Hello again blogging world!
If you’re reading this post it can only mean one of two
things. First, you weren’t scared away by my first blog from about a week ago,
in which case I thank you for returning! I really enjoyed all of the feedback
from the 13% of survivors, and I imagine the massive sense of accomplishment
that came from finishing that novel is the same type of feeling marathoners
experience after finishing their 26.2 mile run. A second and far more dangerous
option is that you actually never read my first post and some how stumbled upon
round two. To you I wish the best of luck.
For this post I’ve decided to mainly focus on my adventures from
this past weekend in northern Italy. The first week of classes were primarily
concentrated on introducing the syllabus and professors, so hopefully I’ll get
a chance to talk about actual university life when the courses get a tad bit
more engaging. Most of my study abroad program visited Florence this weekend,
but having already planned out a trip there for my parents quickly
approaching Italian vacation, I instead got the chance to visit Megan and
Hannah up north in a small town called Paderno Del Grappa!
The journey to Paderno began on Friday at 4:30 in the
morning. Being located in the mountains about an hour or so outside of Venice,
the trek from Rome is definitely a process, but gave me the chance to become
thoroughly acquainted with an Italian staple, public transportation! Not
wanting to get ahead of myself though, my actual trip began with a thirty-minute
walk from the apartments to the train station Roma Trastevere. Being so early
in the morning, I’ll admit that I was a little nervous about this portion of
the adventure, especially since a big snowstorm was nearing and I’d be walking
through a region I didn’t know very well. To combat this growing fear I did
what any red-blooded male would do just before embarking on a dangerous feat, I
called my mom. As it turns out, walking through the abandoned streets of a
major city is much less frightening while discussing daily events with your
parents. In fact, with all my travel gear and heavy coats on, I’m pretty sure I frightened away the only people I came
into contact with. Needless to say, first crisis averted.
Roma Trastevere, 5:00 a.m.
Soon after ending the phone call, I arrived at Roma Trastevere,
a train station that would provide me transport to Fiumicino Airport (which is
located about 30 minutes outside of Rome). After arriving in Terminal 1 at the
airport, I quickly found my gate and was soon headed north towards Venice! (Sitting
in the correct seat on my first try I’ll have you note). It was a quick flight,
only about 40 minutes long, and the captain announced we would be making our
final descent just as the sun was rising over the canals of the historic city.
He made sure to inform the passengers of the beautiful view just off the right
side of the plane, with St. Mark’s Square clearly in sight. Unfortunately, as
is often the case, I had the window seat on the far left side of the plane.
Therefore, while everyone on the opposite side was glued to the windows
watching the sun rise over one of the most famous cities in the world, I had a
top notch view of what appeared to be one of Italy’s most historic sewage
treatment facilities. Win some you lose some. I wasn’t too heartbroken by this
turn of events, however, because I had a great view of Venice soon after
landing, and in just another month or so Megan and I will get the chance to
explore all it has to offer!
From here my arduous trek turned to busses, as I needed to
get from Marco Polo airport to the Mestre train station. This transition
surprisingly went off without a hitch, and I boarded the first train to Bassano
del Grappa just before 11 am. About an hour and fifteen minutes later, I
arrived in Bassano, which is just a few short kilometers from Paderno. I walked
up to a small stand in front of the station, purchased a bus ticket to Paderno,
and waited for the last leg of my journey to commence. Unfortunately, the
actual bus I was supposed to take seemed to be running a little behind and a
crowd of Italian middle schoolers soon began to gather around me at the stop.
By the time the bus finally arrived, the crowd of middle schoolers had grown
into a horde of what seemed like hundreds. They of course all piled onto the same bus as me, but regardless, we we’re off towards Paderno! I was quickly
identified as the only American on the transport and the students jumped at the
opportunity to practice their new favorite English word “Massachusetts”. They
all appeared genuinely impressed at the ease with which the word jumped from my
mouth, and when the time came for me to step off the bus, I floored them with a
departing “Mississippi”.
