Advertisement
Published: July 24th 2006
Edit Blog Post
I,m more than a week behind in blogging! Its hard to find Internet access in small towns (also hard to find the punctuation on this keyboard!)
I,ve so enjoyed reading the comments people are making - thank you! Makes me feel connected and like I am not so far away. I,ve had a conversation on the phone with my Mom, but other than that, have not had a conversation in English for a week! My Italian is improving (or at least I am becoming so hungry, thirsty, and in need of a toilet, that I make myself understood *ha ha*). Today I successfully asked for the appropriate train tickets, ordered lunch, bought some books, and found the Internet cafe! Hurrah!
Tomorrow I meet up with Janelle and Neal - my friends from Hazelton (also teachers) who are camping their way through France, Austria and Italy this summer. We,ll fly to Napoli and spend 3 days exploring Pompeii, Sorrento, and the Amalfi Coast. I can,t wait to hit the beach - it,s so hot here!!
Ok... I,ll take you back to my first weekend...
On Friday I took the train back from Cosio to the Malpensa Airport just
outside of Milan to meet up with Kim and Shane (yes, the very same people I stayed with in London!) and pick up our rental car. We got a cute little VW Polo - aha - the problem was it was standard, and I was the only one with recent driving experience!
We headed off for Lago di Como for lunch (dreams of running into George Clooney dancing in our heads...particularily Shane,s). With Kim as the Chief Navigator, Shane as the Sign-seeker and Head Interpreter, we were in good shape (the driving part was the only worry!) It wasn,t that busy, so the roads were actually quite drivable. Things were going well, but we noticed that traffic had slowed and cars were going through a toll booth (already! Rick Steves had warned of this!)... or so we thought...
Our Head Interpreter pointed to the flag that looked suspiciously like a Swiss flag. What?? We hadn,t even driven an hour, how could we have made it to Switzerland?!? We didnt believe him! However, it turns out that Switzerland dips down near Lake Como, and our Head Interpreter was, of course, correct in his interpretation. How could we have doubted
the Clooney magnet?? We managed to turn off just before the border crossing and park to collect ourselves and figure out the way back. Unfortunately, the driver could not figure out how to "reverso"! It was a scorching 30 degrees or so outside, but HI also became our hero as he pushed the car back with his bare hands and got us positioned to drive out. Ahem...then he figured out how to put the car in reverse.
We made it to Carnaggio for lunch - a gorgeous little lakeside town - and had yummy pizzas and prosecco outside on a great patio. Got lots of wonderful pictures, couldnt believe we were there... couldnt believe I had to use a squat toilet... :-)
We continued up the west side of the lake. Scary, scary, road with very little room for two cars to pass (or so it seemed from my side of the car - poor Kim, I,m sure she was really sick of me saying "have I got room? have I got room?"). Beautiful terracotta-coloured towns with green gorgeous flowering trees and groomed gardens. We stopped in Villa Carlotta for gelato (caffe *yum* - and the sweet old
man who served us was blowing kisses and yelling "ciao" as we left) and a walk along the water. We found the most ideal little cave of trees and vines with a bench overlooking the lake. The narrow road is busy with cars, scooters, trucks, and bikes, but there still manages to be many, many cafes and restaurants with tables along the road, with killer views across the lake (and killer cover charges to match!)
I decided that if we were going to make it in one piece, and if I were going to have any fun driving at all, that I would just have to be BRAVE and go for it. I only had to close my eyes 2 or 3 times after that! Ha ha!
We had a wonderful dinner at the Polas with Angela, Felicita and Giovanni - spaghetti, insalata, red wine, espresso (Giovanni is as addicted as me, so I got lots of piping hot espresso! yay!) We ate dozens of plums freshly picked from the tree in their yard - lots of fresh fruit all the time.
Giovanni took us into Morbegno that evening for birra at a tiny little bar (bars
are like cafes and hangouts for everyone after dark). We walked to the Morbegno church, and when we came around the corner to see it, I just gasped. It is a beautiful, massive building, in the middle of town. Giovanni (who speaks as much English as I speak Italian) wondered if I would die when I saw Roma, after my reaction to their little village church! The church just towered over the rest of the buildings, and yet was stately and soft-looking, carved rather than imposed into the landscape. Giovanni drove us around to another church, and to see the area around Cosio - a beautiful, quiet night.
We were lucky enough to be able to stay in Felicita,s mother,s house, just up the street (and because I had stayed there the night before, I recognized it when I was lost looking for the Polas house earlier in the day! "There,s grandma,s house" I shouted!)
On Saturday, Matteo and Angela took us to Colico (on Lake Como) to hang out on the beach and go swimming... ahhh...it was so refreshing! There were tons of windsurfers and parasailers, lots of kids in the water, tons of brown, tanned people
getting browner, and then us - the 3 palest people on the beach. At first I didn,t believe Kim, but she was right, we did kind of stick out (good in case of getting lost, though!) We played in the water, got some sun, walked to the town and had gelato.
Yikes! I,m going to have to go catch the train... and look how long I,ve taken to tell a little bit again (good thing I havent done much for the last couple of days, perhaps Ill get caught up)
I hope everyone is well. I,ll write more as soon as I can!! :-)
Advertisement
Tot: 0.193s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 10; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0602s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.2mb
Elsie Chan
non-member comment
Way to go, Melanie!
Hey world traveler: Well, this is my turn to call you that. What an adverture you're having. Good for you! Hey, keep me posted. I particuar like the one you wrote about London as it really remined my trip there last year. Please say hi to Kim and Shane; also say hi to Carolyn when she joins you later. I'll be in Uganda when you've done your trip. talk to you soon. love Elsie