Tour of Vicenza & Some Asiago Cheese
This was a much quieter week, something that was much appreciated. We stayed in the Vicenza area and I became more of a homebody again, which was nice. On the weekend, Scott and I drove up into the mountains for a day trip to Asiago. It was truly amazing and I learned that Asiago is now my new favorite place in Italy. :)
I've shared a couple of websites below for more information about Andrea Palladio and the history of his great works here in Vicenza, including an article that RICK STEVES wrote about Vicenza and Palladio.
This next villa had a unique feature that made me smile. This is the entrance gate where someone would ring or knock upon arrival. If the servants didn't want to (or couldn't get there quickly enough) hurry down to see who it was, there was a secret spying hole through which they could see who was standing below . . .
Here are those 2 websites if you want to know more about downtown Vicenza and the history of Palladio here:
When the tour was over, several of us walked a couple blocks over to a gelato cafe to get a sweet treat. It was different than the other gelaterias that I've been to because in this one you couldn't see the gelato through the big glass window as you step inside. They were all covered up with individual aluminum lids so you couldn't see the colors or the flavors . . . The flavors were all listed on the wall above, but it didn't do me much good because I didn't know what 95% of them meant, ha ha.
I could ask for one cup (coppetta), size medium (media), and that one of my 2 (due) scoops needed to be Limone. As for the other flavor, I just shrugged and indicated that I didn't know what to do. She said, in Italian, something along the lines of, "Do you want something fruity or cream based?" (I could pick out a couple words here and there) I answered that I'd like something cream based (latte). She made a couple of suggestions in Italian . . . but when I gave her a blank stare with a crooked smile in return, she offered me a sample of something she was trying to recommend. It was amazing! I indicated with "sign language" and gesturing that I wanted THAT one! (whatever IT was) It was a vanilla gelato with chunks of stuff in it, maybe some caramel and chocolate chunks of some sort. But it sure was yummy!
I exited the cafe with my 2 scoops of gelato for $3.50. A happy ending to a happy evening.
On Wednesday, I laid low for the day, due to exhaustion. I didn't do anything exhausting to speak of on Monday and Tuesday, but Wednesday I woke up with a big headache and lots of pressure in my head. I literally stayed in bed the entire day in my pajamas, only getting up to eat or use the bathroom. I was so tired, and considerably dizzy, too. It felt really nice to do nothing for a day.
On Thursday, I woke up with only a slight headache, but I felt much better after a shower. I had an appointment for a haircut and color with Antonella, and I didn't want to miss that!
It only took 3.5 hours from start to finish . . . LOL
Antonella took a bunch of pictures so we could share the experience with Tessa, my hairstylist back in Idaho Falls. Tessa was so happy to be a part of everything! :)
I'm going to try to post an audio clip that she left on my Whatsapp messaging so you can hear just how darling she is with her Italian accent. (hopefully this link works . . . ) (51 seconds)
That, of course, was the main event on Wednesday. The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent getting a few groceries, preparing a meal, and relaxing with Scott in the evening.
On Friday, I worked on Avery's Quiet Book for a good portion of the day. I opened up my new sewing machine and put it to work for the first time. Everything works great! I'm having a good time working on the last couple of activity pages for her . . . and I'm hopeful that it will all be done in time for her birthday in one month.
I also worked on my primary lesson for the 5-6 year old class at church, and did some family history research, too. Our Bishop's wife, Katie, asked me earlier in the week if I could teach her primary class for the next 6 weeks. She had a family emergency back in the United States and needed to leave right away and won't be back for about 6 weeks. Their oldest son is really struggling at college and needs some family support for a while. I told her I was happy to help her out with her class and she was so grateful.
That evening, Scott took me out to dinner. During the summer months that I was home in Idaho, he loaned our Peugot station wagon to one of his buddies at work. Their car had been in an accident and was not driveable, and would not be driveable for some time. It worked out nicely that we had this extra car to share with their family, since I was gone. Just before I came back over to Italy, his friend brought the car back to us along with several gift cards as a token of their appreciation. One of those gift cards was for a nearby restaurant - a favorite of theirs - so that's where we chose to go for dinner.
As we were about to enter the restaurant, we happened to run into this friend's wife, Andrea. They live closeby and always order pizza from this same family restaurant every Friday night. It was nice to meet her in person for the first time. She is super cute and super friendly. I think we are going to be good friends. Her husband is gone on a deployment right now, so we chatted for a bit before Scott and I went inside to sit down.
We were greeted several times by all the employees as we were led through the restaurant to our table. It was so nice to hear "Buona sera" over and over. We felt really special and welcomed.
