Monte Berico

Another little jaunt we took over the winter break was to the neighborhood of Monte Berico in Vicenza. It's only about four miles away and I pass it every time I go to the train or bus station, but I've never been before. I've been intrigued for a while, as it basically encompasses the tallest (only, really) hill in Vicenza and I'd heard the views are amazing. I've also been wanting to go because Tony has been a few times for work - those crazyheads RUN from their base UP the giant hill (up steps and under arches past little chapels; it's beautiful), and have a chest-bumping session at the top or whatever, and then RUN back to work. I tell you, I do not have that kind of stamina. And I probably never shall.

Anyway, we had a clear day and I pitched the idea to Tony, and suggested we meet our wonderful friend Fay there, whose mother was visiting from Brazil and whose dog Lolly is the sweetest angel ever and is half in love with my husband. Instead of going straight from home, we were out doing something else that morning and ended up approaching Monte Berico from a different direction, so of course we got turned around. Eventually we found our way to the hill and took another wrong turn, leading us up a teeny tiny street that just randomly dead-ended at someone's driveway, and Tony had to back our giant American car back down in order to turn around. Whew, I get all tense just remembering it. I do NOT like narrow streets and I ESPECIALLY don't like driving a car in reverse, so those two things combined are very stressful to me. I can't blame Tony because he's never driven up there either, only run. But eventually we found our way to the parking lot at the top of the hill and got out to enjoy the view.

Vicenza, viewed from Monte Berico

And what a spectacular view! There's a brick wall around the perimeter of the lot, and every few feet or so there's the name of a city inscribed along with an arrow pointing to it, so you can look out onto the valley and know what you're looking at. There are several of those tourist binoculars too, but we didn't bother with those. Just as we had finished identifying Tony's base and the green-roofed basilica that is a very central landmark to Vicenza, Fay and her mom arrived, along with Lolly the rock star. We all oohed and aahed over the view, and then because the light was spectacular we took a few photos of each other. Fay is one of the most photogenic people I've ever met, and she clearly gets her looks from her mom. One of my favorite pictures of the day is a cute one of those two, each with their heads cocked slightly to the side - like mother, like daughter! My other favorite photo is Lolly posing on top of the wall. What a ham!

Tony's girlfriend

After absorbing the view for a while, we walked up toward the church on the hill, the minor Basilica of St. Mary. Tony and I hadn't been in yet, so we took a few minutes to peek inside. (Lolly couldn't come, and Fay's mom wanted to shoot some more outdoor video, so they remained outside.) It was an hour or so before Saturday afternoon mass, and people were starting to arrive. I also think there was a prayer hour or something, because there were a bunch of nuns inside the church. Though it was beautiful, we didn't stay inside very long - we didn't want to disrupt anyone's worship and we didn't want to keep the ladies waiting outside. Then we walked along the street toward a park and the Museo del Risorgimento; on a nice weather day I'd like to go back and fully explore the park, which I think has a nice scenic loop and a view of Palladio's Rotunda, and visit the museum properly. I'd probably finish with a spritz (Aperol + Prosecco + Club Soda) at the local restaurant, which also has great views. Are you catching on to the trend yet? If you want to see some pretty views, go to Monte Berico! There are also lots of beautiful and fancy-looking houses in this neighborhood as well, and it's a good location for people-watching.

St. Mary's

We turned around and started walking back to the cars, and we could hear the church bells start playing Christmas carols! This was the first week of January, and it was nice to be reminded that the Christmas season extends all the way through the Feast of the Ephiphany, or Three King's Day, or January 6, however you want to label it. We stood in the lot for a few minutes just enjoying the bells, and then called it a day. It was a very peaceful afternoon, well worth getting lost for.