13.10.08

Study Tour #01


Allora!!..
The most awaited study tour is here.. our first official trip in Italy. The Idea is to have a one week study tour to the industrial districts of italy so as to have a lot of industry exposure and of course.. some good time ;)

Since this is a long trip, I'll keep you updated with daily updates on this same post..

Day1
We started from POLI.design on Sunday morning around 11am. A bus was ready, waiting for us at the entrance of the university. (Well the image that you see below is of the same bus.. but taken at some other time.. he he)

Well, it's a one week trip and we were all prepared with bread, Chocolates, Mayonaise etc. And we had them a lot on the way... 

But you know what.. we didn't really know that even the food was sponsored by the italian ministry ... :P

After a while, Bus stopped at a Restaurant called X-Chefs. Well, the basic idea was for everybody to get some room to release their tension.. he he.. you got what i meant... 

Anyway, that was quite a nice restaurant...


Our Lunch was from the same place, and we could pick anything we wanted..


Well.. yea, as you know.. it's true that if you get it for FREE, you'll even drink acid.. 
See.. this is what happened :)



:D I don't know, how much they spent on our lunch that day.. According to our rough guess, it's nothing less than 45,000 rupees.
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After this really really heavy lucnch, almost everyone went to sleep...

A few more hours, we reached this place called Recanati where our stay was arranged...

...




Ho ho!.. look at that hotel, I still don't understand the kind of treatment that the italians are giving to us.. it's just awesome!

Look, how joyful we are after getting into these rooms... where we're gonna stay for the next one week... 

This is where me and Devesh are staying.. look at the view from the window.. I hope you're getting a small sense of it...
For example, the image below was clicked from our window :)

Well, we were all set... dinner is at 8'o clock, we had some time to kill..
Some of the NIDians, who're doing their diploma project here in italy had come to meet.. 


Me, Manoj and Manish; we just went out for a walk...



Wow, the place where we were staying is just amazing.. 
It's all pretty old buildings, conserved very well, that I'm wondering why the hell they constructed all these on top of this hill? May be an old for or something?? I don't know.. Gotta find out..

Anyway, The only thing is for sure is that, this place is Damn beautiful!!





On our way back, we met these two human beings.. :) 
Himani and Tanushree..

Had a nice time walking around and clicking pics...



Well.. as they had announced before, our food was ready at 8'o clock. 
Again, ek dam Khatarnaaak!!!





That was a grand dinner, with Lasagnia, Rice, Fruits, Meat, Wine and whatever whatever...
And we really understood what does it really mean when italians say "Slow Food"... We took almost two hours to complete our food, course by course....

anyway.. that was awesome!


But the real surprise was after the dinner!!!!

There was a small meeting at the lobby.. and we were really shocked when they distributed the "Money Pockets" :)

Well.. what they meant was "Pocket money" for us..


He he!!.. 100 Euros per head as pocket money!!.. well.. that's not bad! :D


It was PK's birthday (Praneeta) that day and it was quite fun when we gathered out side to sing the birthday song...



Well, again.. one more stroll... thruough the beautiful streets of Recanati..


It felt as if we were walking through a set made for some shakespeare movie.. 
that was such an amazing experience..


See the kind of spaces this small place has got...


The kind of texture of wall..


... and the beautiful narrow streets...


Some more time on the streets... sitting lukha on the tall retaining wall, enjoying the view of the whole world below us (u don't beleive, this hill is so high that we can see almost the entire planet from here!!)....

Back to the room and a small dose of the movie Euro Trip, and the day was over for us.. good night!!

Day2
Buon Giorno!!
Officially, our first day of the visit.. We were 'supposed' to be ready by 8am in the morning after the break fast.. and it was pretty strange that almost all of us could make it within 8:15 :)

Well yea,.. the break fast was doubtlesly awesome!



A beautiful morning... we were on our way to the industrial area... really enjoyed the great views of the farmlands and sea.. thanx to manish, who kept clicking these pics on our way..


After a couple of hours journey, which most of us spent sleeping, we were at Cosmob, the first industry visit.


A little presentation...
...interesting works of students...
... and a visit to their, quality checking and testing lab where furniture is tested for its durability, streangth and what not.. 

By the time we finished Cosmob, it was time for lunch. And when Chiara (our trip co-ordinator) announced  "we're going to have a quick pasta and water and everything else is upto you" we were all smiling, thinking about the great lunch that we had yesterday!! :D


But whatever, the QUICK pasta and WATER they said, turned out to be yet another great lunch!!


These are our trip co-ordinators, from the italian ministry.
Laura and Chiara ...

Lunch is over.. and our Next destination: IFI



IFI who manufactures Ice cream display cabinets and refrigeration units, had arranged a meeting in such a grand scale that it was the CEO of the company who gave us the welcome note.


And then.. the factory visit..
These are IFI's Platinum model refrigeration and gelato (ice cream) display units.
These circular things (again, icecream storage) costs around 13lakhs..


