Vacances de Toussiant- Northern Italy Adventures

I know I said I would get better at keeping up with this blog, but, much like when I lived in Paris, I feel like I’m spending all my time outside of work exploring my city (or recovering from class and preparing for the next ones- it’s much more exhausting than I thought it would be!). I truly cannot believe that it’s already the end of 2019- so much has happened since I started my job in October. Because this would be an epically long post if I wrote about everything I’ve done since October, I’m just going to take it a few weeks at a time.

One of the things that makes being a language assistant one of the best jobs post-grad is that I feel like I can reverse some of the burnout I felt after four years of college. And, for me, the best way to do that is by traveling, and the school schedule here in France allows us to do that frequently. With two weeks of break at the end of October and the entire continent to explore, my friends and I decided to take on Northern Italy. My friend Nancy and I had been talking about going to Milan since we first got accepted into the program, and the plans wrote themselves from there.

Another great joy of Europe is the ease of traveling by train- at least, that’s what I thought. It turns out that train strikes stop for no one, including four people trying to get to Italy. The cheapest tickets from Lyon to Milan included four train changes: Chambéry, Modane, Turin, and finally arriving in Milan. While we made it to Chambéry with no problems (and had the most gorgeous mountain views!), leaving the city proved to be quite the dilemma. There was a strike (for reasons I still don’t understand), and our train from Chambéry to Modane was cancelled while we were waiting for it on the platform. Slightly panicked, we were assured that we would be able to get on the next train on that route, leaving in an hour. So we settled into at the train station, playing cards until it was time to get on the next train. And, if you can believe it, the next train was cancelled, too. So we knew at that point that there was no way we were going to make it to Milan that night along our original route, so we dropped a pretty penny (a cute centime?) on train tickets that would take us through Switzerland- we had all but been assured that it would be impossible to get from France to Italy that night, but we thought that maybe getting to Switzerland would be easier. Lo and behold, no less than twenty minutes after we bought our tickets to Geneva-Brig-Milan, our train to out of the country was cancelled (lesson learned: if one train is cancelled, just expect that all the other trains will be cancelled). Thankfully, we got everything refunded, but this disappointment stung. We ended up staying at Nancy’s place for the night, turning what was an overall disappointing day into a hilarious evening. And then… we woke up before the sun to get on a seven-hour bus from Chambéry to Milan. We’d learned our lesson about the train. And, truthfully, I liked taking the bus- we drove through the most beautiful golden-leaved mountains, watching the sun peek out as France turned into Italy.

Milan was our first stop on the trip, and even though we lost a day in the city due to the strike, we still made the most of our situation. Our AirBnB was delightful, a top-floor apartment with a covered patio that we spent most of our time in. Our first stop in Milan was the Castello Sforzesco- we waltzed around its grounds, still in a daze from spending almost the entire day on the bus. And then, the most bizarre thing- there was a Chabad sukkah in the middle of the Castello! I, of course, went in and shook the lulav and etrog before asking about Simchat Torah services for that night (honestly, the world is too small). After that strange encounter, we walked through a park before getting caught in a torrential downpour on our way to our first meal in Italy- Chinese food. I know- who goes to Italy to eat Chinese food? But this highly recommended little dumpling window may have been the best meal we ate in Milan. We stopped for a coffee on the way back, where I learned the hard way that my coffee order does not translate well: what is a regular coffee in America is in France a café crème, but in Italy, I should have known to ask for a cappuccino. My “coffee with milk” came in a coffee cup fit for an American Girl doll, which was almost more disappointing than all the cancelled trains. One of the American things I will never give up is my belief that coffee needs to come in the biggest quantity as possible, so getting something the size of my thumb was less than satisfying. (Another lesson learned). That night, we shared pizza before heading back to the apartment to have tea and play cards on the covered patio (which, filled with plants, resembled more of a greenhouse than anything). This became our nightly routine- every night ended with tea and a rousing game of Five Crowns.

The next day was our only full day in Milan, as well as the day with the most exciting sights to see. Thankfully, I’d booked our tickets to see the Duomo on the second day in Milan, so the big attraction was spared. Seeing the Duomo was one of the things that I had to do before I left Europe (don’t ask me why such a devout Jew was so set on seeing a giant cathdral). And, let me tell you- it did not disappoint. After living in France for six months in 2018, I had seen my fair share of big, elaborate churches, but the Duomo may be my favorite of them all. I like its interesting stone façade and the intricate stained glass on the inside. And, even though it was drizzly and cold, the rooftop still took my breath away. I think it was worth all the train troubles (not as much as our next Italian city, though!).

As the rain continued to batter Milan, we ate fresh pasta and caprese salad in a cozy restaurant before sharing tiramisu together. Then it was time for the next sight of the day, the Museo del Novecento, which featured Italian art of the twentieth century. Quirky but still beautiful, we spent the rest of the afternoon there.

