Baselga to Rauscedo

after a beautiful breakfast (pistacchio croissant and chai) in Trento, Giulia and Eleanora bid me farewell from the station. enjoying the lunch packed with love by Giulia and stuffed with excess sicilian dolci by Tatiana I made my way to the home of my grandparents. the countryside grew more familiar, the otherworldly mountains of Giulia’s region giving way eventually to the flat farmland of vineyards in which I’d spent a good deal of time with my brothers as children.

Max and Valeria greated me with hugs at Casarsa station. Giulia was sitting at the kitchen table when I arrived. she started shaking her head in disbelief, it was pretty special to see her face light up - she couldn’t believe I was there. Danilo was also stunned when he arrived home from work, mentioning that when he saw my shoes in the hallway he thought they might be mine but dismissed the idea as impossible.

Giulia and Danilo both had commitments tonight, so I enjoyed the evening relaxing with my Italian parents. Max prepared a lovely soup for dinner, and insisted I eat as much cheese as I want. as Valeria and I washed the dishes he ducked into the village to buy use gelato for dessert before conking out on the carpet in the lounge in front of the television.

this house is one in which I’ve spent enough time for it to feel like home despite my incapacity to truly learn italian (I promise I’m trying my best). as per last time, it feels surreal to be back, and will take time to make sense. but for now I’m grateful to have such a precious oasis in which I can rest and connect with parts of my life I have missed. <<