We ordered mussels for an appetizer, and they brought out some adorable bibs for us to wear. They even offered to help us put them on, ha ha. The mussels were sitting in a large bowl with a tomato-based broth in the bottom. We found that if we dipped the mussel meat into the broth it made them taste oh-so-amazing!!
Saturday was the best day of the week for sure! We slept in a little bit, which was nice, and then we headed up into the mountains north of us to visit a darling little town called Asiago. The population is roughly 6,500. It is just the cutest, most charming little place!!
It only takes just over an hour to get to Asiago from our house, but boy is it an exciting drive! There are multiple switchbacks and the views are breathtaking. I couldn't get a good picture of the expansive views of the valleys below because of the guard rail that was blocking my view . . . but I suppose having a guard rail is more important than me needing a picture.
Here are some photos of our drive through the beautiful fall foliage that is up in the mountains right now.
Video of the horse and the surrounding hillsides: (18 seconds)
Coming into Asiago, it was every bit the charming town that I had anticipated. Something that I didn't anticipate was how much of an Austrian influence the houses would have. After I learned last week that Italy didn't become Italy until 1861, other bits of history are starting to make more sense now. The Austro-Hungarian empire had a big influence in this region through many centuries, which is evident in the architecture of Asiago, high up in the mountains.
The long white pieces are asparagus. There are also mushrooms, ham and cheese. (*Our friends later explained to us that the Italians do some sort of storing process with the asparagus that prevents it from turning green. I'll have to look into that . . .)
The railway began in 1910 as a way to transport people and goods to and from the high plateau. It connected 4 communities together, but could only travel up to 10 km per hour . . . Due to war and the introduction of more modern methods of transport, it was discontinued in 1958. Later the tracks were converted into a hiking/biking path which is enjoyed by many people throughout the year.
In the center of the Park, we passed this monument as we began on the trail.
A cute touristy train came tooting along the path at one point, full of passengers: (19 seconds)
Since the Trail is not a circular route, we decided to just walk until we felt like we had had enough, and then we'd turn around and head back. We walked for about 90 minutes to see what we could see . . .
Scott found a different way for us to get back to our car, using Google Maps as our guide. It took us through the countryside instead of through the forest and the little towns.
Of course, that also meant we would be walking where all the cows have also walked recently . . .
As we got closer to Asiago, we noticed a HUGE monument off in the distance. (click on the photo to zoom in) I remembered reading about a WWI Memorial in town and wondered if this was the same one.
Short video of Asiago as seen from the height of the monument: (25 seconds)
We went inside and had to pause to take it all in. This was truly one of the most beautiful and magnificent military memorials we have ever seen!! It was divided into several large corridors, with really long rows of name after name on individual plaques.
Scott noted that on the map when we first walked in, there didn't appear to be anything behind the names, just some large "empty" blocks behind the names. He wondered if there was anything inside . . . (more on that in a minute)
Beauty everywhere, in spite of the reason why the Memorial was built in the first place.
At the opposite end is an open door that draws your eyes to the surrounding pastural farmlands. They quietly offer a subtle peace, a feeling of healing, and a hope in the future.
As we left the Memorial and started walking back down the hill to our car, we noticed this sign off to the side. There was another gravel hiking trail that began there and I was curious where it led to.
That's when we got an answer to Scott's earlier question of what else might be taking up so much space within the walls of the Memorial. Thank goodness for an explanation that was in ENGLISH!!
Wow. That made our experience even more special to learn those important details!!
Our last stop in Asiago was to visit the Cheese Factory. We had walked right past it earlier as we made our way back to our car after that long hike, but didn't realize what it was at the time.
It was our turn now, so we pointed to the poster on the wall and indicated that we wanted some of the Asiago Alpine Grun cheese, even though we had no idea what it was, ha ha. The girl helping us spoke zero English, so she just indicated with her sharp knife on the giant cheese wedge to see if that was a good amount for us. Looked good to me!
She wrapped it up for us and rang us up at the register. I asked her to add in a little container of something called "Crema di Asiago" that was behind the glass case next to the cashier. Again, I had no idea what it was, but hey, I was feeling adventurous! The wedge of cheese cost us $6.50 and the "crema" was another $2.70.
The next day, when I gave them each a try, I definitely enjoyed the Asiago cheese. It's very mild and would go very nicely with grapes, if they were still in season. I'll have to pair them with apple slices instead.
