Whitworths in Italy: Part One
After our fun little trip up into the mountains to visit Asiago, we began a very fun week of adventures together with Amber, Abby and Gwen.
Monday, October 2nd: We moved Gwen downstairs to sleep for Sunday night, since the girls were partying so late on the two previous nights, ha ha. We set her up on a foam mattress topper down in the living room, and this is what we woke up to Monday morning . . .
Bits of torn foam all over the place . . . LOL
We picked up one little dainty treat per person and sat outside near the fountain to eat them.
Later in the afternoon, the craft store was open, so we tottered off to pick up a couple things. The girls were completely in heaven with the beads and baubles section.
We picked up a few random buttons and beads that they could make into necklaces over the next few days. Amber found some extremely soft alpaca yarn to make into some mittens for her girls, along with a couple of crochet hooks. And then we walked to the Vaniglia gelateria two doors down for an afternoon gelato pick-me-up. :)
We spent less than 10 minutes in the park before the policeman came by, yelling at everyone to get out. It wasn't even close to 7 p.m., but we later learned that they close the parks at sunset, not necessarily at 7 p.m.
We brought some carrot sticks and carrot slices with us, and Gwen had just had some success with feeding a little black bunny before we had to exit.
We left the park and drove a short distance to drop off Nell's cake pan back to her. What should have been a quick errand turned into a fun evening walkabout in downtown Vicenza that was lovely and informative. Nell is like a walking encyclopedia and always has some interesting nuggets of local history to share with us. We walked all over the downtown area, and the girls were good sports to keep up with our longer legs.
Amber and I had fun calling my mom in Northern CA to sing "Happy Birthday" to her before we went to bed. I think we surprised her because she didn't know that Amber had made it to Italy yet, but having us both singing together over the phone made her very happy. :)
Tuesday, October 3rd: We got up and ready extra early because we had a very fun day ahead. We had a train to catch at 8:14 a.m. to take us to Bassano del Grappa. Scott dropped us off at the train station on his way to work, which is always so helpful. The girls were super happy to ride an actual train for the first time, different from the times they have ridden on a subway train in a few U.S. cities.
It was a special opportunity to finally share the land of our Bassano ancestors with my daughter and her daughters. As we walked past the statue of Jacopo da Ponte, I made a mental note to myself to do a little more research again to see if I can find the link between the "da Ponte" family and my Bassanos. I feel like deep down there IS a link, I just need to find it. He was a famous painter, while my Bassanos were musicians. I have seen the names Da Ponte and Bassano interchangeable within an article a couple of times, but no explanation for it so far.
Roaming the streets on our way to the river . . .
Video of the girls: (19 seconds)
Here is a blog post, written about the extraordinary Rhino:
We could see it through the locked gate, but could not get very close to it this time. We hope to squeeze in one more trip to Bassano before Amber and her family leaves Italy in a few weeks, and we will definitely go on a different day other than a Tuesday!
We moved on and made it to the famous Ponte Vecchio Bridge, designed by Andrea Palladio in the 1500's. The views from the bridge are just postcard pretty . . .
We walked along a nature path on the west side of the River Brenta, which opened up to several spots for us to stop and enjoy the peaceful scene for a while.
Another video of the scene: (30 seconds)
A little further up from our peaceful spot was a place we could climb and jump across some rocks to get closer to the cascades.
When our tummies started getting hungry, we headed back into town. Unfortunately, lunch isn't generally served in Italy until noon or 12:30, so we had to wait for a place to open their kitchen. There was a lovely spot to sit on a bench next to the Ponte Vecchio Bridge, and Amber pulled out her sketching supplies to crank out a hasty masterpiece.
That evening, we went back to the Bunny Park again with Scott. We ate an early dinner so we could get over there with enough time to feed the bunnies and wander around before the security guard started yelling at everyone to get out, ha ha.
Gwen had one goal: to feed a white bunny. She was very patient and tried to entice a few white bunnies, before she finally had success.
Video of Gwen feeding the white bunny: (21 seconds)
On the other hand, Abby just wanted to feed a bunny. ANY bunny. She was patient and gentle with each attempt, but for some reason the bunnies were a little more shy this time. She was disappointed as a whole, but she still enjoyed a few other adventures in the park.
Video #1 of Abby trying to feed a bunny: (28 seconds)
Video #2 of Abby trying to feed a bunny: (9 seconds) Our technique oftentimes was to try to coax the bunny to come closer by tossing a piece of carrot out, and then toss another one closer to us, etc.
The moat around the island within the park was FULL of turtles . . .
Video of the turtles and a nutria: (26 seconds)
More bunnies to try to share our carrots with . . .
And here's a cute photo of Avery to make your day. It sure made mine!!
Wednesday, October 4th: I brought Amber and the girls to one of my Wednesday in Italy activities. This is a group of ladies that we go on weekly field trips with. Marnie Parker knows a lady who has a glass-blowing shop in her garage near Cittadella and was willing to give us a demonstration. Her name is Sonia and she knows the same process of glass-blowing that has been done for centuries out on the island of Murano (next to Venice). She and her husband and their daughter work together to make beautiful things to sell.
There were about 16 of us in our group, but not very much space in the garage to safely fit us away from the heat of the oven, so we split up into two groups. The other group could peruse items for purchase outside, and then we switched after each demonstration.
Video #1: Sonia's husband spinning and finishing up a vase in the oven before he began a pumpkin for us. (16 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/EHa8MQonpHXFk8HA8
Video #2: Rolling the hot goo (for lack of a better term) in a tray with glass crystals of varying colors and composition, then back into the hot oven. (9 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/nStTvL9TxDkq9GQz6
Video #3: Sonia explaining that the silver or gold leafing that they sometimes use needs to be pure and of a specific composition, so it doesn't ruin the process. (23 seconds)
It was interesting to watch the pumpkin take shape. First, he had a small and long shape, like a hot dog. It slowly got longer and thicker as he added crystals and leafing to it. Later, he gently tapped the long shape on its end, which gave it more of a roundish and squatty shape. Eventually, it looked more like an actual pumpkin.
Video #4: This was my favorite part. He made the little curlique stem for the pumpkin. He made it look so easy!! (16 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/h8bQ7h1Ypdxphe1C7
Video #5: Clipping off the excess stem of the pumpkin after some firing process. (15 seconds)
Video #6: As he finished firing the pumpkin, Sonia explained that it needed to now sit for 24 hours to cure. (12 seconds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/6Yn6WLs856MZxRMU8
There are so many cool analogies to pull from this demonstration.
- We think we know the end from the beginning. But when we see a hot dog shape forming (i.e. ourselves) and we know it (we) should be a pumpkin, we may lose our faith or form some mistrust in the process (of our life). When really, what is happening, is that there is a Master who definitely knows what He is doing. We need to allow Him to shape and mold us into what we are truly meant to be.
- There are many "colorful" pieces and components that will be placed in our path of life. They are meant to enhance our journey and add some "spice" and "color" to our overall experience.
- We all need to go through a firing process in order to become glorified and brilliant. Some of us may need a little more firing in order to fully refine us, but it is not meant to hurt us. Instead, it is meant to help us become more perfect in the end, just as the Master lovingly intended.
Thursday, October 5th: We drove 5 hours north to Salzburg, Austria!! Stay tuned for the next blog post in a few days with all the details . . . I will be a little bit behind during the month of October. (nervous laugh)
In the meantime, let this darling video of Jack keep you fully entertained . . .
Jack - in the early days of his upcoming Master Chef career: (51 seconds)
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