Looking back on my past two weeks I have nothing but amazing memories of my house family, camp and the tutors. It was an incredible time for me and I am so grateful for such an amazing experience.
Let me begin with my house family. Silvano, Roberta, Floriana and Veronica were absolutely incredible. For the moment they picked me up at the train station I was instantly comfortable and in love with the family. They held themselves with such poise but were so friendly and welcoming, that even after a hot and sweaty train ride, I couldn’t help but smile and be chatty with them. They showed me the utmost best possible hospitality I have received. Every evening was a joy eating with them and sharing stories after dinner, often talking past 11pm. The Nonni were incredible as well. Unfortunately they spoke Milanese so I didn’t understand much of what they were saying but I tried to contribute as much as possible and often Silvano translated so we could have a semi-normal conversation. On the weekend they took me shopping, to Bergamo, Lake Como and I travelled to Milan as well. In between I had 2 nights out with the tutors (once to Gorgonzola and once bowling) and there wasn’t any hassle. Silvano said I was like another daughter to him which almost brought tears to my eyes. They reminded me so much of home and my family that I just gelled with them and enjoyed my time thoroughly. Floriana is so much like me, outgoing and always in a great mood. She is 16. I have offered for her to come to Canada and stay with me for awhile, I really hope next summer she seriously considers it. And Veronica (12) although a bit shy, she was awesome. Always smiling and throwing in her two cents. I just cannot say enough positive things about the family. I truly consider them my Italian family !
Bergamo was a beautiful city. I had never heard of it before but I am so glad I got the opportunity to visit it. Citta Alta is up in the mountains and you have to take a lift to get up there. Once you exit the lift you are submerged into a world of narrow streets, shops, cafes, a piazza, 2 cathedrals and lots of tourists! I had a lovely time just walking through the city. We didn’t buy anything but we did go into some of the shops and just relaxed, had some gelato and a very beautiful day. I love the pictures of Bergamo because it really is a pure Italian City that has wonder and culture wrapped into one.
Lake Como was a nice place as well. I wasn’t completely in awe of the lake, but I did love the mountains surrounding the lake and the fact that I could see Switzerland. Again, we walked around, shopped, had gelato and relaxed on a park bench for a while just soaking up the views of the lake and mountains. George Clooney has a home in Como and I saw the general area of where his home would be. Unfortunately, we didn’t merit an invitation to go and have a Martini together. We went for dinner on the lake which was a real treat. We got to see the sunset and I tried to take some pictures, but of course it didn’t capture the essence of the view. A storm was brewing unfortunately and we got caught in it at the restaurant. We had to take our dessert inside, and finish inside. When we were finished eating the rain was still coming down (of course we were parked far) so we stayed for an espresso, or in my case café latte. The rain still came down and the waiter brought us some Limoncello. The rain stopped and of course, me being chatty I wasn’t finished drinking so I had to shoot my limoncello, down my cafe latte and boot it to the car. It was an adventurous and relaxing day.
Milano was alright. The duomo was incredible and breathtaking. But other than that, not going to lie, I wasn’t blown away. The BIG sale was in effect so everything was on sale, so I did buy some jewelry for a euro and a cute skirt for a euro, but, other than that I didn’t go into crazy shopaholic mode. Which is probably a good thing, seeing as my suitcase is already jam packed.
The tutors were really great fun! Alison is from the US and she was great! A lot of energy and really was able to connect to the kids and get on their level. She is pretty sporty as well so she played with them at lunch a lot of the time as well. Victoria is from London England, and she was great fun! She actually did the voice for the Harry Potter video games, so obviously when I found out I kind of got really excited and had to video tape her doing some of the lines! She was a really cool girl though, and I hope when I visit London in September her and I can catch up and go out together. Mitch was the only guy but he didn’t seem to mind. His quick wit and sarcastic humor kept us all in great spirits and on our toes to shoot stuff back at him. He is from Montreal, so if I make it out of Ontario, I’ll def. give him a ring. Julie was really great as well. She’s from New Foundland and did ACLE 6 years ago. She is an artist by trade and did caricatures of all the kids which was a great treat for them. We worked well together and I had a really great time with them all. We are all very different people that seemed to share a bond and for two weeks were great friends. I hope to stay in touch with them as time moves forward.
All in all, I was very happy with my time in Pessano Con Bernago. I really hope I have the opportunity to travel to Italy again and visit my family again :)
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