The "Crema di Asiago" was interesting . . . I didn't like it as much. It's supposed to be like a cream cheese, but it was pretty soft, almost like spreading a thick Cool Whip onto your cracker. It didn't have a lot of flavor either, but when I dipped some garlic/butter croutons into it, wow, now that was tasty! That's when I realized that maybe I'm supposed to flavor the cream cheese with herbs and spices to my own liking and they just provided me with a base of sorts. I'll have to do some experimenting in the next few days. :)
In the brochure (in English!) that I picked up before leaving, I learned that Asiago, Italy is literally where Asiago cheese came from originally!! They have also won numerous international awards for their alpine cheeses, some of the finest in the world!! Wow. I'm so impressed.
And then we drove home to Vicenza.
Coming back down the mountain, and seeing again just how high up we were, was nuts!! If there was somewhere safe to pull over and get a photo, I would have done it. I saw one place that could be a possibility for next time though.
Not my best shot, but here is a glimpse of a vineyard as we sped around a curve coming down into the valley.
After church, Scott and I worked together in the kitchen to prepare a meal to drop off for the Bishop (since his wife is gone for a while) and we also made a separate dessert to take to dinner at the Parkers later that evening.
We made "Cheesy Beef and Rice", a favorite of Scott's for several years. You brown some ground beef, sautee some rice/shredded carrots/fresh garlic, and then add beef broth and seasonings and simmer for a few minutes. Put it all together, and then bake it in the oven (covered) for about 45 minutes. Take off the foil and add some shredded cheese on top and bake until the cheese is all melty. It's SO GOOD. We made a double batch so that the Bishop could have a nice meal this week with his 2 older kids that are still here in Italy. (His wife took the 2 youngest children with her back to the U.S. since she was home-schooliing them.)
Then we drove up one of the many hills surrounding Vicenza to have dinner with the Parkers. They had also invited the sister missionaries to join us. We sat outside on their comfortable porch as the sun set and dusk settled in. It was lovely.
Kevin grilled some chicken, while Marnie made some fresh homemade bread, pasta with cannelini beans (popular here in Italy) and melted Parmesan, roasted Brussels sprouts, and fresh fruit. It was super yummy!
For dessert, I made my layered pudding dessert again, since it was such a hit when the Garners were here.
Recipe can be found here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ybGtLLrQG52FJ5oJ8
As part of my own conversion, I am trying to listen closely to the Holy Ghost when He speaks to me. To be converted, in my mind, means to make whatever lifestyle changes are needed in order to follow the Savior Jesus Christ. It's more important to follow Him than to worry about what anyone else thinks of me. I'm okay to stand out, to be different, and to stand on my own if it means that I am following Jesus Christ. Ultimately, I want to "impress" my Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ by doing what is right as much as possible.
I feel like I have been converted many times in my life. Typically I have been moved to do something life-changing, such as finding a new group of friends to surround myself with, or start going back to church (after I stopped going for a few months), or make reading my scriptures a daily habit. Other times, while still life-changing, the act itself was a seemingly small thing.
For example, when I was in Virginia back in February of 2020 on my big family history tour up the East Coast. I was staying with an AirBnB host who also happened to be a Baptist minister. He corralled me into a lengthy and intimidating "discussion" (more like an interrogation) of what my religious beliefs were, and made me feel like I was in trouble the entire time. I was very upset afterwards, wondering yet again why people even do this! I would never make someone feel like their religious beliefs are wrong!! Instead, I'm always interested in finding out what they believe and I try to gain some understanding. I am naturally curious and I like to learn about other cultures, religions, and belief systems.
The life-changing moment came the following day when I encountered someone else . . . I went into the "Oldest (brick) Church in the U.S." in Smithfield, Virginia (St. Luke's Church). A lady greeted me as I inquired when the next tour was due to begin. She asked where I was from, and when I told her I was from Idaho, she was surprised as to why I would be all the way across the country in tiny little Smithfield, VA. I shared that I was doing family history and visiting some of the places where my ancestors used to live.
That's when she launched into a mini tirade about "those Mormons" and why are they so obsessed with family history, etc. As she went on and on, I heard the Holy Ghost whisper to me to open my mouth. I didn't really want to say anything after the grilling I had received the night before from my AirBnB host. But after some patient and loving promptings, I finally did open my mouth to share what I believe. I told the lady that I am a Mormon, even though that's just a nickname and that the real name of our church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I told her that we believe in the power of families, that we are all part of God's eternal family, and that we believe in finding out who our family members are and the strength that comes from being gathered and connected, identified and known.
She was instantly contrite and apologetic, which surprised me. I told her it was no problem. But that was a life-changing moment for me. A conversion. I learned that things aren't always perfect when people have different beliefs, and that there will be times where my beliefs will be put under the microscope. I ought not to shut down completely and put my head in the sand, but instead I need to trust in God, in Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost to help me, to inspire me, and to teach me what to do in those moments.
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