I have done quite a bit of wandering around beautiful towns on the coast of Lake Garda this week. I meant to blog on each, but at the end of the day was tired and dinner with the man was a much cozier option. Things have been cold here but despite the cold this week has been fabulously sunny. It totally reminds me of the perfect fall days in Maryland where the trees are yellow and red and the air smells great like fresh dew mixed with rotting leaves and fireplaces being lit for the first time. Ok, rotting leaves might not be the best example but there is something soothing about the smell of the fallen leaves...fallen souls? Ok, there is no way to make that sound nice but I think they smell sweet. To make things short and fast here is a quick rundown of my excursions this week. I am sure I won't be able to do this every week but the break from fog propelled me out of the house everyday.
Wednesday: I went to Cremona determined to visit a palace and learn about its history. So I tip toed into the orange colored Palazzo Trecchi that has been in the same family since 1494. In 1843 the descendant, Marquis Alessandro Trecchi, who still lived there, decided to do a full remodel of it. He hired the people best trained in 14th century art to reconstruct the entrance, portico, stairs, etc. They finished in 1916, but it got destroyed soon after. The SS German soldiers came in 1943, demanded the family to get out and occupied it till 1946 leaving it in "deplorable conditions" according to the family. It took them till 1989 to get the home back to its original condition.
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| The entrance to Palazzo Trecchi |
War is terrible...I feel so sad for all of the history destroyed by the World Wars here: homes, palaces, documents...all irreplaceable things that tell the story of the history of the people. Anyway, after that I went to the Civic Library to continue my reading on the area of Cremona where I discovered (shocking) that in 1038 there was a HUGE war between the city of Brescia and Mantova to control Cremona. Brescia, being the larger and dominated by the Visconti family, won and the ruler then, Count Visconti, was crazy and loved watching rabid dogs tear apart the people of Cremona (ruled by the Gonzaga family). It is so sad and insane to think of these two towns, so close together and with such a bloody past. Today I visited the Visconti house...and I am also reading a book on the main castle of Brescia and its secrets. All of these things connect like a huge complicated relationship or puzzle.
Thursday: It was still sunny. And Turkey Day. And Toilet Day. See, each day of the week corresponds to something. Laundry Monday, Iron Tuesday, Kitchen Thursday, Toilet (bathrooms and bedroom) Thursday, and Floor Friday. It keeps the house clean as a whistle and keeps me from having one horrendous "cleaning day" where I end up hating life itself. So, while I was cleaning the bathrooms I thought of a few things that I am thankful for, and still remember them...mind you...the toilet cleaning products have strong fumes:
1. Toilet cleaner: I am thankful that they keep the toilet polished. But I do wish manufactures could come out with something that smells more gentile like vanilla, jasmine or gardenia...just saying it would be nice.
2. Squanto: I think he made a big mistake teaching the pilgrims to plant the corn and fish together. He had no idea that they would one day send his people packing on the trail of tears where over 80% of them died. But I am thankful for his open spirit, kindness that eventually brought the great US of A to be the country who opens its doors to any person and gives them a chance in life. No other country does that. Squanto started this tradition and I think he should be made a saint. Saint Squanto, it has a nice ring to it.
3. Art: it makes life beautiful and worth enjoying. I have loved reading, visiting and learning about the history of my region in Italy and none of it would have happened if some of the art hadn't made me think "what does that mean?" My soul feels richer and fuller than a Prada purse full of cash at the end of some deep artistic adventure.
4. Flat boots: boy am I glad flat leather boots are in style in Italy. I love boots with passion and the leather keeps my feet warm and walking for miles and miles.
Ok, those are a few things I am thankful for. The entire list won't make it on the blog...it would take a long time. The fog should get an honorable mention for looking spooky and making sunny days so much nicer.
We didn't roast a turkey but the most amazing cook in the world took me on a date to get ice cream in Lazise, the ice-creamery was closed but there was a pretty sunset. We went home and he cooked up a 5 course dinner with my favorite things including french fries.
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| Sunset in Lazise |
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| Swans and a sunset = perfect evening |
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| Wait? swans, sunset, and my favorite food? I might just marry this guy.. |
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| Two fishes for two lovebirds.awww... |
Friday: It was sunny!!! Ode to Joy should have played as the sun rose. I tagged along with my hubby in the morning and had him drop me off in Salo' for the day. I got double the vitamin D from the sun reflecting on Lake Garda. It was lonely like an abandoned old western movie. I hung out for a few hours writing in a little journal I stashed in my purse, then I took the number 007 bus that runs from Salo' to Desenzano at 217 PM. The driver was terrible: he went in the opposite lanes while singing along to Britney Spears, then cackled on the phone for another 20 minutes. Jerk. He got to Desenzano late and the bus to take me home had just taken off so I walked an hour to get home from there.
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| Salo' from the top |
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| 2 helpings of vitamin D. I got 2 suns and twice the tan and twice the happiness! |
Saturday: Today was sunny again. We decided to go to the castle of Lonato to check it out. It was built in the 10th century and has a great view of Lake Garda and the town of Lonato.
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| Inside the castle |
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| My wish |
The Visconti family built a pretty nice house next to it in the 14th century that was later bought in around 1900 by a dude called Ugoda Como. Mr. Como loved books and every chest, armoir, closet and even prayer bench is stuffed with old books. When I say old I mean incunabula, pre-15th century. My jaw dropped and I told the tour guide that these books desperately need to be conserved in the right way. I wanted to hug them, tell them it would be ok, them put them in the right boxes and in a temperature controlled room. They were flopped sideways looking like dying bodies. So sad. I couldn't take any pictures in the house. There were 5 dining rooms (Italians love to eat) and each room had books, there were 2 official libraries where the books were stashed from inside the benches to the top of the walls and even in the corners. I wanted to buy a big bed in Ikea, top it with creatively made pillows and plop it in the middle of the main library room. There was a small garden outside overlooking the city but small enough to be hidden and left undisturbed. Bentley and Fatty would love to live there. Then I could designate one dining room for each type of food I like: Mexican food, Italian Food, Burgers and BBQ, Seafood and one for desserts. I think that would be good enough for me.
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