Que Bella Brescia!

From the 20^th to the 24^th of May, Simone took us – Andreas our Sweden housemate, Federica their Italian workmate and myself – to his native town, Bella Brescia, in a valley, somewhere nearby Milano and Veneza.

For the three of us it was four days of being child again, following papa Simone through the airport, being awaken in the morning, fed and took from one place to another.

Four days of joy. We went around the mountains and the lakes of Brescia by car, under the sun or under the stars, with the warm wind blowing through the windows. We hung out with plenty of Italians, friends of Simone, friends of friends... We had naps in the afternoon, coffee in the evening and heavy dinner before going out until the early morning.

We arrived in Brescia on Friday morning. My first Italian meal was a 45 centimetres pizza with loads of the hot oil from the south of Italia. Simone ordered the “Pizza Americana”: a portion of chips (=French fries) and hot-dog sausage sprinkled on the dough. Let’s put it like this: it is the worldwide face of America in Europe.

We met a crowd of Italian in a cosy caffè. There I had my first Italian macchiato. After a nap, we gathered there with Campari and joined the group for dinner. Again: Pasta, risotto, pizza, espresso, Limoncello... The four of us from London, Simone’s sister Vanessa and few other Italians went dancing at Madame FF and ended the night on the bank of the enormous Lago di Garda...

On Saturday we joined the same group for a fair in the country side. Kind of a “Party de la Saint-Jean” at St-Alphonse-Rodriguez, but with Italians, pasta de Salmi, torta and ham... I rided the “Torro mechanico”, was obviously the best – with years of practice on Marouchka! – and I wan a bottle of sparkling wine Moscato.

We treated ourselves for the last night at Charlomagno, a restaurant hosted in a building old from 400 AC., upon the hills surrounding the valley: amazing view on Brescia, amazing food... we were hosted like kings – Simone had worked at Charlomagno for a year and a half. We went there with the idea of having only one dish not to ruin ourselves. But then the chef decided to create a menu for us...

-          Appetizer: Cod on a soup of leeks and potatoes

-          First starter : Tartare of red tuna

-          Second starter: Lobster on risotto with a delicate pesto

-          Main course: Fish with berries and olives

-          First Pre-desert: Tiramisu

-          Second Pre-desert: orange and spices Crème brûlée

-          Main desert: Sorbet on a soup of fruits and zucchinis or Yogurt ice cream on a berry compote

-          After Desert: Pecoline pastries

... accompanied with sparkling wine and white wine... Que bello!

We ate for over 100 euro each and were charged only 50 euro each!

After one day, I understand Italian conversations partly – wich is very easy once you know French and Spanish – and I was called “Parrot” by Eri the Italian, Simone and Vanessa. This is the way I learn; I repeat everything I recognize. Everybody agreed that after one month there, I would speak Italian.

 “Sono sudato come una merda!” Eri

The fact that I needed a rest from London makes me think that it might have become my city a little bit.