Buongiorno Molto Formaggio

This past weekend I had a wonderful time traveling with the group to Asiago, a small town in the mountains of Northern Italy. The weekend was very relaxing and low key which was perfect. We set out Friday for the two hour drive. I was a little nervous I would get car sick from all of the windy roads but I did okay. We arrived to this quaint little area that looked like it was usually a ski resort but was pretty much empty in the random month of october. The hotel was really cute. It is completely family run and owned, everyone from the reception, to the waitress to the bar tender were all part of the same family. I loved this and wish there could be more businesses like it in the United States.

Friday was pretty relaxing. After settling in we went to a small shop nearby that sold honey cosmetics and other products. I got some interesting things like strawberry and mandarin honey and some honey candies. Later we had a delicious dinner in the hotel and then went out on the town. We were directed to a bar that ended up being a bowling alley, so we bowled (not so successful on my part) all of the equipment was the same as in the U.S. (Brunswick) but the exciting thing was that for strikes and spares you got tickets like at an arcade.
   Saturday we woke up to a day that was a bit overcast, but still gorgeous. Around 9:00, we set out for the cheese factory. (shout out to Inna, thinking of you this whole time, literally kept saying "my friend would die if she was here right now) I thought there was going to be an official tour, but really it was just Claudio taking us around. I thought it was really cool. First of all, you could see some cows literally grazing in a field next to the factory. We got to see how all of the different ages of cheese were made/ aged. We even got to try cheese that was fresh off of the line (literally Claudio just grabbed some from this machine that these men were operating, see picture of my hand below). We also got to see the large store rooms that the cheese is stored in to age. We then got to try all different kinds (I'm pretty sure I ate the most but it was so good!)

After the factory we went to the town center. Me and a couple of the other girls concluded that it looked a lot like Colorado. There were stores selling warm things (imagine that in Italy, I was surprised they sold anything that could provide real warmth) as well as handmade wood products. We went to the market which was a bit overwhelming but exciting. This was a legitimate market with clothes, shoes, scarfs etc. I left with a few pairs of warm socks and a new pashmina scarf (yay!). After the market, we returned back to the hotel for lunch and then horseback riding. Although  it was raining, the ride was still gorgeous. Slight mishaps included a small jump and gallop (my horse only, screamed both times) Also, I somehow woke up the next morning with a huge bruise on the side of my knee, not sure how that happened. An interesting thing that I learned on this tour from our guide (a guy around our age) was that a lot of people in Italy still really admire Mussolini. He said, "I think that is in your country what you call 'rednecks' " I thought that comparison was pretty funny, but it is interesting that people still really look up to Mussolini, it made me want to do some more research into history (slowly making my way through my history textbook I lugged here). The rest of the day was pretty relaxing. It included a warm shower and hanging out in the hotel becuase it was raining and cold outside.

The next morning we woke up, had breakfast and went ice skating. The rink was indoors and largely reminded me of the rinks at home (except for the cheese advertisments). We returned back to the hotel, had lunch, packed up and set off for home. Before going home we stopped at a local grocery store to stock up on local cheese ( I purchased probably a bit too much) Claudio also had me try a local delicacy, this fruit jelly stuff that you're supposed to eat with cheese that is really spicy. I wasn't allowed to try it without purchasing so I took the risk. With one cherry..yes really spicy cherry my mouth was burning and my tummy felt a little funny. Currently 2.50 euro of it is sitting in my fridge...not sure if i'll attempt to eat that again, but it is all worth the experience.  We took a beautiful scenic ride home, I was tired but had a great weekend. Currently counting down the days until Prague this weekend!