We leased our house from a marvelous British woman who has been a wealth of information to us. She has been here for over 30 years and still remembers how overwhelming it was when she arrived. She is one of the founding members of The Benvenuto International Club of Monza. The Benvenuto Club is basically a club for women who speak English. The members are from Italy, America, Australia, Great Britain, etc. The Club runs from September to June so it is winding down for the summer but she invited me to the June meeting. Most Italians travel in July and August. I am told July is the hottest month so the wealthy go to the lakes or to the mountains to cool off.

I went to the June meeting which led to an invitation to the year-end dinner party where husbands are invited. I guess usually this dinner is held at a fancy restaurant in the Monza Park. The ladies would all buy a new dress and go all out but this year they wanted to try something different and the dinner was held at a bar and had a country band. Andy and I went. The band sang American county music and had line dancers. It was very weird. The last time I was in a Country bar with line dancers was probably in Rochester in the 90’s!

After attending the dinner, I was asked to join a book club. I love to read and this was right up my alley! One of the nice things about not working while I’m in Italy is that I have had a chance to catch up on my reading. I’m kind of an obsessive reader and once I get into a good book, I cannot put it down. But, I’m not nearly as obsessed as my sister who reads hundreds of books every year and will read while brushing her teeth. Not kidding. Anyway, I assumed this book club was like other book clubs where you all read the same book for a month and then discuss it next month. Nope, this one was different.
This book club was held at the Monza Sporting Club and it started at 10am with coffee and a brioche (which is my new favorite pastry) outside by the pool. Then we all went to the library in the Sporting Club and chose books (and had a glass of prosecco and more pastries). The book club cost 20 euro per person and the club buys 3-4 new books a month. The members can donate books if they are approved by the club. While choosing books, the members will suggest books for people and give a quick summary. It’s all very informal and fun! I chose four books on the recommendation of others. I probably would have never chosen these books on my own but they came so highly recommended I couldn’t resist. Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend the next Book Club meeting as I will be in the US but I am looking forward to the next meeting after that!

I joined some of the ladies and had lunch afterwards at the Sporting Club. They all were so nice and helped me decipher the menu! Ha ha! I was there until 3pm. Eating in Italy is not a quick experience. It is meant to be enjoyed and not rushed!  There was more prosecco and gelato (ice cream) at lunch so I was happy!

The best part of the day was that I may have a lead on a pet sitter. She is the daughter of one of the Benvenuto Club members from Houston. She is coming to our house tomorrow to meet our pets. Pray that they (Sully) will be on their best behavior!

 

Last weekend we packed the dogs in the car and headed to Verona. It is only a couple of hours drive but sometimes I just need to get out of the house 🙂 We stayed in a great hotel within walking distance to the Verona sights. As we were driving to Verona, we passed many exits for Lake Garda on the Autostrade. All the exits were backed up down the highway with campers and cars towing boats. We were just at Lake Garda last weekend and it was crowded but not as bad as that! I didn’t figure out why until we checked in the the hotel and the receptionist told me it was a national holiday. Oops. I’ll check that before I make reservations next time!

Traveling with the dogs is a mixed bag. Most hotels accept pets but some only allow small dogs. Our dogs are not small! Sometimes we have to pay an extra fee. We never leave them alone in the room because I’m sure that they would bark. We take turns eating breakfast so one of us can stay in the room with the dogs. We enjoy their company but we cannot see a lot of places because they are not allowed. We still haven’t found a dog sitter yet because I am a nervous Nelly when it comes to leaving my pets and I need a person that speaks English. Our vet here speaks English but there are just some words that do not translate well and a lot is lost in the translation.

We saw the Verona Arena but we didn’t take a tour because of the dogs. The Arena is still used for concerts and there is a famous Opera Festival there every summer. It was fascinating to see how big it was. The line to see the Arena was long and it was in the mid 80’s so we probably wouldn’t have wanted to stand in it anyway! We will tour the Roman Coliseum in August when Stacey, Craig and Devon are here.

The Arena is located in Piazza Bra and that is where we had lunch. There was a strong Italian Armed Forces presence there.

We then went to another famous Piazza, Piazza Erbe to do a little street shopping.

 

It was so hot and the dogs were melting so we headed back to our hotel and on the way we stopped at Castelvecchio.  Castelvecchio is on the Adige River which is the second longest river in Italy. The views were (as I have said many times before) stunning.

We relaxed in the air-conditioning for awhile before going to a pizza place for dinner. We sat outside and next door was the best gelato that we have ever had at Gelateria La Romana! They had really great prices and service but the best part was the chocolate or creme that they put in the inside at the bottom of the cone before they put the ice-cream in. It’s just a drop but it melts and covers the cone so it doesn’t leak and it tastes delicious!  It’s a nice treat at the end of a nice treat!

Verona is a really cool city. I didn’t realize how big it is. We will definitely go back even if it’s only for the gelato!