For my college graduation gift, my wonderful parents made my biggest dream come true: a trip to Italy. Unfortunately, my mom wasn't able to come, so it was yet another summer adventure with my dad. We left from the Cincinnati airport on May 28th. After a four-hour layover in the Philadelphia airport, we set off on our flight to Venice.
While on the plane, I began to worry that my romantic notions of Italy were simply high expectations. Everyone has a specific image of Italy. I always viewed it as both antiquated and modern, rustic and laidback yet overwhelming and bustling. A country filled with remarkable, world-altering history, delicious food, and, of course, heart-stopping romance. I started to wonder - how can one country be all of these things at once?
After nine hours, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, a horrible airline "dinner," and virtually no sleep, we arrived in Venice. Massimo, a long-time family friend, picked us up at the airport and drove us to his hometown, Domegge di Cadore. Cadore is an area in northern Italy (very close to Austria) in the beautiful Dolomite Mountains. Once we arrived, we checked into our hotel and went for some aperitifs in Pieve di Cadore. From the town square, you could see the mountains and the birth home of Titian, a famous Italian painter.
While on the plane, I began to worry that my romantic notions of Italy were simply high expectations. Everyone has a specific image of Italy. I always viewed it as both antiquated and modern, rustic and laidback yet overwhelming and bustling. A country filled with remarkable, world-altering history, delicious food, and, of course, heart-stopping romance. I started to wonder - how can one country be all of these things at once?
After nine hours, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, a horrible airline "dinner," and virtually no sleep, we arrived in Venice. Massimo, a long-time family friend, picked us up at the airport and drove us to his hometown, Domegge di Cadore. Cadore is an area in northern Italy (very close to Austria) in the beautiful Dolomite Mountains. Once we arrived, we checked into our hotel and went for some aperitifs in Pieve di Cadore. From the town square, you could see the mountains and the birth home of Titian, a famous Italian painter.
After a bit, we went to Massimo's house for the single biggest lunch I've ever eaten in my life. I got to finally meet his wonderful daughter (Marta) and wife (Fabiola). Fabiola and Massimo's mom made us a huge traditional Italian meal. They used local cheeses and meats to make us a multiple-course meal, including ham and asparagus roll-ups, tomato and mozzarella, lasagna, veal, fruit, and, of course, Italian bread.
After we rolled ourselves out of their house, we went up to Cortina, the site of the 1966 Winter Olympics. It was incredible to see the old ski jump and the beautiful little town. We also saw Lake Misurina, another beautiful ski site in the Dolomites.
Luckily, we got to take a short nap before dinner. Although I wasn't even close to hungry again, I had my first Italian pizza for dinner. It was delicious. After dinner, we went to Marta's big dance recital. It was fun to watch everyone dancing to mostly American music. That is one thing I noticed - Italians listen to SO much American music. Good taste, eh?
The next day, we went with Massimo, Fabiola, Marta, and Massimo's dad and aunt to a hiker hostel/restaurant up in the Dolomites. It was removed from the road, so we had to walk the final leg of the trip. From there, we had a gorgeous view of the mountains and ate another huge lunch, which included local meats and cheeses, a pasta plate with lasagna, gnocchi, and ravioli, venison and polenta, and panna cotta for dessert. The place was surrounded with intricate statues carved from wood. Halfway through lunch, the fog moved in and completely blocked our view of the mountains.
The next day, we went with Massimo, Fabiola, Marta, and Massimo's dad and aunt to a hiker hostel/restaurant up in the Dolomites. It was removed from the road, so we had to walk the final leg of the trip. From there, we had a gorgeous view of the mountains and ate another huge lunch, which included local meats and cheeses, a pasta plate with lasagna, gnocchi, and ravioli, venison and polenta, and panna cotta for dessert. The place was surrounded with intricate statues carved from wood. Halfway through lunch, the fog moved in and completely blocked our view of the mountains.
After lunch, Massimo drove us back to Venice to continue our adventure.
its jenn,,Philly airport: heckling,,meal sounds delish (hahah "rolled"),,,GOD that place is gorgeous.
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