For all the craziness that went along with my aforementioned
travels, I knew immediately after stepping off the bus that the trip had been
well worth it. Paderno is a small town located directly in front of Mount
Grappa and provides by far the most amazing scenic views I’ve scene in Italy up
to this point. I kept thinking to myself that it was exactly what I imagined
Italy would be like from back in the States! There wasn’t much traffic on the
streets (which was a huge change from a big city like Rome) and the few shops
and tabbachis seemed extremely open and welcoming. After a short walk up the
road, I checked in at the local hotel and waited for Megan to swing by after
her class. I’ll skip the details of our actual reunion, but for those of you
who are extra curious, it went pretty much exactly like this:
Soon after the dramatics, Megan took me on a quick tour of
the Instituto Filipin, the campus where Hannah and her live and go to school.
It is located right in the middle of town (pretty much across the street from
the hotel) and, despite its size, blends in extremely well with the buildings
surrounding it. Again, the view of the landscape surrounding the dormitories
was incredible, and can probably best be seen through the pictures that Megan
and Hannah uploaded in their first blog post found here:
At this point we were becoming quite hungry, so Megan,
Hannah and I ventured over to Paderno’s local pizzeria to meet up with a group
of their friends and enjoy a nice meal. Two and a half hours later, we still found
ourselves at the restaurant sharing portions of everyone’s order and talking
the night away. This is one of the aspects of Italian culture I’ve most admired
since arriving in the country. Long meals are greatly encouraged and there
never is any pressure from the employees to have you move along or finish up
quickly. Looking back, the trip to the pizzeria has definitely been one of my
favorite nights in Italy so far as we spent the breaks between courses talking
about our adventures, going over future travel plans, and perhaps mentioning
Jon Reene one time too many.
Megan's photo of Paderno
The next day the group decided to venture down the road a bit
in search of gelato. It began to lightly snow during our hike, making the
mountainous Italian countryside seem even more surreal. After arriving in the
small town’s main square we ducked into a café where I got my first chance to
try some real, local coffee (other than espresso of course). Again it was
incredible; those northerners definitely have their food and drink down! Next
up was the local gelateria, meaning the time had come for my first taste Italy’s
famous ice cream. It didn’t disappoint, everyone kept commenting on how great
their particular flavor choice was! Clearly the common theme of this trip
memoir is my affection for the food; even right now I’m craving the fresh
sandwiches made at Paderno’s tabbachi. Megan, Hannah, or any other CIMBA member reading
this right now, please mail me 10. The Atkins diet, as one might imagine, has
not yet hit Italy.
Snow!
The breakfast feast at the hotel
Megan, Hannah, and I at the cafe
That evening began with a taxi picking Megan and me up before
setting out for the nearby town of Asolo. The cab ended up being a BMW, which
was definitely an unexpected surprise, and the snow was starting to fall pretty
steadily at this point. Hopefully my love for all things northern Italy isn’t
becoming too obvious at this point, but upon arriving in Asolo it really did
feel like I was on a movie set! All the streets were paved with bricks and a
small castle overlooked the main square of the town. Being so enticed to
fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming the king of a castle, Megan and I
ventured there first for appetizers (apparently it doubles as a restaurant now
that sieges have become less common). The view from the castle was again
incredible. Although the sun had already set, the lights from surrounding towns
provided an entirely different kind of scenic overlook. After entering the
reastaur-castle, we shared a quick first course before parting ways with my beloved
fortress. From there we walked a short ways to a local restaurant. Although the
waiter only spoke Italian and the menu wasn’t much help either, it was a very
cozy, authentic dining choice and the fireplace next to our table provided the
perfect addition to the evening. True to Italian hospitality, the same taxi
driver who dropped us off was waiting to pick us up almost three hours later
without a second thought.
Asolo during the day (The castle's on the left)
A tad bit cramped
Just before dinner!
On Sunday morning, my weekend in Paderno came to a reluctant
end as I said good-bye to Megan, Hannah and the mountains of the Veneto region.
Fortunately, the excursion back was much less eventful than the first go
around, with all the transitions running smoothly and the middle schoolers
restrained at a safe distance. In retrospect, my weekend up north was truly an
experience that I will never forget. The vast, open scenery presented an
entirely different side of Italy than the one I had grown accustomed to in the
busy streets of Rome. The pace was much more relaxed and perfectly complimented
the beautiful countryside surrounding the region. While I’m excited for my upcoming
adventure to Florence with the parents a week from now, it would be a tall task
for any city to compete with the natural beauty of northern Italy.
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