Week 18

Example of our Lake View
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Tuesday, our alarm clock (Adelio) woke us up for a fully prepared breakfast and then it was a drive to the Courmayeur in Italy for a day trip up Mount Blanc - the highest mountain in Europe at 4,810 metres. We made the trip up the mountain by various cable cars to our lunch destination - Chamonix in France. We The altitude affected both Adelio and I - memories of Lima came flooding back me!!! Although the ski season is finished there was still loads of snow, the glacier remained and there were trekkers and rock climbers creating their own kind of mountain atmosphere. It was the first time Eddy had ever seen snow so was a nice experience for him.

Eddy touching snow for the first time
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That night Adelio was going to cook us a feast of Saltimbocca which he was sourcing via family connections (the Italian way) but our veal got stuck in a traffic jam….so we had to revert to plan B – a great pizza and a yummy desert at a pizza bar filled with locals. Luigi and Eugenia followed then gave us 3 aussies a tour of the city by night. It was Saint Giovanni la Baptista Feast, so much of the city was closed to traffic and there were people everywhere to watch the fireworks, the music and the various shows scattered all around the city. St Giovanni even blessed me with water. Then it was home for the most refreshing piece of watermelon I can remember (it was heating up in Italy and as an honorary pommy I now feel the heat!!!!)

"You - No!!!"

In an ice tunnel
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Wednesday Eugenia and Margherita (another of Eddy’s second cousins) took us on the local’s tour of the city by daylight. Eugenia knew every nook and cranny of Torino – was great exploring the city with a local. We saw palaces, churches, historic shops, ruins, etc….all in a matter of three hours. I wasn’t allowed into one on the churches as I had my shoulders showing – the saying “YOU!!!! NO!!!!” with appropriate finger pointing has been an ongoing saying of ours since then. To finish the tour we went up the Mole which was built to be a mosque but ended up being a museum of cinema. Apparently Eddy came here as a child and did a pee off the top – so for the purposes of nostalgia, he recreated history as you can see from the photo. Back to Eugenia’s for our saltimbocca and a last goodbye to all the relatives who popped in to say farewell. They were all so friendly and hospitable and made our stay in Torino very memorable. Eddy had been telling me what a great place Torino was and now I can see why.

Don't eat yellow snow Eddy
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That afternoon it was off to Lake Como. We had booked this accommodation in a hurry so were pleasantly surprised when we were greeted by one of the most friendly hotel receptionists on tour and got the best room in a great hotel. The room had two balconies – one with a pool/mountain view and the other with the lake view across to Bellagio. We chilled out by the pool, had dinner in the hotel and finished the night wandering along the shores of Lake Como. Although beautiful, the walk was a little hairy in parts on a narrow windy road with no footpath.

Trekkers - yep the little things that look like ants
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Thursday we spent the day ferry hopping around the central Lake Como area visiting the various villages. I took in the beautiful mountains, lakeside villages and villas while Eddy was amazed at the copper pipes and gutters on the buildings….I swear at times I felt like I was travelling with Dad or Jason!! We skipped lunch as it was too hot to eat but made up for it with late afternoon snack on our balcony of prosciutto and parmesan we bought along the way. Another quite night with dinner at the hotel.

In the Cable Car
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Friday morning we hung one last time by the pool to soak up the sun before making our way to Verona. The Verona accommodation was a definite let down (especially after our Lake Como accommodation). We were in what I would call the Verona Bronx which was about 30 minutes on foot from the centre. It actually felt like a scene from the modern day Romeo and Juliet movie – you know the one with Leonardo DiCaprio and gang warfare. I even had to have one of my “Nat chats” with the hotel staff when the promised car park wasn’t available. As a result we ended up parking in the hotel’s lock up garage J.

The Glacier
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Verona is a beautiful city with loads of history. On Friday afternoon/evening we shopped a little and walked a little. We are into the Italian way of life now so we had an aperativo and then found a great trattoria in a piazza which unbeknownst to us had the Verona jazz festival later that evening. After dinner we moved a few metres to the steps of an old building in the piazza and hung out there contently listening to the jazz and people watching. After an hour or so the rain started which was a nice relief. Unfortunately this meany many outdoor events were cancelled so there were people everywhere trying to get transport home. So as a last resort, we walked (and I must admit ran in some parts) in the rain to our Bronx hotel.

Eddy, Eugenia and Adelio at Chamonix
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Saturday we had lunch at the same trattoria and did the touristy thing at Juliet’s house and the ancient roman theatre ruins/museum. We decided to attend the Verona Opera festival that night which is held in the best preserved coliseum in Italy. We got the cheap seats on the stone Roman steps – thank goodness for the air pillows we bought!!! We saw the well known opera of Aida which lasted over 4 hours. I have to say it was an epic event just waiting for the show to start - 2 hours packed like sardines in the heat. It was the first time Eddy or I had been to an Opera and while I can appreciate it, I don’t think I will return anytime soon as I understood very little. What made it for me was the gorgeous historic setting, the props and costumes and the parts of the opera which were more like a theatre show with up to 200 people on stage at once. We lasted about 2.5hours before heading out to enjoy a granite and what felt like a bucket of gelati while we waited for the opera to finish so we could get the shuttle home. We almost got the shuttle driver to pull a swifty and take us home without the other tourists but another lady who left the opera early blew our cover.

Hanging out in Alpine Botancial Garden
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Up early Sunday morning to drop our car and luggage at Bergamo airport. We spent our last day in Italy shopping and investigating the old high city in Bergamo. Time for one last aperativo before heading to the airport to get our 9.30pm flight which turned into a 2am flight due to bad storms. We spent the 4 hour wait on the floor of the airport where Eddy made an unwanted English drinking buddy – I thought it was hilarious. Eddy’s new buddy invited us to meet the local rugby stars the next night and wanted Eddy to play 5 aside soccer with him...Eddy resisted the temptation. Didn’t get home until 4:30am….only a few hours until I was due at work!!!

First time Eddy has seen or stood on snow!!!
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Monday it was back to reality…..well for me anyway!!! Eddy got his beauty sleep most of the day…I can see I’m not going to enjoy these two weeks if this pattern continues. Eddy was a good though as he did some grocery shopping and made us dinner ….maybe I will enjoy these two weeks if this pattern continues!!!