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