A Slice of Life
Bill Lites
We had a wonderful lunch experience at the Caffé Pedrocchi. DiVoran had “Toast” which was a grilled cheese and ham sandwich and hot chocolate with whipped cream on top, while Marcia, Erika and I had pizza, hot tea and coffee. It was all Yummy! After lunch, we checked out the many shops around the Prato della valle where Erika bought a copy of Taming of the Shrew in English and DiVoran bought some Italian puzzles for Billy and Renie.
We discovered that the famous University of Padua was built around 1190 AD, and had the first operating theater in history. I’m sure it was very primitive and unsanitary with all the doctors and spectators watching and asking questions as the doctor tried to operate
And, it is said that Padua was the setting for Shakespeare famous play “The Taming of the Shrew” which it is believed he wrote sometime between 1590 and 1594. We strolled around the beautiful Prato della Vallethe central square, which is lined with 78 statues of famous Italian citizens from over the centuries.
That evening, we went to a pig roast hosted by Marcia’s friends Stephano and Roberta, at their horse ranch. The occasion was a surprise birthday party for David, one of Marcia’s co-workers. The party was held in a large dining hall above the tack room, where their family and friends met every Sunday for their meals. The matriarch, Maria, had done all the cooking and had it laid out with the whole small pig as the center piece. The food was wonderful and was served with five different types of wine and two different desserts, plus Grapa.
I met Roberta’s 67-year-old uncle Lorenzo who, after he found out I was a motorcycle rider, took me down to the garage and showed me his 1952 single cylinder 500cc Moto Guzzi motorcycle that was in mint condition. He told me that he and about 20 of his friends go riding every weekend, weather permitting. They all ride vintage Moto Guzzi motorcycles of one model or another, and love them.
On Monday, DiVoran rested while I walked into Mogliano Veneto to the farmer’s market and bought fresh bread and artichokes. The farmers market had every vegetable you could imagine, and the fresh fish stalls had every kind of fish and shellfish including lots of squid and eels (live and dead).
That evening we had a 5-course dinner with five of Marcia’s cast members at the Hotel Vicenza in Mestre. This time there were only 3 kinds of wine and 2 kinds of dessert plus Sconti. We found out that the Italians really enjoy their food and eat very slowly-this meal lasted from 7:00 to 11:00 PM.
On Tuesday, Marcia took the day off and we drove to the little mountain town of Asolo, at the foot of the Italian Alps. We walked up and down the streets of the town checking out the little shops.
The Hotel Villa Cipriani was the most beautifully decorated and picturesque place I have ever seen. We had lunch at a very nice little Ristorante there in Aslol, and then went to Treviso to see some of the sights of this beautiful walled city. Marcia, Erika and DiVoran cooked their version of an Italian dinner that evening and we ate in the apartment.
—–To Be Continued—–
Old Things R New 
We laughed so much walking and riding to our adventures that sometimes we couldn’t stop.
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