Haircut & Spontaneous Jaunt

I got my haircut in Louisiana a week before our wedding in March, and haven't touched it since. After five months I was long overdue! I found a military spouse who cuts hair out of her home (or travels to yours) and booked an appointment for this past Monday. It was the first day of school, so it was easier for me to go to her house than for her to come to mine. She lives north of Del Din in an area I'd never visited before. I recognized a few landmarks - like a Brazilian restaurant we ate at once - on the way over, but definitely ventured out of my familiar territory. GPS got me pretty close to her house, but not exactly, so I ended up passing it three times. Whoopsie. Anyway, she cut off 3-4 inches and cleaned up my lairs, and did a great job.  My appointment was for 1030 and originally I intended to just head home afterwards and make myself some lunch. But...I was in a good mood and got a wild hair to go check out a town I'd heard people speak of. I checked and it was less than twenty miles from the stylist's house, so off I went.

After the haircut, just air-dried. Not all that different from what it was before...

Bassano del Grappa is the home of grappa, the spirit. Since we moved here I've determined that I do NOT like grappa. It's too sweet for me. But the town has a castle and a couple of museums and I'd heard it was pretty quaint. I passed near Marostica, where Tony and I visited once before, and Nove, which is famed for its hand-painted ceramics. I also passed Breganze, which is also on my list of places to check out on day trips. All of these towns are part of the Veneto province and are snugged up against the Dolomites, so have great scenery.

At first I planned on just kind of cruising through Bassano and seeing if it was a good place to bring friends or check out with a group. (My first round of visitors are showing up this weekend!!!) If I found a cute place for lunch with easy parking, that was also a potential agenda item. I still get a little intimidated driving here, but parking is the WORST. Lots of parallel parking on tiny streets. Or else you have to pay, but the meters aren't always in English. While driving toward the town I saw some interesting-looking church towers, and just followed signs for the city center. I ended up going right past the church, and over a beautiful bridge from which you could see some spillways. Lots of pedestrians were walking across both sides of the bridges, and I decided to find a parking spot and walk across it myself. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, but my iPhone takes good enough snapshots. I ended up driving across that dang bridge three times and going down a SUPER narrow dead-end street, from which I had to Austin Powers my way out. Ugh. Did I mention I'm not too crazy about driving here? On my third time across I noticed a nice, friendly blue P, and aimed toward it. I saw another P with a sign that said "gratis" and an arrow pointing left, so left I went. A half mile later, I parked at a cemetery, and there was only one other car there, so it was wide open. And it was free! So I walked down to the bridge and took a couple pictures. I noticed another bridge upriver, a covered one. It looked like a lot of people were walking across it, so I made up my mind to find it. I found "my" church and took a couple pictures, and then started weaving my way through the city.

I ventured into a couple of shops selling local products. Not exactly tourist traps, exactly. Instead of post cards and magnets, they sold things like dried mushrooms, licorice, grappa (duh), and cherry sauce. Oh, Italy, how I love thee. I noticed several gelaterias, a creperia, and some interesting-lookiing antique shops, too, but didn't venture into any of them. (Well, that's not entirely true. I did have gelato, but only AFTER lunch. More on that in a second.) Eventually I found the covered bridge, and stopped to take a few pictures. They call it the Alpine Bridge, and it was designed by Palladio in the 1500s. (That's two Palladio bridges I have personally travelled over!) There's a museum, but it's closed on Mondays, and a tavern that's supposedly been open as long as the bridge has been. I did learn the original bridge burned in the 1700s, but it was rebuilt according to the same design. Supposedly the town was settled in the 2nd centure BC, but there's evidence suggesting people inhabited the area even hundreds of years earlier than that. Wikipedia, yo. I crossed the bridge and walked a block or two upriver for more pictures, then came back. I noticed lots of people sitting outside at a few bars and restaurants, and settled on a Bar & Bruschetteria for lunch. Can we all just stop and take a moment to appreciate the fact that I live in a place that has such things as bruschetterias, gelaterias, and creperias?? It looked like some locals were at the Bruschetteria at the foot of the bridge, or at least people familiar enough with the area to be drinking Spritzes. (3 parts Prosecco, 2 parts Aperol (Italian aperitif like Campari, but milder), splash of soda over ice and garnished with a slice of orange) When in doubt, eat where the locals are eating.

Y'all. That was the best bruschetta of my LIFE. I do not exaggerate. Parma ham, mozzarella, Asiago, artichoke hearts, and truffle oil. Another side note: Asiago is about 45 miles away and Parma is about 100 miles away. I think there will be some cheese and ham tasting in my future. But did I mention the bruschetta was amazing? And by the way, bruschetta here is not served like what we think of in the States. It's not served on crunchy little melba toasts, but instead on bread that has a texture more similar to french bread. Like garlic bread times a thousand.

After partaking of my wonderful bruschetta, I crossed the Alpine bridge again and got a chocolate gelato, and proceeded to wander for a few minutes more. Eventually I made my way back to the cemetery, which was remarkably well-kept. I did walk through it, and was impressed by the variety of gravemarkers. The oldest one I saw was from the 1960s, but I didn't walk all the way through the place, just up one side and back. Maybe I'm weird, but I like walking through graveyards. It was about 1:30 at this point and I decided to head home. I could see the castle, but didn't really feel like finding it. Lots of places in Italy are closed on Mondays, and I was in riposo period by then anyway. I had to save something to do for when I go back!

(You can see the castle in the background. And yes, I took this picture with my iPhone!)

Not too shabby for an impromptu trip! Bassano is a scenic little town and good for wandering. I recommend it, if for nothing else than the bruschetta.