The sunshine was a surpise today, so Nick took us into Barga to enjoy the nice weather. The village is a series of steep inclines, lopsided cobble stone streets, and narrow passagways that are categorized as alleys back home but served as both a sidewalk and a road. No really, sometimes cars came through and you would squeeze up against a wall for them to pass. Don't let it deter you though. Barga is a delightfully old world with friendly faces and a Ciao! to greet you at every stop.
Plenty of people were in town for the inaguration (of whom we never quite figured out), but we headed off to a little gallery tucked into a shop off the street. There were dozens of portraits lining the wall, four or five to an artist, and Nick told us they were all amateurs living in Barga. The gallery had drawn a small crowd and we were happy to peruse the paintings while they chatted around us. The refreshment table had the most delicious assortment of sweets and I had the best lemon cake I think I've ever tasted. For context though, I love sweets and haven't had anything baked, chocolately or particularly sugary for about a week. Please forgive me Barga residents, because I took two pieces of that lemon cake and I don't have any regrets.
We had a funny moment on the way out, as the same woman who happily handed us plates for the refreshment table started to chat with us about the gallery. We apologetically told her we spoke English and so she asked again, "What do you like?" Zach took her to a painting of a small harbor and explained, partly in Italian, how he liked the colors and the brush strokes. She beamed, "Thats mine!" And then explained to us where it was and about the other paintings that she had in the gallery. She eventually was called away to talk to new people arriving, but we had a nice moment with her.
(The man in profile in the foreground is our host Nick!)
Nick took us to his old haunt and we had a round of beers for a change. After mastering wine, Italy seems disinterested in beer so the selection was simple. Peroni. On tap. Finished. The place was small, like most other shops and bars we went to, but was filled with lively music by the two musicians you see above (plus a talented mandolin player). They played a range of songs, but were there to jam, not for anything serious. Nick recalled a time when dozens of musicans would come or an opera singer would pop in to give a lively chorus. The bar was decidedly more tame today, though it was noon on a Sunday.
It was a beautiful day for sitting outside, sipping beers, and nice conversation. For a small village, there's quite a lot to see and always interesting people to talk to here. Zach and I are planning our own jaunt into town this week, so we'll see what mischief we can get into!
Missing you all,
H W Z
It's been raining every day here in Barga at our first host stay, so here's a sorry in advance that this post is going to be light on the pictures.
We arrived here on Friday and are staying with our host Nick for the next two weeks. The little village of Barga is nestled in the mountains and Nick's house is just a bit further up from town. The views, when sunny, are spectaular but when rain starts out comes the fog and you can almost forget the mountains are there. So we've been enjoying our time inside by the fire and taking little exploration trips around the beautiful property inbetween drizzles. Nick keeps apologising for the rain, but we're enjoying the clean air and the fresh foresty scent it sweeps through the trees. Since his property is on a mountain, his green space is on a series of levels, not one flat patch of grass. It makes for an interesting backyard, and we're quite enjoying the time we've already had to spruce it up.
On Saturday, Nick took us on an expedition (errands in his words) to the supermarket a few towns away. It seemed to be similar to Walmart, though only in size and options, not because the people there are charicatures. Of course everything was in Italian, so we had fun guessing what things actually were and enjoying the nonsensical packaging, like baby food featuring a baby in a chefs hat.
They also had two aisles of pasta for sale (not counting the refrigerated, already cooked pasta) and the same for sauces. Kiwis and lemons were extra large, the latter being half the size of our heads and conviently located next to actual lemon trees for sale. If you're not feeling citrus, they also had apple and pear saplings for the choosing.
We swept off to the next store, an adorable little bodega in Barga, to gather fresher fruits and veggies to stock the pantry. Nestled between piles of fruits were portraits of what were presumably the owners children. Not just one or two either, but a few scattered about on tables and hanging in whatever open space there were on the walls. It was absurd, but delightfully homey. Like if your grandmother opened up a veggie shop in her living room.
Coffee was next, where Zach ordered a Caffe Americano and saved us both from the jitters of the espresso the few days before. We shared a pastry and a table with our host at an enclosed garden off the side of the cafe. Somehow, no matter where we were, the fresh rain scent followed - even as we left the cafe to trek up a steep cobbled street to a wine shop.
Everything was arranged according to region and Nick picked out one from nearby Lucca. We thought the shopkeep was ducking behind the counter to grab a bag, but instead she pulled out three glasses and set them on the small table in the middle of the shop. We sat, Nick poured, and we were just as quickly met with a bowl of potato chips. Not cheese. Chips. And let me tell you, that pairing is brilliant.
Another woman joined us with a glass of champagne and Zach practiced the smallest bit of Italian trying to explain his lineage. As the German whose only additonal language was French, I had even less to add but had a great time watching them encourage Zach to speak as much Italian as he could remember. I can only hope for a similar pleasent response when I'm up to bat during our month in France.
Traveling like this is so wonderfully easy and relaxing. Being shown around by a local beats staying in hotels anyday. How would we ever have found out that they grow their lemons so enourmous or that they pair wine and chips if Nick hadn't taken us out? All this in the first two days too, who knows what else the week has in store.
More wine please,
H W Z
Aaaaaaaand..... TIME!
We spent the night in Florence a few days back because our first host couldn't pick us up until the weekend. So in the morning we took a mad dash around the city before we had to hop on the train.
We were tired and I was grumpy by the end but at least the pictures turned out nice.
With love,
H W Z
Good morning Alps!
