Theme of this trip is...ALWAYS go one more block!

Today, I ventured into the city of Bassano del Grappa, a much busier town than I expected! It was a long and curvy drive for me and Angelo this morning because you cannot get there by a highway from Vittorio Veneto. The only way to get there is through very small towns in the hills, covered with prosecco grapes on all sides of you! It is a beautiful landscape and a very nice drive in the morning sun. About an hour and a half later, he dropped me off in a church parking lot and said, "Have a good time, the city center is that way and I will see you at 1:30." Okay was my quick response and off I went into the unknown where I had no map, no IPhone, and no idea where I was going. Everytime I go off by myself in one of these towns, I have to laugh at myself because I know I am destined to get lost all the time. So off I went, passing a lot of small bakeries and helping myself to a cannolli or two...or three...while I was trying desperately to find this city center. Also, Angelo told me about some bridge that was very famous in Bassano that was not far from the city center. Being as smart as I am, I didn't ask Angelo what the name of the bridge was so....I was trying to find a mystery with signs that I couldn't read. So after a couple drive-by's for dessert at 10am, I thought I had finally found the city center, if you could call it that. It was very small with only a couple restaurants and some shops. I honestly never figured out if that was actually the city center but I was satisfied with my findings. Now, to find this bridge.... I kept looking for signs, thinking that if this bridge was so popular that there would be signs pointing in the right direction. The only issue I had was not knowing the name of it because there were many signs but I didn't know which one to follow. So I ended up picking one that was showing up more than the others and went with that one, a sign that said "Ponte degli Alpini". It didn't sound like a bridge to me but I thought I would give it a try. I kept walking and walking up and down streets and at one point, did a complete circle and ended up back at the church I started at...very frustrating. But I kept going, picking a different way this time and actually finding a sign that said the same name as the last ones. I kept stopping to take pictures and getting distracted because it is such a beautiful city and I couldn't help but keep snapping photo after photo. I walked up a hill towards a magnificent villa that was pink striped! After taking a ton of photos of it, wishing it was my house when I am rich and famous, I was about to leave and try another way to find this bridge. I decided to go ONE MORE BLOCK to see what I found and sure enough, a hill that looked right over the side of the river to Ponte degli Alpini! I had found it and it was beautiful! I can see why it was so famous! I went down a very steep and narrow passage to the beginning of the bridge. A nice couple of English ladies took my picture for me on the bridge so it was great to speak with them for a minute. Then, I went to the other side of the bridge and there were a lot of nice shops to go into. There was a very good bookstore that I went into and tried to ask if they had any books in English. I have been reading like a manic here and I am loving it! I only brought three books with me and I am already down to one. It just goes to show what I would do with my life if I didn't have my Hulu queue or my Bravo shows to watch all the time. She pointed to a back room and to a handful of books that were in English. I chose one by the same author that wrote, "P.S. I Love You". It looks good and I am glad I found another book to read this summer. Next door was a very nice ceramic shop with tons of things to buy. I ended up buying a few things there for gifts and a plate with the map of Italy on it for me. I kept going down the street, not thinking if this was the right way to the church that I needed to end up at. I could have tried to back-track my steps but I wasn't sure if I could do that successfully or not, as I was distracted by photos on the walk to the bridge. I stumbled upon a cute, hole in the wall jewelry shop that has a very nice old lady working in it. I went in just to look and saw a collection of beautiful stone and silver necklaces and knew I had to have one. The older lady insisted that I have the light green one because my eyes were green. She was very insistent in Italian and I sure wasn't going to say no! :) Together, we picked out a nice chain to go with it and I decided it was my big splurge for myself. I realized I had only been buying gifts for other people and forgetting that I should pick out something for myself once in awhile. It is always more fun to shop for other people though, right? Well, to my shock and surprise, I found my way back to the church parking lot with a half an hour to spare! Dying of thirst, I went into a small cafe and ordered a peach tea, very refreshing. When I looked at their thermometer of what it was outside, it said 35 degrees celcius, which is about 100 degrees fahrenheit I think. On top of that extreme heat, the humidity is ungodly. While I was trying to find a bathroom to use next to a parking garage, I saw a door that said toilette so I went inside but it was actually a men's bathroom so I made a very quick exit and hurried back to the church parking lot, waiting anxiously for my ride. Angelo was right on time and then we headed to lunch at McDonald's in Bassano. This time, I tried their cheeseburger and it was delicious! They have little containers for mayo and ketchup so I made some "pink sauce" as they call it here and chowed down on some American grub. This McDonald's was different than the other because it was modern to the max and it had a second level, used as another eating place. Most people here order a coffee when they pay for their meal and then after they are done, they go up to the coffee counter and get it for the end of a meal. It baffles me that even with the heat being so hot, it doesn't stop everyone to drink a scalding hot coffee after lunch. We have coffee at all times of the day. Definitely in the morning, then before and after lunch, when you get home from work, and then sometimes before you go to bed. It is a lot of coffee but man, it is not made for a hot summer day! We picked the girls up from school and then swam in the pool for a bit. They took a nap until Pierre Georgio and the gang arrived at the house after bicycling over to our house, their half way mark. Tonight for dinner, we had a pasta filled with pumpkin that is called something like tortillas? I think she was saying tortellini? And of course, pistaccio gelato! Tomorrow, I am sleeping in and I hopefully can sleep better tonight. I was so hot last night that I couldn't sleep. Angelo turned on the air conditioner on my floor of the house but the only problem is that my door has to be open all the way because the unit is in the hallway and not in every room. I will take what I can because there is nothing more awful than wanting to sleep so bad but you can't because the heat is so intolerable. Ciao for now and enjoy the pictures! I would go back there in a heartbeat just to take more pictures!