We were instructed to take the cable car down and then we could walk around the town. Unfortunately, only part of the group got the message that there were two cable cars, one that went a third of the way down, and another that went all the way. We took the one only a third of the way. Thinking we only had a short walk, we beginning walking down a path. After about an hour of walking at a very steep downhill, we reached a dead end and realized we were lost. Our director did not answer his phone so we had no idea what we had done. Eventually, we came across a hotel that gave us directions, we then walked for another hour or so until we finally reached the town. Along the way, we met a nice German couple who was also lost so we walked together. All in all, 3 hours of walking (worked off some gelato) and we got to sit by the lake for a total of 15 minutes. That night we did have a delicious dinner though we went to a restaurant that you pay 30 euro a person and get about 10 courses of fish/seafood. The things I did eat were delicious, but could not handle some of it.
The next day we went to Asolo and Bassano Asolo was a really cute city that is famous for its antique fair. I didn't buy anything, but had fun walking around. Bassano is actually called Bassano dal Grappa and they are famous for making grappa. Grappa is a type of brandy made from the leftovers from wine. We visited a factory and tried some (my throat burned for an hour afterwards) grappa is served in shot glasses but you are supposed to sip it... Bassano is also famous for its wooden bridge which was designed by Andrea Palladio, a famous architect from the 16th century.
Finally, at night we went to Marostica, which is a small town in the mountains near Bassano. We went to Marostica to attend a live chess game, which is a tradition there and only happens one weekend every two years. Marostica started when two guys wanted the lord's daughter and instead of dueling (to death) the lord said they needed to play a chess game. The production involved hundreds of people and part of the tradition was showcasing Marostica's goods, art etc. The highlight was watching the joker climb into the stands in front of a row of nuns and be really goofy. The worst part was when I attempted to change the settings on my camera and erased my entire memory card. Luckily I only lost pictures from that weekend but it was still a bummer.
After the long weekend it was back to Italian tutto al giorno (my grammar is probably not right) I am having the realization that I am not horrible at learning languages, probably because I am used to remembering a lot of details with history, although putting it all together and actually speaking to real Italians is another story. I can't say I'll be upset when our 4-6 hours of Italian a day immersion class will be over in a week and a half, although I really do like our teacher Giorgia, even though she scares me sometimes. (imagine tiny blond women, orange rimmed glasses, intimidating face...the worst when you speak Spanish) Today we started our painting class which was really exciting. We are learning to paint frescos which are paintings with a sort of plaster type mixture to create texture, originally used for things such as the Sistine Chapel. (ours are smaller) I know I will have to learn technique, but I am a little bummed that we are copying famous paintings and not creating our own, but hopefully later in the semester we will get a chance to do so.
I can't say I am looking forward to Yom Kippur this weekend, all the other girls are going to Lake Como and I'll be in Verona on my own, but I think it may be nice to get some time alone. Until more adventures happen,
Ciao!
Ahh Giorgia is still there?!?! She was my teacher when I was at Idea Verona, except back in the day she used to rock bright pink glasses frames. Have you been listening to LunaPop and Vasco Rossi in class? Keep up the great blogs!
ReplyDelete