Springtime Green

My job, with all the stress that it may bring at times, has a lot of perks to it. One of those perks is the fact that I have to go to Italy approximately once a month. (I know, I know...life is hard). I just got back yesterday from my most recent trip, so here's my week in a nutshell.

On the drive down, instead of making it a straight shot on the Autostrada (the Italian highway), I decided shortly after getting through Austria that I would set my GPS to avoid toll roads. Now that the snow has melted and I was in a normal car with front wheel drive as opposed to a giant van with rear wheel drive, I was not afraid of falling off the edge of a mountain. I'm so glad that I did. It was absolutely beautiful driving through the vineyards and up over the mountains. Everything was in bloom, and the color of everything was, what I like to call, springtime green. You know what I'm talking about...it's that bright, almost neon, green that only comes out for about a month in early spring when everything is in bloom. After that, the chlorophyl starts to mature and the darker green is normal, but springtime green means that life is starting to bud again. It's my favorite part of the season (that and the sunshine).

The pictures don't really do it justice since I was taking them from the driver's seat while in motion, but you can get the drift. I also stopped in a little town for lunch (after briefly stopping, unknowingly, in a bar, where I was the only female and the only person under the apparent age of 40). I'm not completely sure what I ordered, but it was delicious!

Since I also brought my bike, I was anxious to get out and ride it as soon as I got in. Unfortunately, the first day was the only day that I rode since the rest of the time it was raining, but it was a nice little 2 hour ride. Not sure how far I went, but I would have gone further had it not been starting to drizzle, I was unprepared for rain, and daylight was short. The only negative about the ride were these stupid barriers put up along the bike path at intersections with the roads. They were staggered and no more than a foot and a half apart from each other, meaning that I had to slow down to near walking speed in order to go through them or go around on the gravel and risk having my tire spin out. I fell three times...Worst idea on a bike path ever, especially when you're clipped in to the pedals.

I also attempted to explore down town Vicenza later on in the week, but only made it about 45 minutes before being so uncomfortable with the cat calls that I left. It literally took about 10 seconds after I got out of the parking garage before the first one hit, and they came in succession after that. Groups, individuals, it didn't matter...whistles and kissing sounds were not something that I wanted to deal with with only an hour before sunset, so I opted to cut my losses and leave. I'll do more exploring next time.

 Other than that, it was a relatively uneventful and normal trip. It's always nice to get to get away, and I still have so much that I want to do and see when I'm down there. It's all a process, but it'll get there. I made it back safe and sound, spent the day relaxing with my kittens, and am ready for Easter tomorrow.

Here's wishing everyone a wonderful weekend and holiday!