Over to Italy

After our short but sweet Switzerland trip, it was time to make our way to Italy to visit Rick and Mary Jo!  We took a couple of wrong turns (aka became confused by the GPS) and actually ended up missing a traffic jam where people were getting out of their cars to wait.  It stretched on for kilometres!  If we had been actually trying to avoid it, I'm sure we would have somehow ended up in it, but we were lucky and instead took a very scenic (and pretty harrowing) windy mountain route.  When you cross through the mountains from the German to the Italian part of Switzerland, the scenery and architecture changes dramatically.  The drivers also become noticeably crazier!  We took a slight detour to Locarno for a late lunch before crossing into Italy.  Within 5 minutes of crossing the Italian border, we witnessed our first vehicle accident - in one of the tunnels.  So much reckless driving, many many motorcyclists with death wishes!

Our sojourn into Locarno.  It was a brief stop off and we kind of just wanted to get to Rick and Mary Jo's but it was nice to see another city.

We made it!  Rick had e-mailed and said that we were welcome to call them when we got to Porlezza (a nearby town) and he would come meet us to guide us through the narrow roads (more like lanes!!!) up to their house.  We were planning to call him but then decided to try and brave it on our own.  J and I were both slightly stressed about the driving conditions and the teeny little streets with motorbikes flying out at you from every which way.  With a bit of persistence, we made it to a nearby-ish location and then found their house, which apparently was a pretty surprising feat!

Views of their neighbourhood.  Not too shabby having that mountain to look at right outside your window!  Italy was having an intense heatwave and Rick and Mary Jo said that they weren't able to buy a fan ANYWHERE - completely sold out.  It was the first time in the 7 years they had lived there that they considered buying a fan.  Luckily it seemed the heat was breaking a bit by the time we arrived. 

The next morning, they took us to a real Italian market.  Every day that we were with them was completely filled with exciting activities - they are definitely very good at showing their guests a fantastic time!

This may come as a shock, but Jeremy was immensely excited by the meat on display!  So much meat, so little time.  We loaded up with meat, cheese, bread and olives and headed up to the top of a mountain for a real Italian picnic.

Obligatory posing for pictures at the top of the mountain.  I had only met Rick and Mary Jo once before, at Hayley's wedding (almost 9 years previously I think?)  They were so welcoming and easy to talk to that I instantly felt comfortable and we chatted away like we had been meeting up like this for years!  Jeremy was really happy to have time to get to know his aunt and uncle a bit more as well.

There are endless pictures of just how beautiful everything was - the buildings, lakes, mountains, food!  Everything was novel and exciting.  Such an unforgettable experience.

Update on the lecture (which I promise to never talk about again!)  I did it, I made it through, was complimented by the main lecturer of the course and some of the students.  I was really happy to have already had a few tutorials with the students so they were somewhat familiar, which made it a little less daunting.  I'm not in a huge hurry to do another one any time soon - it took so much prep time and I really should be focusing on my research!