That evening, I headed to the Chabad of Milan for Simchat Torah services. Italy is now the fifth country I had celebrated a Jewish holiday in (US, Israel, France, England, and now Italy), and I was comforted by the fact that I was in a Jewish space. I don’t have a Jewish community in Lyon (yet!), and I didn’t realize how much I missed being in Jewish spaces (in Paris, I worked at the Holocaust Museum and was volunteering at a synagogue, so I still got my fix on the regular). Being in a tiny, hot room of dancing people on one of my favorite holidays was rejuvenating. I will remember that night for the rest of my life.

The next day, we hopped on a train to our next destination, going deeper into the Italian countryside. When we stepped off the train in Crema, I was nervous that the city wouldn’t live up to my expectations. Let me explain: while going to Milan was always on the table, I realized after extensive research that we couldn’t leave the area without seeing Crema and Bergamo, the sites of my favorite film “Call Me By Your Name.” I saw the movie for the first time (and the second and third time after that) while studying in Paris. It was one of the things I did in the period of being abroad where I learned independence- in other words, I started doing things by myself and getting used to the idea that spending time alone didn’t have to be lonely. The movie left such a mark on me that I saw it twice more in the theaters that week. To this day, it is still one of my favorite films, if not my favorite of all time. So, it just made sense that we would venture to Crema and Bergamo, the two cities in which the film was shot, after Milan. And I planned the rest of our trip around finding the places where they filmed the movie, as nerdy as that seems. So, there was a lot hanging on this tiny Italian town- I wanted my friends to think that it was worth it to schlep all the way out there. I wanted it to be magical. My credibility as a vacation planner was hanging on the success of this part of the trip.

Crema is tiny. That’s my first thought when we stepped out of the train station. Walking to our AirBnB, I was getting more and more worried that my friends thought I was a lunatic for bringing us all the way out here. What were we going to do all day in this itty-bitty town for the entire day? We set out for the town square without really knowing what we were looking for. As we walked down the quaint street to the Crema Cathedral, my nerves grew exponentially: what if we came all this way for nothing? What if I had built this expectation that sunk my hopes when we arrived and realized that there was nothing really to see? But- in the second that we turned the corner- I realized that the trek out to Crema was completely worth it. I could see the Piazza Duomo ahead, and my heart raced with excitement. This was from one of the first scenes of the film! I could see it in my mind- Oliver and Elio sitting at a white metal table, chatting in the sun, the gorgeous Town Hall of Crema in the background. And, when we were finally in the square, it was like the movie came to life. Patrick noticed that the magazine shop on the corner was the same from the film, and we were suddenly on a treasure hunt to find as many filming locations as possible. We turned the corner and stumbled across a doorway where the two main characters had stopped and talked. I hadn’t been so excited about anything like this in a very, very long time. A young woman passed us with a map as we were turning to go back to the square, and one of us noticed that it had scenes from the film on it. When I asked her where she got it, she told that they had some in the Crema tourist office across from the cathedral.

Thank the heavens that we ran into this girl, because the Crema tourist office may now be one of my favorite places in the world. The young guy that worked there was adorably eager to give us maps and information on the online audio tour, and, when he saw the joy and incredulity on our faces, he asked us if we wanted to see props from the movie. Truthfully, that was my version of a guy in a white van asking a little kid if she wanted candy. I hate to admit it, but I would have followed this guy anywhere on those words alone. He led us to a little room in the office, which turned out to be like a little shrine to the film. There were poster boards filled with messages from people all over the world, pictures of people dressed as the main characters, fan art, and- the best part- the white metal chairs and table that Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet sat on in one of the first scenes. And, to top it all off, they had the original bikes from the film that Elio and Oliver ride around on throughout the whole film. And they let us ride them! The joy we found in Crema was overwhelming. It was the only sunny and warm day of the trip, and it felt like fate. Crema is absolutely beautiful, and I wish we had spent another day there.

After a day of wandering the streets with no agenda, just drinking in the warm autumn sun, we stopped for Aperol spritzes at a petit bar on the main street (and I learned that I do not like Aperol spritzes. But, hey, it was an experience!) before having HAND-MADE PUMPKIN RAVIOLI for dinner. They literally made the ravioli fresh with their hands in the kitchen. And it was amazing. Back at the AirBnB, we decided that the only appropriate way to finish our day of pilgrimage to Crema was to watch “Call Me By Your Name.” The four of us crammed onto the two-person bed and watched the movie, pointing out all the places we had been lucky enough to see that day.

The next day, we hopped on another train, this time to Bergamo. That first day was our only day of sunshine, so we walked all the way to the Città Alta and took in the stunning view from the top of the city. To continue our “Call Me By Your Name” pilgrimage, we traced the path that Oliver and Elio took in the film, using screenshots as little treasure maps. Bergamo was just as delightful as Crema, from the beautiful greenery to the Northern Italian charm. The next (and last) day in Bergamo was stuck on the couch of our AirBnB- we sadly all got bad colds during the trip, and I stayed home all morning instead of venturing in the chilly drizzle. I needed to renew my energy- