The End of an Era

As I sit in my London Hotel room, all I can think about is how bad I want to go back to Paderno. With a blink of an eye, three months in Italy have come and gone. In 90 days, we have traveled half of Europe, actually attended class for an entire semester without a single absence, became addicted to Tabacchi sandwiches and proseco, and formed lasting relationships. 

This past week was bittersweet. We were all busy studying for finals but wanting to enjoy our last bits of time together in a little town we called home for a while. At this point, many of my friends are off traveling Europe: Berlin, Barcelona, Amalfi Coast, Amsterdam, etc. Others are on flights back to the US. It saddens me to know that I may never see some of these people again. 

Last weekend I ended up staying in Paderno instead of traveling. And I have to say it was my favorite weekend of the semester. Elena and I watched The Masters in the Simpson Room with the boys on Thursday night; we all went to dinner and bars in Bassano on Friday night; we went to Mount Grappa on Saturday; and hung out at Al Sole and on the Jesus field on Saturday night. Getting to spend time with my favorite CIMBites on my last weekend in Italy was a treat. 

I arrive in Raleigh tomorrow at 2:45 (8:45pm Italy time). As excited as I am to see everyone, a little bit of me wishes I had more time in Europe. However, I know I will be back soon enough. Anyway, I need to see all my dogs and Mercury! And get to Harkers for Easter!

Ciao!

Italians are awesome

"You may have the universe if I may have Italy." --Giuseppe Verdi

Last Saturday morning mom and I left Venice to meet our friend Mariano Venzo in Bassano. He took us to his ceramic factory, VBC Ceramics, where they sell their products to Neimen Marcus, Tiffany and Co., Vietri and Williams-Sonoma. All of their ceramic collections are beautiful and so unique. In fact, we loved it so much that we picked out several pieces to be sent back to the US. After giving us a tour of the factory, Mariano drove us to Marostica for a quick drink. The town is part of a castle that hosts a live chess match every other summer. The piazza has a huge chess board made of tiles and people dress up in costumes to mimic the pieces in the game. Mariano then took us to a restaurant  in Bassano that is famous for it's white asparagus. The pasta, scallops, and asparagus were to die for. 

Marostica 

Mom and I went to the market in Crespano on Sunday morning to get some fruit and a couple gifts. It was bittersweet because it was my last time at the market since my next 2 Sunday's will be spent traveling. We had a lazy Sunday resting, packing my extra suitcase and working on homework until going to Mariano's house for dinner. All three of he and Agnese's children and their families were there too. The three grandchildren were absolutely precious. We had delicious pizza and fruit salad for dinner. It was nice to have a casual meal and just hang out in their lovely home.

Mariano's Grandchildren

Since my mom was leaving on Tuesday, Mariano and Agnese wanted her to see Asolo before she left so they took us to a trattoria near the center of town. I love going to the pizzeria in Asolo but this trattoria was superb. I have had such a great time getting to know the Venzo family over the past couple months. They have been so kind to me and I can't wait to return the favor when they come visit us in North Carolina.

Me and Francesco

My mom left to go back home on Tuesday morning. I was sad for her to leave but I knew I would be seeing her again in two and a half weeks. My Business, Culture and  Society class had a field trip to Trieste on  Thursday.  We went to Redipuglia, a WWI memorial site where 100,000 Italian soldiers are buried but only 40,000 were able to be identified. We also went to Castello di Miramare, beautiful castle just outside of Trieste as well as the Piazza in the center of town. Elena and I did a some exploring to find a little antique shop where we each bought a small, hand-painted decoy before indulging in some gelato. Overall, the field trip was fun. The sack lunches were pretty terrible but that was to be expected of the CIMBA cafeteria ladies.

View from Castello di Miramare

I had a great day on Friday. I went to early yoga at 7 am then went back to a clean room since the maids come on Fridays. I did a little homework and LEAP stuff before going on a winery tour since BCS was cancelled. The winery was absolutely beautiful and the proseco we tried was delicious.

Bellagio

Elena and I went to Lake Como yesterday to meet some of her family friends. Unfortunately it was pretty hazy because of the unseasonably warm weather. Como was nice but kind of crowded abnd touristy. We took a ferry to Bellagio which was just gorgeous. With two hours to kill until the next ferry to Varenna, we did a little exploring. The Grand Hotel Villa had a swing set in a secluded garden so we hung out there for a while enjoying the view of the lake. If I come back to Bellagio, I will definitely  be staying at that hotel. Once we got to Varian, we met up with Claudio and his wife. We went back to their house for dinner and  hung out with their two children, Susanna (25) and Andrea (22). From the experiences I have had with Italian families, they are very hospitable and are great cooks!

