Well those two weeks flew by! My time in Prato comes to an end tomorrow, then it’s a quick visit to Rome then home via a 7 hour stopover in Doha airport (oh boy am I looking forward to that??)
Prato, for those not in the know, is a 20 minute train trip from Florence. So it’s not nearly as touristy (at all) and a hell of a lot cheaper. Mind you, we still had fun going into Florence for the shopping!
Should you be going to Italy and want to spend some time in Tuscany, I can’t recommend Prato enough. It’s only 20 minutes to Florence but without the price tag attached. My apartment – Calamai Riverside Apartments – was just wonderful. A short walk into town and right next to the river (you can hire bikes just up the road… which I did with Nicolle… we are NOT as fit as we remember)
Classes were really good, but very intense. My European Union unit wasn’t what I was expecting but still, it’s a unit out of the way in two weeks! Australians at War continued to impress. Very much one of the most fascinating units I have ever done.
But the food was the star of the show… What did I get in Italy I hear you ask – a tan and about 7 kilos heavier. My god… the gelati in Prato is just superb. For absolute quality, you can’t beat Roberta’s limone, melone and fragola. For quantity, but still homemade scrummy gelati the store near the little train station is the place to go. Next time I am over I will be setting aside a specific gelati budget. So many flavours… so little time. We quickly found our coffee haunt – a gorgeous little tabacchi bar with two of the nicest Italian people on the planet… plus one incredibly attractive young man with a (?) lord of the rings tattoo on his arm. Great coffee and again, so cheap! 90 cents for an espresso or 1.20 for a latte. (but when in Prato… espresso all the way!) We also had our regular restaurant – the local, Francescos. The best pesto penne ever! Fabulous gnocchi and fresh ravioli that hits the spot perfectly. Then there was the bakery for all your lunch time needs – big slices of pizze with eggplant, tomato and zucchini. Yum yum yum!
Time was of course spent in Florence. Bags were purchased… Bell Towers climbed. Gelati sampled and dismissed as being inferior to any in Prato.
But all good things come to an end and if I want to not have a heart attack by the time I am 25 I do indeed need to head home, get back into the swing of real uni, working and playing with my puppy dog.
You’ll probably hear from me once more (when I’m stuck in Doha for 7 hours!!!) but until then… Toodle-pip, Slán, Au Revoir, Adios, Yasou, Elveda and CIAO!
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Istanbul NOT Constantinople
Well I am a week into my Prato study course, it's been pretty full on. "Intensive" the uni calls it. Mind numbing comes to mind as well... Four hours of European Union integration theory is not something I would inflict upon anyone in a great hurry.
But Turkey! What a place!
Istanbul is insane. Such contrasts everywhere you go. You can watch Turks drinking themselves silly whilst someone walks by on their way to pray as the Call to Prayer blasts from the speakers of the Blue Mosque. Crazy. The people can be so polite - like the lovely man I bought some scarves from at the Grand Bazaar, offering apple tea and a seat, or utterly horrid "hey lady, you want a leather jacket? Hey! Lady! You come over here!" the buildings - some centuries old next to brand new buildings. And it's nocturnal!! The building site across from our hotel seemed to START work at 8pm.
We spent three hectic days in Istanbul, getting to see Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Market, Dolmabahce Palace, a cruise on the Bosphorus, and of course the Blue Mosque.. which I wasn’t too keen on going in and even less keen on coming out.
We then made our way (with most of the group with stomach bugs by this stage- yay!) to the Gallipoli Peninsula. Which has been one of the most profound and amazing experiences of my (rather short) life. It is truly unbelievable that such a beautiful, peaceful and tranquil place was once a site of death, destruction and chaos. We hiked all over the ridges and gulleys around Anzac Cove, struck out to Helles Cape and Krithia, and even made it to the little known and rarely visited cemeteries near Suvla Bay. There is so much more to Gallipoli than the Australian history curriculum teaches. It’s a crime really. We focus so heavily on that tiny tiny beach. But thousands of British, Irish, Indian and French troops died along-side the Australians and New Zealanders. Many thousands more Turkish men died defending their home.
The best day was easily snorkelling just off of North Beach, over the wreck of a landing craft. The Aegean waters are crystal clear and warm. We came along the coast on a boat, seeing the landscape from the water gave an entirely different perspective. Being able to look up to Walkers Ridge and see those cliffs and ridges… Another surprise was the Turkish memorials. The whole Peninsula is dotted with Australian, New Zealand, British and of course Turkish memorials. But none feel like they are celebrating the glory of war. Much of the sentiment of the memorials is that or reconciliation, of friendship, especially between Turkey and Australia.
We got to go and meet students from the 18th of March University in Canakkale, they were all very nice and were very obliging to speak to us in English. Our little Monash group was just great. We were pretty much a family by the last night.
Prato has been great for my learning… but if I continue to eat gelati and pasta at this rate I won’t fit on the plane home!
More to come on Prato and probably Cinqe Terre!!
But Turkey! What a place!
Istanbul is insane. Such contrasts everywhere you go. You can watch Turks drinking themselves silly whilst someone walks by on their way to pray as the Call to Prayer blasts from the speakers of the Blue Mosque. Crazy. The people can be so polite - like the lovely man I bought some scarves from at the Grand Bazaar, offering apple tea and a seat, or utterly horrid "hey lady, you want a leather jacket? Hey! Lady! You come over here!" the buildings - some centuries old next to brand new buildings. And it's nocturnal!! The building site across from our hotel seemed to START work at 8pm.
We spent three hectic days in Istanbul, getting to see Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Market, Dolmabahce Palace, a cruise on the Bosphorus, and of course the Blue Mosque.. which I wasn’t too keen on going in and even less keen on coming out.
We then made our way (with most of the group with stomach bugs by this stage- yay!) to the Gallipoli Peninsula. Which has been one of the most profound and amazing experiences of my (rather short) life. It is truly unbelievable that such a beautiful, peaceful and tranquil place was once a site of death, destruction and chaos. We hiked all over the ridges and gulleys around Anzac Cove, struck out to Helles Cape and Krithia, and even made it to the little known and rarely visited cemeteries near Suvla Bay. There is so much more to Gallipoli than the Australian history curriculum teaches. It’s a crime really. We focus so heavily on that tiny tiny beach. But thousands of British, Irish, Indian and French troops died along-side the Australians and New Zealanders. Many thousands more Turkish men died defending their home.
The best day was easily snorkelling just off of North Beach, over the wreck of a landing craft. The Aegean waters are crystal clear and warm. We came along the coast on a boat, seeing the landscape from the water gave an entirely different perspective. Being able to look up to Walkers Ridge and see those cliffs and ridges… Another surprise was the Turkish memorials. The whole Peninsula is dotted with Australian, New Zealand, British and of course Turkish memorials. But none feel like they are celebrating the glory of war. Much of the sentiment of the memorials is that or reconciliation, of friendship, especially between Turkey and Australia.
We got to go and meet students from the 18th of March University in Canakkale, they were all very nice and were very obliging to speak to us in English. Our little Monash group was just great. We were pretty much a family by the last night.
Prato has been great for my learning… but if I continue to eat gelati and pasta at this rate I won’t fit on the plane home!
More to come on Prato and probably Cinqe Terre!!
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