I stole that title from Kurt. He's much more clever than I am. Regardless, we woke up on Saturday morning, our last day in Italy, to crisp, blue skies. The storm from the day before had really done a great job of clearing the air. I cannot describe to you how excited Kurt was about the clarity. Apparently, it was hardly ever like that when he lived there and we absolutely had to go back to Montevecchia for the view. To show you the difference, look at the next two pictures. We unintentionally took a photo from the same point, the first from Thursday and the second on Saturday.
Isn't it insane how crisp the mountains look?! The first picture is "normal" for the area too. I feel like I cheated the system a little bit. Kurt lived there for almost a year and rarely saw such views. I was there for a few days and was lucky enough to witness it!
It was such a beautiful sunny morning as we drove to the top of Montevecchia. The rain had even cooled the temperatures a bit. It was such a gorgeous day, it made me not want to leave Italy!
View towards Milan
Foothills of the Alps
After we took in all the gorgeous views possible, Kurt and I set off to visit his first host family and have lunch at their house. The parents, Darrio and Rosi, live in such a fun apartment complex. There was a nice pool and tennis courts practically in their backyard. One son, Diego, lives next door with his wife Clea and their two sons, Tomasso and Filippo. The other son, Matteo, also lives nearby. We had a delicious lunch and I got to hear all sorts of stories from Kurt's exchange. The visit made me realize how gratifying but ultimately terrifying it would be to do an exchange. I felt so out of sorts the few days I was there. I can't imagine being thrown into a family who you know nothing about and can barely communicate with. You could not have asked for a better starter family but I'm sure it was a trying experience. It must really stretch your ability to adapt and reconsider your comfort zone. I wish I had even been open minded enough to consider such an opportunity. Do you think a family would be interested in a 24 year old architect?! Am I past the age limit?! But I want to live in Europe!
Anyway, after we left the Mascazzini's house, Kurt and I stopped by his second host family's house. Unfortunately, we were running short on time and only his host mother was home. We visited with her and her friend shortly. His host mother really didn't speak any English, so she and Kurt mainly caught up in Italian. I can generally follow some conversations a little bit (especially when I know Kurt's responses) but she spoke so quickly I could not keep up. We couldn't stay long and had to leave to head to Monza to meet Claudio's parents. We were returning the car they trustfully let us borrow and then heading to the train station. Sadly, we had to leave Italy behind :(
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