Me in Bellagio

This morning Claudio cooked us scrabbled eggs for breakfast before taking us into Milan. We caught the metro to the Duomo. After about 45 minutes waking around and being harassed  by creepy street vendors we were ready to get out of there. I have a lot of homework to finish so it was a good idea to get back go Paderno early anyway. This is the last full week of classes so I have several presentations and papers to turn in. 

Varenna

The weather has been warm and sunny in Paderno all week so everyone has been spending a lot of time outside together. It's hard to believe 2 weeks from now I will be back in NC. I won't be able to knock on a neighbors door at any hour of the day just to chat, run to the tabacchi for a sandwich and chips, or do the PDG bar crawl consisting of the sports bar, hotel bar, and pizzeria. The past three months have been unbelievable; I have gotten to know so many great people, been to tons of amazing places, and experienced lots of different cultures. As excited as I am to get home to friends, family, and free ice water, I am going to miss Italy so much. If I could do it all again for another semester, I would. Paderno may be a tiny town, but it has become home. 

Duomo in Milan

Roma, Barcelona, and Venezia

On Friday afternoon, Elena and I started off travel week 2 by taking the train to Rome to meet my mom! Since we didn’t get in until late, we just hung out in the room catching up with mom. The hotel we were staying at was close to Trevi Fountain, so after breakfast on Saturday we walked there and to the Spanish Steps where we happened to meet this nice man from Rome. Franco is an art professor at a 7 year program that concludes with a month in the United States where he takes the students to art museums in NYC, Washington DC, Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA. When we asked him about good restaurants for dinner, he told us about this fantastic place called “C’era una Volta” which translates to “Once upon a time”. Franco even called the restaurant and made a reservation for us! When we went to dinner that night with Vanessa and her mom Linda, all the waiters were so happy to see the “friends of Franco”. Our waiter Ricardo picked out a fabulous meal of fried vegetables, pasta, pizza, and an assortment of deserts.

Sunday morning we slept in a little bit before walking to the Colosseum. The Rome Marathon was going on all morning, so thankfully we missed most of the congestion around Ancient Rome. We met up with a tour group that took us through the Colosseum then to Palentine Hill and the Roman Forum. It was incredible to see the old styles of architecture and the views of Rome from the Hill.

We loved our tour guide Fi so much that we booked a tour of the Vatican Museum with her for Monday morning. The artwork in the museum was amazing to say the least. From paintings to marble statues, this huge museum offered a glimpse of thousands of years of Roman history.

Tuesday morning Mom and I left Rome and flew to Barcelona. Emmita met us at the airport and helped us navigate the train and metro stations to get to the apartment we were staying in. She had to go to work at 4 so after Emmita left we had a late lunch at a mediterranean restaurant before taking a siesta. Once Emmita was back from work we went to the Gothic Quarter to look around and get tapas. The culture in Barcelona is vibrant yet laid-back; it just has a cool vibe to it. Walking around the Gothic Quarter was really fun because, like Venice, there are so many narrow alleyways to explore. Before going back to the apartment we stopped by a bar to get a drink and chat.

Emmita took us to a cafe for breakfast Wednesday morning before showing us around the city. The first stop was La Sagrada Familia, a large Roman Catholic church designed by Gaudí and began construction in 1883. It has progressed slowly over the years and should be completed in 2026. It is astonishingly huge and definitely the most unique and interesting churches I have ever seen. After a quick metro ride we arrived at the Port where Emmita had to leave us and head to work. On our own, Mom and I walked to the water and just enjoyed sitting by the shore. It wasn’t warm enough to swim but there were a few surfers braving the cold and wind.

After a delicious lunch at an Irish pub, we rented bikes and peddled around the port before visiting the Picasso Museum. While he is very well known for his abstract art, his early work is absolutely breathtaking. As a child he painted scenes of Barcelona seascapes, Málaga landscapes, and portraits of various family members. The museum itself is really neat since it’s set in 5 palaces on Carrer de Montcada. 

Mom and I had an early flight back to Italy on Thursday morning with Ryanair. Their customer service is awful and it was by farm the most miserable flying experience I have ever had. Once we landed in Treviso, we went to Paderno to drop some stuff off and get re-situated before taking the train to Venice. Prior to now, I had only been to Venice one day for Carnevale. It was less crowded a much calmer atmosphere this time.

I have a lot more to update on from this week but I’m headed to Lake Como tomorrow morning, so the rest will have to wait :)

Ciao!