Well.. once the presentation was over, it was eating time again :)


That was a funfilled trip that we had on our way back...
all our Indi-Instincts were out when we started singing and shouting film songs and playing anthakshari inside the bus! :) yenjaaaaayed :P

Well.. again, there was one more announcement from Chiara that tonight's dinner will not be in the hotel we stay, but at some OTHER place...

When she said that we could think nothing but the thing that we mustbe going to some cheaper restaurant...

But once we were there... surprise strikes again!!!

An awesome candle-lit, slow dinner!!




A lot of great food and unlimited wine, it was time to have some fun... 
walked around again through the streets (no pics) even getting scoldings from fellow residents who were pissed of with our shouting and masti...

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Had lots of fun today.. and it was time for some ghost stories in the dark...
Well.. the two legs you see in the above pic is Manish, who's little heart couldn't take such stories and fainted!!! :) he he :P and next to him under the blanket, mister Bhola, who got a hearattack from Acidity.... (internal joke)

:) It's really bloody late, and I need to sleep ...

Good night.. Ciao

Day 3

Well.. one more day, let me describe it as concise as possible.. this post already very long..

One more great breakfast.. (for all those great people who managed to get up in time and to be present in the breakfast area..)

Our first visit today was to a leather furniture factory.. Paltrona Frau, One of the major leather funiture manufacturer of italy.

:) you know what.. when we were standing at the stock area, where all the cow leather were stacked, it was kind of a graveyard feeling!!!..
felt like thousands of cows on those steel racks.. brrr... 

Allora!.. you should see the way they cut the leather...
The full leather is kept on a plat form and the shape of the pieces to be cut are projected 1:1 on the leather by laster...

Yes!.. it looks like a mini laser show :)
and it's even more interesting to see how the technician manipulates these projected pieces to arrange them... 

And we could even see the Castiglioni's chair in the making... 

And to the show room of the Frau group.. a little presentation there..

and a little more fun downstairs :)

A quick sandwitch for lunch and we were at the next destination, the shoe district of Macerata..


A nice design school, where they teach shoe design..


The place where this school was located was damn beautiful.. 
we went a little inside to have a look... and it was all green..
I think even my DIMI friends didn't see this place..


leave the green thing... see how all of us managed to get a group photograph
This is the complete DIMI student set.. :) the one and only complete photo!


That night dinner was with Mr.Bosso, from the italian ministry.. 


As usual, some of us continued at the dinner table.. having fun and enjoying recanati times to the fullest.. :)


This time we decided to walk to the other side of the city.. 


It was the most memorable!!.. when we spent some time at this building.. well.. now don't ask me the history of this place.. we really don't know.. all that i heard was that this statue was a poet of the 19th century.. one Mr. Giacomo Leopardi

Whatever it is.. we had fun there.. playing dumbsherards (bad spelling) and all at night.. khatarnaak masti..

watch the video




and then.. good night


Day 4

As usual a fast break fast and a long journey in bus through the beautiful farmlands of italy.
Our first stop was the indesit factory which looked like a glass 'dubba' from outside but once we were in.. we were blown away with the modern details of architecture..


Presentations are inevitable.. even these guys had one.. but interesting in someway when we compare the other presentations we've seen so far. I don't know why the so called 'italian design' is doing not well with the communication design part of it. 

:) well.. some hope for we people what say?? he he


Presentations are inevitable... so as food!!!


And our next stop this company who manufactures jacuzzis!


One more pesentation...


and one more... but this time by two architects who do intersting projects worldwide.
And this was really a chance for us to how companies work hand in hand with architects and designers.. 


And then..... one more presentation! at the Bontempi Casa .. who manufacture furniture!


But always... some edible reward will be waiting for us :)


And then.. the show room visit!.. a lot of interesting desin stuff to get inspired.




And you know what... Bhola is back!!!!
We were wondering what the hell happened to him when he disappeared all of a sudden from the group..  cuz we remember him having a heart attack from acidity yesterday.. 

Look at the care and concern that we have for this Bholu!!

And back in recanati..We had another great dinner.. sorry no photos this time..
And you know what.. it was Neha's birthday we had a blast that night!!!!
Yes of course we have photos and vidoes..  ;)

and i'll let you see one.. when she gave us an icecream party!!

Lot of fun!!! that we can't ever forget!!!

one more great day at recanati.. thank god!!


2 comments:

Vale said...

Hi there!
looks like you are having a GREAT time.... I thought the world was on a crisis, it seems that in Italy this is not happening!!!
: )
However... Italian small towns are built on hills because once there were many enemies....and so the land lords would build their houses (castles) on top of hills in order to see when the enemies where arriving and kill them before they got on top of the hill!!!
SEE YOU SOON IN MILANO, Valentina

Manish Shah said...

I'm lovin' it...:D