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December 26 - Asolo & VicenzaNow it was time to head for the mountains. I LOVE mountains. I got back in Austin, looked around and said, "Dang, I can see for miles!" The Veneto is located in the Po River Valley. Mountains are on all sides.
Far to the South and East, the Apennines. To the North are the Dolomites, a part of the Western Alps. Immense mountains that change color as the day goes on. Then, there's the hills which are so big by Austin standards, that they may as well be mountains.
So the day after Christmas, we headed off to Asolo. I remember going to Asolo, I think it was the first time I went to Italy in 1985 or so. We went to an antique market. I remember seeing incredible illuminations ripped out of pages of old tomes and sold for exoribant prices. I remember the view. Wow! Beautiful. The town was old, old. And the magic was there!
We stopped on the way and bought some lunch at one of the few open stores. I got some Edamer which had that delicious creamy taste that I love in Asiago cheese. I also got some prosciutto and snacked all the way out to Asolo.
This time, I went with my camera and took a few cool pictures of the countryside, the streets, and a few of the people. There was no market, and it was an Italian holiday so it was pretty dead. But it was delight to see nonetheless.
Afterwards, we drove through the Dolomites past Marostica where you can find one of the oldest live chess matches held every couple years there and Bolzano where I've got to return as I later learned that's near where mom, Tiziano and I went climbing high into the mountains to an abandoned military fort with grazing cattle and wonderful fog. To VicenzaWe then drove through the campagna back to Vicenza. There I labored through the streets to the piazza. I figured out how to use the cool night function of my digital camera and was fortunate enough to catch a few cool pictures there. Unfortunately, many came out blurry, like my shots of Il Teatro Olimpico, the oldest indoor theatre in Europe. But they somewhat capture the mood nonetheless.
The piazza was alive with people. Everyone was out walking around. I still have no clue what they were doing out there, but to the best of my knowledge, they just wanted to socialize.
After walking through the piazza, we stopped at a bar to catch a breath and take drink. Then around the corner, we made our way back. I was exhausted, so we stopped in front of a church that was holdin a Presipio inside. I took some pictures and tried out some other features on my camera. Friday, December 27 - Rained OutWell, I was hoping to head to Venice on the 27th, but it rained. Mom decided not to wake me consequently, so it was another late morning. I was wee bit miffed with mom for not waking me. But I think it worked out for the best. I needed the sleep, and she did too. And after all, it's Her vacation too!
Mom wanted to check on presents, and I wanted to pick up a few things from a grocery store, so she dropped me off at the Italian version of a Super Walmart. I forget the name now. But it was huge store with TVs, kitchen supplies, towels, and lots of food.
Once again, I was slowed down majorly by having crutches. But it wasn't all bad. I rented a cart.
Oh now that's interesting. To use a grocery cart, you must put money into the cart to remove it from a rack. I forget how much it costs. Two euros maybe?
But with a cart I was able to lean over the handle and glide through the store. Course it was still a bit exhausting. But much less so than if I crutched. That and I was still sweating like a dog.
I picked up a cheese grater, a cappuccino foamer, some Ramazzotti, and some Ciobar. My ex and I discovered Ciobar when we were in Italy two years ago. It's an instant hot chocolate mix that is soooo very rich and thick, you can almost stand a spoon in it. Delicious! So I bought a few boxes. ;) Saved by the MotherFortunately, mom came at last and helped me get around a wee bit easier since I didn't have to push the cart any more. We then went out into the Mall area got some gelato and relaxed.
I then wanted to look around and get some presents for my sister. So I stopped off at a store and bought a couple little gifts for her. Then went to an Italian book store and found a couple books of traditional Italian music. Not the easiest thing to find. Finally, I stopped in a CD store and looked around. I told a friend I'd buy her an album of Italian heavy metal--Litifiba. Course she later told me it was more just hard rock, but it's been a while since I've heard it.
I also ended up buying several albums of two of my favorite Italian artists, Fabrizio de Andre and Angelo Branduardi.
Mom and then went off to an old favorite, "Fish With No Eyes" or "Napoli's" or whatever was the latest nick name for this popular little restaurant near the military post. We had a wonderful dinner that included Spaghetti all'Arrabiata and some fried squid. Delicious!
Posted by Marc Gunn on Thursday, January 09, 2003 |
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