When the train took off from Venice, I sunk into my seat and welcomed my exhaustion. I had held my fears close for hours, fighting off fits of loneliness and imagining worst case scenarios and how to deal with them, and now I realized that nothing could go wrong and soon I would be in Bassamo with Giulia and Jenny. I tried to listen to music and watch the scenery, but I was too busy recovering from my last day in Venice. So I put my feet up and counted the stops until finally I heard the conductor call out our final destination, Bassamo del Grappa.
I stumbled out of the train and saw Giulia’s fauhock and Jenny’s smile and literally fell into their arms. Finally here and finally everything is going to be easy for a minute. We hugged and laughed and took pictures underneath the sign for Bassamo, eagerly savoring our moments of excitement. We walked to her aunt’s house which was right across the street, walked up a staircase made of various colored marble, and set my things down in a bedroom of great windows. I stammered out a few stories and ran around the house, rushing to get ready to go out in Bassamo. We called Laura to say hello and then walked to a bar, bustling with excitement at how unreal it was for all of us to be together in Italy together.
Giulia is so proud of her hometown, and rightly so. Bassamo is a jewel, hidden away from the tourists of Italy. Its stone streets, lined with shops and restaurants, lead to the city’s river that spills out from the mountains. I was talking away at my girls, when Giulia says, “you have to see this” and leads me to a bridge. Mid-sentence, I stopped, struck by the beauty of my environment. Ponte Vecchio is a stunning old bridge made of cobblestones and strips of stone which pave the way to the other side. Since it is lit, when you look at the water, you can see the rich green color of the river and fish swimming upstream. This is Bassano: a tiny little village with a cosmopolitan feel. We walked back across the street and to the bar, where we met Giulia’s friends: Shumi, Tota, Paolo, Yoyo, Guido, and Carlotta. The night was spent drinking beers by the river, making jokes and dancing to “You Shook Me All Night Long” and Rage Against the Machine. When the bar closed down, we piled in Guido’s car and led a caravan of motorcycles and mopeds to Shindy.
Shindy is Bassamo’s late night club, where we drank mojitos and lounged all night. It is a mansion with various levels, both inside and outside. My favorite place in the club is a little terrace covered with Persian rugs and pillows, where you sit and overlook all the action, but can hear the people around you. I sat there with James, a British songwriter, sipping mojitos until it was time to go. We left the bar as dawn was breaking and while I was waiting for everyone to get to the car, I sat in a little field and enjoyed the morning. The sky between the mountains was turning a pale, luminous purple the silver light stuck the blades of grass.
We all piled into someone’s car and began the ride home, out of the woods by Shindy and the mountains on the outskirts of town. We came to a round about and Giulia insisted that we stop at this little coffee shop, where her mother would wrap up the nights when she was young. The owner was so glad to see us, so we stood for coffee and I continued chatting with James over a Macchiato and a brioche. When we left, we decided to walk from there, so we meandered through the streets in a silly, drunken stupor. Giulia humped a statue of Mary outside of her elementary school and I did a back bend to get rid of my hiccups. That night, we all three slept at her aunt’s house with the huge windows open and the morning breeze blowing in.
The next morning when I woke up, I made arrangements to go to Rome two days later so that I could go back to Venice with the girls. They told me they were going the night I arrived, so I went ahead with my arrangements so that I would be able to go with them. To me, this time with them is priceless. After that, I woke up Jenny and we went to meet Giulia at her Noni’s house. She lives on the other side of the Ponte Vecchio bridge and to get there we walked through a bustling Saturday market. We bought beautiful purple orchids for her and joined her for lunch. She made a cold risotto from ground peas and fresh veggies with tomato sauce as a side. We talked and laughed with her until she was ready for her nap. Noni is such a special lady. She is so happy and personable. It is really a pleasure to be around her. She is all smiles and welcomes, very sincere with her hospitality. She loves to cook and hug you and ask you about yourself. She never wants to stop learning, which is why she has taught herself English and insists on practicing with people. She also never compromises on her happiness, which is why I really admire her outlook on life.
After lunch we went down to the pool and relaxed for a couple hours, soaking the sun and making plans for our trip to Venice. When we were done, we walked around Bassano and took lovely pictures along the river. Along the way, I smelled the roses in a neighbor’s garden and walked in the chilly river. We took pictures of the mountains and the rapids from the bridge and Giulia pointed out the holes in the buildings from WWII bullet holes. We took a bus to a small town called Marostrica, which is known for its life sized chess match. They have posters and postcards of it: the spectators dress in Renaissance clothing and the knights ride real horses along the board. At the end of the match, they set off fireworks from the castle above on the mountain. We walked around the town, stopped in a clothing shop, bought fresh fruit and had coffee in the square.
We left Marosica and headed for aperitivo and beers in Bassano. I was most impressed with Tulia’s friends at Bar Breda. They made us delicious food and welcomed us with open arms. My favorite people were Carlotta’s father, the owner of Breda. He loves to entertain his friends with theatrical displays, like opening up huge bottles of Prosecco by slicing off the top with a sword. We ate bruscetta, flat breads covered with runny cheese and prochutto, and little ham sandwiches. When we had had our fill of laughs and food, we went to another bar to meet some of Giulia’s friends, then I broke off to go back to her aunt’s place for a shower. I got dressed and relaxed for a minute before joining them up at another bar. The night continued with drinks and parties all over town. We went to Sotto by the river, to a bar at the top of a mountain, and then to Shindy which was hosting a random gothic party. We watched the sun come up that morning and enjoyed watching Giulia soak in all of the joys of her home. Maybe it was the hospitality or the cleanliness of this city, but this is my favorite city in Itlay so far. It is, without a doubt, an undiscovered jewel of a town.
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