Oh Mio Dio

Oh I have a story for you!

This weekend was our Rotary weekend in Bassano del Grappa. For those of you who don't know what is significant about this place, this is were during WWI the Italians had trenches, and they were fighting against Austria. The trenches had been covered by shrubbery and trees for years, but now thanks to the work of one man (I feel really bad I forgot his name!) they are being restored. They are amazing. I can't wrap my head around the fact that they not only lived in these tiny trenches, but they ran through them! I could hardly walk through them.
Also Bassano del Grappa is where Ernest Hemingway got his idea for his book Farewell to Arms.



A little fact about Hemingway, he loved hunting. ( I didn't know that!)

GUYS I met Ernest Hemingway!!!

We came out of the trenches to this Gorgeous view!!!! You could see for miles! We stayed in a house with bunk beds. It was a lot of fun. I think my favorite part was when we had a bonfire! We sang songs, talked about our feelings, told scary stories, laughed, and froze our butts off! ( we were at 1000m elevation, so it was FREEZING at night!)

 

 

Okay, now comes the " Oh Mio Dio" part:

 Well on Sunday we were supposed to leave to go home at 5:25... well the train drivers decided they weren't going to work, and go on strike. So here is my crazy, long, and scary train ride tale...

Okay so we had to take a bus from Bassano to Padova. When we got to Padova, the trains never showed up, so we had to wait an hour for a train to come. Once we got our train to VM, the train we were supposed to take home, wouldn't open its doors, so we were forced to wait yet again for another train. Once the other one showed up we had a two hour ride home on a JAM packed, hot, and smelly train. It was not fun, but we made it! When I arrived in Udine it was 10:30, so I had to take taxi (for the first time) home. Well the taxi driver didn't know where he was going so we had to turn around 3 times, and he still charged me $30 ! But I finally made it home at 11:02!

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 


 












I thought that would be the end of my crazy public transportation experiences... I was wrong!
Today I had to take the bus home after school. Well I got on the wrong bus and ended up in
Grado, an hour and half away from home. There I had to wait 2 hours for a bus to take me back to Udine. Then once I got to Udine I had to wait 30 minutes for my bus to Pagnacco, but once again I made it home!

at least I had a nice view

Double-Decker view

 

 

Grado is a beautiful island

So if you have transportation issues, just stop, take a breathe, and ask for help. I meet this bus driver who spoke English almost perfectly, and he was so helpful! He waited to make sure I got on the right bus before he left. I'm forever grateful to him!

 

 

 

I say it a lot, but I will never be able to say it enough... Thank You Rotary! You have given me a different perspective of the world!

 

 

 

(((Sorry about the photos in the post, my tablet was acting up)))