I put the boys down for bed after their nightly routine and than Shelley and I hung out until it was time to depart at 1am! We drove to the designated area and found that the "bus" they had waiting for us wasn't really a bus, more like a van, but Iguess to the Germans, its a bus. So 17 souls squished there bodies into this very uncomfortable ride and took off. I am happy to report there were two very seasoned veterans of outings such as these and they were happy to give me all the notes on what they had learned. (Polish pottery here I come!) This would be their last trip out as they were PCSing back to the states in a matter of days.
We came across the Austrian/German border and kept right on through. We stopped again just across the Italian border for a coffee and pit stop. The mountains were beautiful! It was a holiday in Germany so many of the people traveling were Germans enjoying their time. I did forget that here you have to pay to go to the bathrooms. I am so not used to that. I guess if you live in the EU, you just learn to carry pocket money. What if you have no money? I don't like the argument that it keeps the toliets all clean and taken care of...two of the ones I paid for were disgusting and broken! But I digress....
After that we noticed the sun came out, the mountains showed nothing but old castles and structures on them, and we were feeling the vibe of just being in Italy. The colors changed, everything became dusted with a golden hue, the rivers we passed were clear water and a bunch of italian kids were playing like crazy in the warm water.
We were on schedule, because it was Saturday, the shops only stay open until about 1200 noon. We were set to be there about 9. Then we hit a traffic jam. Some car had rolled and we had to sit in traffic for almost three hours. Luckily, one of our veteran ladies called the shops and they agreed to stay open just for us!!! I like italians...did I mention that? After what seemed like forever we rolled into Nove. Its a very small town, but beautiful. Every buisness is adorned with a favorite saint or the Blessed Mother. We went to one shop called VBC. Its front entry had an Ave Maria grotto in it. Being Catholic myself I am very inspired by thier faith. And even the non-catholic members of the journey loved how these added to the atmosphere and culture of the people. I like italians. VBC is by far the most popular store and they make pottery for William Sonoma, Tiffany's and many other famous retailers. I was sure to stay away from that stuff though. I went merely to see what they have. I did find a few modest peices....a bowl to put fruit in, a serving tray with sunflowers, a huge turkey platter..... nothing too special, I will put up more pics later. But they have a great selection and I just was thrilled to be there. The prices are worth it because its whole sale, I mean you are at the factory!So people pay maybe a quarter (if that) of what you would normally if you ordered through a catalog. Note: you can not bake things in these dishes, they are servers only. I will wait for poland until I get some bakeware.
Then we went over to another shop called Aperto, who happens to be the brother of the guy of the first store. His shop was a little less clean and organized, but his prices were awesome and I found a few pieces with some charachter to them.
After visiting one more shop, we boarded our bus and went into Vincenza, a bigger town 15 min away from Nove. It has an American army post, Kaserne Elderle. Let this be a lesson to you all, italians eat later. Like, their restaurants don't open until between 6 and 7 at night. We couldn't find a place that was open. All we wanted was a plate of pasta! I mean, we were in Italy after all!
We found a restaurant that seated us and though their kitchen wasn't opened, they gave us some good food. A mozzerlla basil tomato salad, some sword fish and a seafood appetizer. The owner served us himself and he kept singing while he worked...reminds me of me....could I be italian? (I wish)
After our excellent feast, we got back on the bus. It was 6 at night! We were in for a long bus ride home! I didn't care however, I loved being there.
We ended up getting lost somewhere around Garmisch, Germany at 12:30 looking for a gas station. Thanks to that little detour, we didn't get in until a little before 4 am. I then had to drive to Shelley's house, sleep for about two hours, get the boys up, meet my friend at church to get Abby and try to stay awake the rest of the day. This is all very difficult when you think I didn't really sleep on that very uncomfortable bus at all.
3 comments:
How fun to have a solo trip!
I put the boys down for bed after their nightly routine and than Shelley and I hung out until it was time to depart at 1am! We drove to the designated area and found that the "bus" they had waiting for us wasn't really a bus, more like a van, but Iguess to the Germans, its a bus. So 17 souls squished there bodies into this very uncomfortable ride and took off. I am happy to report there were two very seasoned veterans of outings such as these and they were happy to give me all the notes on what they had learned. (Polish pottery here I come!) This would be their last trip out as they were PCSing back to the states in a matter of days.
I put the boys down for bed after their nightly routine and than Shelley and I hung out until it was time to depart at 1am! We drove to the designated area and found that the "bus" they had waiting for us wasn't really a bus, more like a van, but Iguess to the Germans, its a bus. So 17 souls squished there bodies into this very uncomfortable ride and took off. I am happy to report there were two very seasoned veterans of outings such as these and they were happy to give me all the notes on what they had learned. (Polish pottery here I come!) This would be their last trip out as they were PCSing back to the states in a matter of days.
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