Saturday morning I did
some shopping. I got a couple pairs of jeans, a couple shirts, and a
stack of clothes for Ben. The shops are nearing the end of their big
sale. Every shop in town has a sale starting in January, and goes until
they run out of merchandise. They start with 30% off, and by now most
shops are at 50-70% off. I hear they do the same thing at the end of
summer. In Gallarate, each shop is their own brand (like American Eagle
or Express, but not those specifically of course). There is one shop
near our apartment that has famous designer brands, but based on the
window shopping (€€€), I have yet to venture in.
Saturday
afternoon we went to Switzerland. We were headed to a town called
Bellinzona, where they have some castles. We took the scenic route
along Lake Maggiore on the way there. It was a beautiful drive! The
lake is 66 km long and 10 km wide. There is a road that closely follows
the shore on either side, and we drove up the west side for about an
hour and a half. I’m glad Tim was driving, because the road was narrow,
curvy, and very close to the water at times. The lake is right in the
Alps, and the mountains go steeply into the water.
I enjoyed looking at
the houses as much as the landscape. Around every bend, there was a
small town built into the side of the mountain, and the houses,
restaurants, and churches were all the Mediterranean style, with the
clay tile roofs and weathered white, orange, yellow, and pink
exteriors. There were even a few villas built on their own islands in
the lake.
Crossing
the border into Switzerland was easier than driving through a toll
booth. There were guards, but they don’t stop many people. When we
arrived in Bellinzona, we discovered that today was their celebration of
Carnevale. This was a surprise, because most towns celebrate on
Sunday, or over several Sundays. Almost everyone was dressed up in
costume; all of the children and most of the adults. We saw one family
of three all dressed like cows. Little girls were dressed like
princesses and butterflies; boys were comic book characters; adults were
clowns. They must have just finished their parade, as several people
were carrying instruments, and there was confetti all along the
streets. Unfortunately, most of the streets were closed off in the town
center, and we were not able to get to the castle. But even driving
through town, we drove through some of the castle walls, and past
several towers.
We also drove past two Aldi’s. We stopped at one, but
it had closed at 5:00, and we were 45 minutes past. I am still curious
to see what it is like, so next time we go to the castle, we’ll plan to
stop at Aldi as well.
Sunday
we went to a nearby town Oleggio (oh-LAY-jo) for their celebration of
Carnevale. We knew it started at 2:30, but other than that we had no idea what to
expect. We got there right when it started, and it wasn’t crowded yet.
All of the children were dressed up as princesses, fairies, puppies,
cowboys, Indians, pirates, etc. The amount of "American" characters surprised me. Some of the adults were dressed up.
Young couples dressed up as the opposite sex. Lots of guys in skirts
and wigs. We saw a whole family of Smurfs, another whole family of
playing cards. We wished we had Ben’s dragon Halloween costume. It
would have been perfect!
There were a few carnival rides, mostly for
little kids. The parade was just getting started. There were a few
bands, about ten floats, and a group on stilts. The parade went in a
circle around the festivities, which covered a few blocks. Ben loved
it! Especially the bands.
The people on/with the floats didn’t throw
candy, they threw confetti. Some would come up and bomb you with it.
We were covered! Families also brought their own bags of confetti, and
kids threw it at each other.
There were vendors selling things similar
to funnel cakes, cotton candy, roasted nuts, candy, and hot sandwiches.
The funnel cake is one food thing the US does better than Italy.
Something fried, fatty, and covered in sugar, go figure.
We left after about an hour and a half. It was pretty crowded by then, and the parade was still slowly going in a circle. It was a small celebration, but it was perfect for us. Ben had a great time!
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