After leaving Venice (and we were glad to go with the high water coming in and the rain--see pictures at the bottom) we took the train up to Trento, near the German speaking area of Italy. We were extremely fortunate to make contact with Patrizia and Giorgio, another family of Servas hosts who agreed to have us come stay.
We got to the station in Pergine (near Trento) and Giorgio picked us up and drove us the 10 minutes up the hill to their home in the tiny village of Penedalo. We had a lovely dinner of vegetable soup, bread, cheese and Spek (a local cured pork). Giorgio speaks english fluently with a perfect British accent which he maintains by watching a lot of British and American movies.
We had planned to stay only one night and then move on to our next host, but, thankfully, Giorgio and Patrizia invited us to stay another night and have a 'day off,' just hiking in the hills around Penedallo. We hiked up to a nearby lake and learned that this area had been a very important silver mining region in the middle ages and the mine shafts are seen all throught the woods. The area is very beautiful with many surrounding hills and higher snowcapped peaks of the Dolomites (part of the Alps) seen in the background.
We enjoyed relaxing at their home and using the computer to blog! Rory and Jasper really liked Noce (pronounced Noche) the guinea pig who is very friendly, so much so that he crawled up Jasper's pant leg and Jasper had to take off his pants to set Noce free.
The second night we had a 'spactaculo' with all the kids performing; Simone, age 4, started out with 'the Pirate Song.' We didn't understand all the words but we really enjoyed the gusto of the presentation. Then came Bianca on the Cello (or Violincello as the say it). What a lovely sound. Then Ana entertained us with some acrobatics. Rory finished up with a performance of her latest song and dance routine that she's writing. Jasper couldn't be persuaded to do anything. Finally, I had to get out the guitar and sing a couple of songs.
The next day, we all went in to Trento, after Patrizia made Panini for all of our lunches. Trento is a lovely quaint town with a definite German flair. The neighboring Alto Adige, still predominantly German speaking, was part of the Austrian Empire until 1918 when it was annexed by Italy after World War I. The city itself has been successively ruled by Romans, Ostrogoths, Byzantines, Lombards and Francs, eventually becoming part of the Holy Roman Empire in 1027. It's famous for the council of Trent, in which the Catholic church tried to come up with reforms to staunch the flow of the faithfull to protestantism in 1545.
Now, although it's a part of Italy, Trentino and Alto Adige are autonomous provinces and retain much of their local control. The city is very picturesque with many frescoed buildings and a huge fountain of of Neptune with his Trident (the name Trento derives from the Roman name, Tridentum, referring to the three jagged peaks that surround the city).
Thanks Giorgio, Patrizia, Bianca, Ana, and Simone for a wonderful visit!
So now we are inside your blog. I'm really proud of it! Thanks Rod for reserving to us such a big space.
ReplyDeleteNow you have at least five more eager readers of your adventures.
I like the photos, in particular the one with Rod and the goose, and the two with Rory and Jasper at home, Rory watching the computer and Jasper on the hanging chair in the sun.
It was really good to have you with us. On saturday evening home seemed so empty to all of us.
Simone keeps saying that he wants to catch the train with you once.
We all enjoyed the show on friday evening, in particular I liked to see Rory dancing and all of you singing together, thanks for that as well. I think I won't listen to Paul Simon without thinking of your version of Graceland, I really liked it. I long to hear Jasper playing his violin, will it ever happen?
So, I hope you understood at least something of what I wrote. It's been ages since the last time I tried to write in English.
I'll keep reading your blog.
Ciao for now
Patrizia