Probably the only bonus of our red-eye was waking up to this view in the morning. Nothing like the sun rising over the Alps for a wake up call. Waking up only in the sense that we opened the window for the first time and found out it was morning. There wasn't techincally any sleeping prior to this discovery.
The flight was rough, but Winry had it the worst. Similar to when we flew Southwest, the flight attendants on our second AirCanada leg were very strict about where Winry had to be, even threatening to put her down in the cargo if we didn't get her under the seat fast enough. We understand that there are rules and kind of understand why they're in place (for fear of Winry licking everyone to death probably), but is bringing her on board really that different from a parent bringing on their kid? We'd accept the same responsibility and she'd probably, no definitely, cry less.
To end that rant, Winry toughed it out and made it through and we are thankful that we made it safely to our destination. Especially since another passengers first words to us were "Oh, do you eat dogs?" We sat far away from him.
Getting our luggage, through customs, and actually into Milan was a breeze. What I had blocked to take a good three hours was an hour and a half, only because the train ride from the airport to Milan was an hour. We were ushered through customs so fast (without even a glance at the paperwork I had meticulously gathered for Winry) and onto the train, that I was almost giddy with excitement. Yesterday had been so hard and today was so easy!
We had a few hours to waste while we waited for our train to Florence, where we are staying tonight. Walking around felt and looked like New York, except I couldn't undertand any of the people instead of just half of them. Winry is treated amazing here. People laugh and walk up to pet her and officials don't bat an eye to her sitting on our laps in the train station. It's a welcome break from the regulations of the airport.
Winry was set on exploring after her eight hour embargo, so we walked our way to a little coffee shop, where I, the girl who had been learning French the last few months, was sent in to order our coffee. To be fair to Zach, we were taking turns getting things and I was up. This is how I learned that when you walk in and say "Black Coffee" the cute barista girl will make you an espresso and it will keep you awake on your train ride as your boyfriend and dog are passed out next to you.
Ciao for now,
H W Z
It's been an up and down day*
You know those days where you find a dollar on the floor and then it's covered in something sticky? Or you buy your favorite meal and then drop it on the way to your table. Today is that kind of day. Interestingly enough, it always seems to happen at airports.
We're currently waiting for our flight to Milan, but it's been a full day already so let's get you caught up.
Down. Wakeup is 6:00 am.
Yes, there are people who have to wake up earlier than this to get to the airport. But there are also people who get to sleep in and don't have to take a red eye flight later that night. Neither Zach or I are morning people so we're counting this as starting off as a down. Winry's a morning person, but has literally no responsibilities so her opinion doesn't count.
Up. The C train works as it's intended.
This might not seem like an up, but anyone who has every rode the C train further into Brooklyn know that train is fickle. Not showing up for 30 minutes fickle. And when you're on a very strict schedule to get to the airport, the last thing you need is the C train deciding it doesn't want to show up. I'm counting it. That's an up.
Down. Winry freaks out, tries to escape on the plane.
Four days ago Winry turned two so by human standards, she's in her terrible twos. By dog standards, she's 14; a teenager. So really she had a lot of reasons to be a terror on the hour and a half flight. She looks happy in that picture, but she's actually panting from all the hard work she put into trying to rip apart her carrier. That's why I looked stressed.
Up. We have the sweetest flight attendants, Wade and Annette.
She proably didn't deserve it this time, but Winry was showered with love from our two wonderful flight attendants. They were both sweet and sympathetic to Winry having to be cooped up the whole flight, which was a welcome break from flights where we usually heard "Sir, she has to be completely in the carrier". We understand the airline rules, but they were both super kind while still doing their jobs. Bravo and thank you Wade and Annette!
Down. We suddenly have to go through customs, confusing us to no end.
Turns out, if you have six hour layover or more, you get sent through customs anyway. We just thought we were connecting and staying in the airport, so the hour after unboarding was a mad dash off filling out and presenting documents, going the wrong way (and being yelled at for it), and generally feeling like we had no idea what we're doing. Because we didn't. I'm not even entirely sure how we made it through that maze.
Up. Winry gets to use the facilities.
Almost all pet relief areas are located outside the airports, so clearing customs meant checking out Toronto's sweet digs. At least Winry liked Canada.
And now we're sitting in an ultra fancy airport suite drinking beers, so I suppose we're ending on two ups. That can't mean good things for the downs ahead...
Until the next update,
H W Z
* Also known as an Alanis Morisette Day but I wanted to save the 90's references for last.
As we mentioned in our last post, we've been spending our last month split between South Dakota and Minnesota in our respective hometowns. It's definitely been a whirlwind of friends, family and "I thought you were overseas already!"
South Dakota was packed with fun events. Zach's mom and his friend Rob threw Zach a surprise birthday party. We took a brief trip up to Fargo to see our friend Erica's art gallery showing. We spent hours playing video games and sharing old stories. Winry, as usual, made friends everywhere she went but seemed to especially enjoy her time as one of the boys amongst Zach's parents dogs, a Boston Terrier and a Boxer.
Minnesota has been just as chilly and just as delightful. We kept busy practicing archery and seeing old friends inbetween helping Holly's parents clean up their house and packing up her childhood room. A trip to Holly's Aunt saw Winry crowned "Queen Winry" by her two daughters Marissa and Morgan who then carted her around for a puppy parade. As usual, she loved the attention! She's been loving the open space out in the country as well, leaving Family Circus style tracks in the snow all over the backyard.
We're less than a week away from our big trip, which seems still seems surreal. Maybe we will believe it once we sit in Toronto for our six hour layover?
More to come,
H W Z
