 

Last Friday's field trip was to the town of Pistoia, part of the Metropolitan area that connects to Prato and on to Florence. As we walked around the town Silvia told us the history and fun facts associated with Pistoia and its surrounding towns.

Photo 1 - Jeunesse and Silvia on the Pistoia tour

Some of these places are known for specific products. For example, Montecatini is known for its healing spring water that will clear up any digestive problems you have and send you straight to the bathroom as well as Monsummano, which is known for its saunas and steam rooms.

Photo 2 - Lianne  in Pistoia waiting for the rest of the group

Pistoia was named the cultural capital of Europe for 2017 because of the care and restoration of the rich amount of history within its limits. After Silvia finished the tour she gave us an hour free time to explore more in-depth. We happened to catch a glimpse of a McDonald's while we were walking and decided why not go while we have the time. The two of us including Nadeem, Joey, Garrett, Aaron, Laura, and Bull  joined together in search of the McDonald's. We made the mistake of giving Nadeem the job of navigator and ended up walking all the way outside the city limits after what seemed like an hour. The whole time the only thing Lianne said was "All this walking for some damn chicken nuggets. Ya'll are a joke!" Before we ate, we all had the idea of staying in Pistoia for the day and catching the later train back but after all of us were full we got back so fast that we made it on the train before the rest of the group did. We were ready for bed.

Photo 3 - Woman in costume in the parade

Photo 4 - Marching men with spears

Saturday was more of a personal adventure for us. We took a trip to Florence with Dr. Brode and a few other students. We needed to take a portrait of a street performer for our photography class but also wanted to shop so why not kill two birds with one stone. The first thing we did when we arrived in Florence was feed our bellies. After stuffing our faces we made a bee-line for H&M. On the walk there, an entire parade (Photo 3 & 4) appeared and cut off the street we were about to walk down. After our detour, we finally reached the store and we all spread out to shop. Jeunesse and I kept Cody right behind us because he was overwhelmed by the number of girls and the fact that there were four floors (three of which were women's clothes). There were so many street performers that the four of us in the photography class all got photos of different subjects. Jeunesse wanted to go into Sephora for an eyebrow pencil (makeup is always on her mind). I followed along, but I doubt I really had a choice. That store gave me an instant headache with the number of perfumes they were constantly spraying. We hopped back on the train by 6 and had dinner with friends and a movie night. NOTE: A Cure For Wellness is a mind-bending movie. Just saying. The next morning we got to sleep in but it rained so Sunday was not a FunDay. 

Photo 5 - Medici Villa 

Monday was an optional field trip to an ancient Medici villa (Photo 5) in Poggia a Caiano. For those who don't know I, Lianne, am in love with the game Assassin's Creed. Out of the several games in that series, one of them is set in ancient Italy (Florence in particular) and I have been looking forward to learning any history about the Medici family since I played it. Lorenzo de Medici bought the Villa in the 1470's to have a country home surrounded by nature as a break from the normal diplomatic duties asked of a member of such a highly ranked family. The Villa stayed in the Medici family until the 1730's and was then owned by the sister of Napoleon. She changed the previous design of the theater to fit her expectations.

Photo 6 - Organ owned by the Medici family

Inside the theater room there was an organ (Photo 6) that was in perfect condition that was owned and used by the Medici family themselves. As Napoleon was defeated in the 1820's, Italy fell under the rule of the Austrians until 1861. It was then passed onto the Savoy family, who were royalty at the time. The left their own mark as there are separate king and queen quarters. They abandoned the country of Italy to save themselves, only to return when the coast was clear. It was then that Italy became a Republic and women were allowed to vote for the first time (1946). After the Savoy family fell, the Villa was then owned by the state as a historical landmark.

Photo 7 - Lianne and Jeunesse at the Villa

Photo 8 - Dr.Brode, Lianne and Jeunesse selfie

We concluded the tour around the back of the villa where the greenhouse (Photo 10) (more like green-mansion) for storing  the property plants in the winter is. Silvia turned to a large hedge and said "If you need to use the restroom you can go there behind the bush (Photo 9)." We all started laughing and asking questions. Once she realized what we thought she started laughing and said," WAIT NO! There are actual restrooms behind the bush if you follow the pathway."

Photo 9 - The bush that she pointed to with no obvious end point

Photo 10 - The property greenhouse/storage

Tuesday was a special day. We were scheduled to meet the mayor of Prato (Photo 11) and get a tour of town hall. Our initial expectation of him was a graying politician in his 40's that wouldn't really have time for us. We were very wrong. He is a young man in his 30's that wears high tops, tailored suits, and skinny ties.

Photo 11 - Jeunesse, the mayor of Prato, and Lianne

We got a nice tour and got to sit in the conference room where both sides of the government meet to discuss the wellbeing and growth of Prato. All in all I'd say we had a booked week and we wouldn't have had it any other way. We definitely love it here and the way that we've fully immersed ourselves into this city is the best we could've hoped for. Its never too late to  go out on a limb and try something
new!