Italy Redux…

I have been to Italy several times, and yes, it is one of my very favorite places in the world. I would move there in a heartbeat if the Italians were more welcoming to transplants, but they make it very difficult. They seem to want to keep it for Italians! So I will have to be satisfied with visiting often.

This time, I have a purpose for my visit, which will become known shortly, but first, I want to share how I got there and where I stopped first.

I departed Gare du Lyon in Paris at the ungodly hour of 6:30 a.m. Uber drivers love pre-bookings for that early in the morning – not!

I started my travels in Europe via train, so I decided to continue with that mode of transport until I couldn’t. So I booked a first-class train ticket to Milan, and on to my first destination, Verona!

The train was lovely. I had a window seat all to myself. Coffee and pastries were served, then I enjoyed a lovely ride until I arrived in Milano. After an hour and a half layover, the perfect amount of time for lunch, I once again boarded the first-class car and took a nice nap. When I opened my eyes, I saw this….

The border between France and Switzerland is dotted with very tall, snow-covered mountains, all part of the Dolomites. (The Dolomites are a spectacular UNESCO World Heritage mountain range in northeastern Italy. Famous for dramatic vertical walls, sheer cliffs, and unique pinkish hues, they are a premier destination for hiking, skiing, and mountaineering. ) (The Olympic skiing events had just concluded on those peaks the week before.)

The temperatures moderated, and the snow vanished, and by the time I arrived in Verona, the sun was shining.

Verona, as I am sure you have heard, is the home of Shakespeare’s tragic love story, Romeo and Juliet. Also, his Two Gentlemen of Verona takes place here. It is a major tourist attraction for this northeastern portion of Italy, and the capital city of the region. It has a huge Roman amphitheater, and the La Scala opera is performed in the Area during the summer months.

It spent 2 days wandering the streets, taking photos, taking a guided walking tour (my favorite thing to do in a new city), having the worst pizza I have ever eaten, and thoroughly enjoying my stay at a truly over-the-top B&B, The Realis Empire Verona. Of course, I had to see Juliet’s Balcony (OMG, the number of tourists was overwhelming, and it isn’t even the season yet!) and take in several museums and churches.

From Verona, I hopped on the train to one of my favorite cities, Firenze (Florence) where I was invited by my longtime ‘English language student’, Aurora.

To fill in the blanks…In 2021 I was house and pet sitting outside of Siena for Prof. Patti Robinson, the head of the English-language department at the University of Siena. Patti is American, married to Roberto, who is Rick Steves’ #1 Italian connection. They run a B&B in the countryside outside Siena, where their non-English-speaking large dogs reside. (Note to self: Ask if the pets understand English when sitting in a foreign country – click previous post under Italy).

Patti was asking every English-speaking person she met if they would be interested in occasionally ‘tutoring’ her students via Zoom or WhatsApp in conversational English.

I agreed and was gifted the beautiful, super-intelligent Aurora, who at the time was a junior at the University. Her major was Chinese and Economics, but she needed to improve her English (which was already quite good) as it was the ‘common worldwide language’ used for business.

From the very beginning, we hit it off! We would video-chat on WhatsApp at least once a week, until she graduated from University. COVID hit Italy hard, and derailed her plans to go to China for an in-depth language course, but we still kept up our conversations.

She applied and was accepted into a Master’s program at the University of Milan. Our talks continued – and she continued to send me papers she had to write in English (that I ‘corrected’) before she turned them in. After getting her MBA, she finally had the opportunity to go to China and study. While I was in Japan, she flew over for a few days so we could finally meet in person!

She had always shared with me stories of her wonderful family – mother, father, brother, grandparents – and said if I was ever back in Italy, I had to come visit. This trip was that time!

Aurora and her very handsome partner, Leonardo (a chef, no less!) met me and we did a very long walking tour of Florence at night – then enjoyed a delicious Thai dinner!

From there, we drove to her lovely village of Colle di Val d’Elsa, where I was welcomed with huge hugs, delicious food (you wouldn’t have believed the roasted meat dinner!) lots of wine, given Aurora’s room in which to sleep, had a tour of the village with her mother, and got to meet her nonna. I was treated like a long-time member of the family. Time with this family was precious. I am at a loss for words to express the kindness and generous hospitality that were shown to me while I was there.

Aurora works as a translator for several large, multi-national companies doing business in China. She also teaches English as a second language for a British-based school in Florence, plus has several private students, as well. She and Leonardo are also in the middle of completely remodeling her grandparents’ original house, where they will hopefully be living by May!

She had arranged for us to take a walking tour of Siena with students of the language school. The tour was given by an American tour guide who had lived in Siena for years, all in English, to help the students hear and learn our very difficult language. Don’t you just love the pink-coated ‘local’ we saw along the route!

Leonardo had arranged for us to do a wine, olive oil, and Balsamic vinegar tasting at Podere La Marronaia, a Biodynamic Winery & Farm located in San Gimignano, where he is the head chef. The next day, he arranged for me to join a family as part of his cooking class! Yes, the family had 3 children who loved rolling pasta! Both experiences were so fun, educational, and delicious! And don’t you just love the winery’s dog!

Aurora’s parents were so upset to hear about my terrible pizza experience in Verona that I was allowed to take everyone out for a pizza extravaganza to once again prove that Italy is the home of pizza!

I bid a tearful goodbye when Aurora’s wonderful mother put me on the bus to Siena. There I met my long-time friends, and the best-ever, but now-retired, Tuscany tour guide, Lorenzo, and his beautiful wife, Francesca.

We had time to enjoy lunch before I headed to Rome, where I would overnight at a local airport B&B before catching my early morning flight to Crete! Sorry, but no more trains!

Until next time – when the My Great Big Fat Greek Adventure will begin…..