Our "Relaxing" Weekend

I use the word relaxing lightly, you can't relax too much when in the middle of a once and a lifetime opportunity to be abroad! This past weekend we had Friday off school, so the majority of our program went to Rome. Hannah and I are meeting my mom and Aunt there in April, though, so we decided to spend the weekend closer to Paderno!

We have a beautiful view of Mount Grappa out of our dorm window, so naturally we had to hike it. Thursday night we carbo-loaded with the best pizza we've had in Italy yet! It was from the next town over, and well worth the walk.

Spinach and Ricotta

YUM!  

We woke up early on Friday and began the trek up! After around 2 ½ hours we could see the top, however it then took us 30 minutes of hiking through knee deep snow to reach the peak.

Almost to the "Cima"- peak

Literally climbing to the top

We were cracking up the whole time thinking, "Are we actually doing this right now?" We finally reached the top, and we were greeted by breathtaking views of the Swiss Alps. Mt. Grappa was the sight of multiple battles during WWI, and it is now a memorial to the Italian and Austria-Hungarian soldiers who lost their lives.

Memorial

We ate lunch at the restaurant on top, but instead of giving you a menu they just tell you what is available for the day. In Italian.  Luckily I am taking an Italian for Travelers class here, so we managed to order polenta with cheese, it tasted great! We went down the mountain a different way than we came up so that we would end in a town next to Paderno called Crespano del Grappa. We ended our adventure with the obvious choice, gelato!

Saturday we took the train into Verona, about an hour and a half away from our school. Verona is a beautiful city, we spent the day walking around the Verona Arena and shopping on the marble streets. The city has a very authentic Italian feel, which made it one of my favorite cities we've been to!

Entrance to Verona's main Piazza

Juliet's Tower

We're spending our rainy Sunday loading pictures, doing laundry, and getting ready for the week of classes. The weekend was exactly what we needed, and it is the last weekend we have planned to stay in Paderno! I can't believe we are already halfway done with our time in Europe, it is FLYING by.

Love you all!
-Megan