Oct 30, 20233 min read

Wildest Dreams

October 29, 2023

I’m attempting to write this during a — layover (?? how do you call that when it's for trains??) — at Bologna Centrale Train Station. This has been a wonderful and wild week and a packed weekend.

On Friday, I woke up at 6am, opened a bottle of Prosecco, and listened to 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Rebecca, my friend from home who is staying with me this month, is not much of a Swiftie, but she is an angel joined me for the early morning listening party.

It was the perfect start to a (nearly) perfect day.

We got train tickets to Como, and ended up speed walking, then sprinting, to the station to get there on time. It was a smooth trip up, but when we got there we were dragging a little. We got lunch and I ate the best meatballs I’ve had since being here. Afterward we walked around the lake until we noticed a cable car heading up a mountain... We got on. It. They packed us in like sardines and we headed up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful view.

Living in the city has been tough for me. I’m used to the Snohomish valley, the rolling hills of the Palouse, and all the beauty that comes with living in the Pacific Northwest. Piacenza is great, but I’ve missed being able to see mountains, lakes, fields, and trees over the past few months.

A new highlight of my life: sipping an Aperol spritz in Brunate, looking at Como down below and getting a phone call from one of my best friends telling me she is pregnant (Congrats Danielle and Aahron🤍).

After our spritz we found “poetry way” — a trail from Brunate to Como. The trail was breathtaking, although my knees, shins, and feet are still in pain from carrying me down 500 meters of janky stone steps. We arrived to the train station right on time — the only problem was it was the wrong train station. So we had a hectic and long trip home. With dead phones. But more time to laugh and read I suppose!

We finally got back to Piacenza around 9:45, and I headed straight to my friend Ivana’s birthday party.

Have I mentioned how much I love my friends here? We had cake and Prosecco, we sang songs, we played darts (kind of) we laughed a lot, then we hit the town!

After a couple hours of much needed sleep, Saturday morning rolled around and Rebecca and I headed to Venice.

Venice is actually magical. The crowds overwhelmed me a bit, but we walked and water taxied and found quieter places to sit and soak in the scenery. The architecture there is out of this world. Can I say it felt like Disneyland a little bit?

This morning we found a relatively empty part of town and happened upon the cutest book shop and cafe. My dream is to open a coffee/wine bar/book store where I serve the wine that I’m here to learn to make, so this shop was about as close to heaven on earth as I could imagine.

To set the scene: There are tables outside looking out at the quiet canal. there are plants in the windows. You walk inside and see beamed ceilings and exposed brick walls. There are books everywhere. There’s cozy art hanging on the walls. There’s a minimalist food menu that features cicchetti, a Venetian specialty that’s basically toast with toppings, or what we would call bruschetta in America. They have a small specialty coffee menu with chai, which I’ve missed dearly. And the best part is, they opened this cafe to sell their own organic Prosecco, Lunatico.I could have stayed there all day. All weekend!

We ended up spending exactly 24 hours in Venice, and now I’m on the train and about an hour from home. I don’t know if I’ll ever fully process how much of a blessing it is to experience all that I’m experiencing. But I’m heading home to Piacenza with a thankful heart and tired eyes.

Como