I would have million things to tell you but it's a bit difficult to remember all after a half a year... I'll try, and the pictures tell the rest!
We, meaning me and my then boyfriend (my now husband), flew to Milano and stayed in Chiari mostly, where the family of my Italian friend lives. We stayed at aunt Rosi's in her beautiful home. I still wonder how the Italian houses are so elegant and stylish. Rosi has a spaceous home, and on the first floor, she has her sewing shop (she's a dressmaker). How convenient is that! Also the parents of my friend have their laundry in the first floor and they live upstairs. I admit to be a bit envious of that every time I'm driving a minimum of 25 minutes to work...
I got a sneak peak of the Northern Italian hospitality on my first trip to Italy in August 2012. I enjoy the cultural exchange and the language learning. I took an intensive Italian course in the university during last summer and it has definitely paid off! Italian is not too difficult to learn for a Finn who knows her French. This time it was possible to communicate somewhat with also the relatives who don't speak English. And my Italian got way better after the third glass of wine or grappa...
Chiari is a nice small town in the province of Brescia in Lombardia. The center is small and the roads are like a labyrinth. We visited Bergamo and actually got engaged there. This is our engagement photo, though the photographer, my friend did not know it at the time... There was a world's market going when we were visiting. I found some jewelry there, and of course, nice big blocks of speck!
On the third day we hopped on a train to Firenze - oh, I love the speedy trains, it feels as you're floating in the air. Firenze is so picturesque that it's difficult to even describe it. Luckily we had my friend as a guide, because otherwise it would have been impossible to choose what to see. There are so many beautiful places in Firenze and how do you choose the best places if you have only one day to spend in there? And yes, I know it's Florence in English but why to call it so if it's Firenze in Italian (and in Finnish)? Same applies to Milano, Toscana etc.
In Firenze, we walked up to a hill where you can see all over the city. Nice view to look at when you're enjoying your lunch in the open air.
We stayed a few days in an agriturismo in Toscana. The weather wasn't too sunny but quite ok. Who wants to walk around if it's +35C degrees? And when there's plenty of good food and wine, I really can't complain. I've become
In Toscana, we also saw Pisa but wasn't a major, life-changing place. It's one of those places that you should see but after you have, there's nothing too special about it. The tower is beautiful but the city itself is quite touristic, if you ask me. There are beautiful architecture to see in Pisa but not worth all the talk, I think.
One of my favourite places that we saw during the trip was Siena.
Siena has the weird horse-riding tradition and this is the square where they run.
Back in Chiari we visited a farm that produces cheeses. And this is a small producer! The cheese consumption must be zillions of kilograms!
We also visited the Lago d'Iseo. There was quite a fog over the lake which made photographing not so easy.
We briefly visited Milano, too. Here are a glimpse of the railway station and the cathedral Duomo di Milano. Beautiful architecture, isn't it, but how on earth they could've installed a huge screen for advertising on the side of the cathedral?
I'm so in love with Italy that even the views that are a little shabby look charming to me...
All in all, I can say that the trip was amazing plunge to the Italian culture. I wish to be able to pay it back sometime. Ciao, arrivederci!
And why this is in English? Well, my Italian is not yet that good!
