thursday might have been the best day yet. we woke up early to depart into the early morning sunlight to head up and further into the mountains. christiano and the bus tried their best to go as far as they could into the forrest. eventually, it came to a stop and we had to abandon the bus. so we walked and we walked as we delved into the forrest. we walked and we walked. we took pictures of flowers. we we walked up hills that looked like the person in front of us was walking directly into the sky. the fields were filled with wild flowers splattering the tall green grass with yellows, purples, whites, pinks and oranges. the mountains were breathtaking and we could see snow topped peaks through the evergreens. we walked and we walked. roberto had to come and shove us in the back of a van and make trips to transport groups of us up the mountain.
ruh roh.
panoramic.
eventually, we rounded the corner and were met by dozens of cows being herded by the shepherd. they were not scared of us and we could pretty much get as close as we wanted to them as they crossed the small road from one field to the next. with the cows in front of us, surrounding us, we could see the farm house in the distance. we eventually arrived and had a demonstrative lesson in cheese making. an ex-lawyer, the farmer was making formaggi di malga (means hut). they had just arrived on the farm for the start of the season 10 days ago and will stay until
everyone taking pictures of moo cows.
september or october. then of course, we ate the cheese. there were three different types and maybe having walked so far to get there, it feeling like it was 4 o'clock in the afternoon rather than 10 o'clock in the morning, but it might have been the best cheese i've ever tasted. i couldn't stop eating it. late for the rest of the day's schedule, overstuffed on cheese, and elated from exhaustion, we started walking back down the mountain. i was decorated like a christmas tree with wild flowers in my hair. we all just wanted to frolic (desnudo?!) in the fields amongst the flowers. we lay in them for a while. it was pure happiness. i think roberto must have been mad at us for coming back up for the next lot of students only to find us having hardly walked down the hill at all.
pure happiness.
back on the bus, where christiano must have been bored out of his mind waiting for us after he got the bus unstuck, we went to Sauris - a famous little village in the mountains known to be the highest village in the region. it was picture perfect. it hardly felt like we were in italy at all but the swiss or austrian alps. it is known as a "linguistic island" as german used to be their first language until about 50 years ago. we had lunch at Restaurant Morgenleit where we had german influenced foods like gnocci made from wild mint, spinach and sclopeti topped with grated smoked ricotta and then a unfathomably huuge plate with selections of smoked cured meats and local cheeses.
friuli venezia giulia impressed me.
back into sauris, we tiredly toured through Wolf prosciutto factory. the guy was sweet and explained to us how they smoked the meats to cure them. it was actually refreshing to see the meats hanging to cure where there are actually windows. all the factories say how important the air is for curing, how it has to go from east to west and about the particular wind but most of them are temperature controlled for year-round production.
windows!
bacon or art display?
because we spent so much time in the mountains, we missed the beer tasting. instead, we stopped in Ampezzo for a presentation about the history of the region. it was like a little mini museum with old relics, pictures, and displays of fossils. back to raveo, we had dinner at Trattoria all'Amicizia. the gnocci was similar to lunch, but better. then we had prosciutto gnocci with chicken and chopped vegetables - delicious. we had plates of cured meats, obligatory. arina only had a beer diet. like tuesday's wine dinner. there were sneak attack nuts in the streudel which meant back to the hostel for me for some benedryl. i stayed up and chatted with 4 others until the benedryl kicked in - but i have to say, i love the study trips and the conversations we have on them. it was really fascinating to get to know people and their opinions - food and life related - i really appreciate the study trips as a way to talk to people i wouldn't normally have the chance to - especially because of the colorno/parma divide. 25 people is not a lot, but it is. everyone in our group has so much to offer.
bravo, unisg.
and i don't know if i want to write about mulino quaglia. undecided. like them.
these pics from the flour factory should say it all.
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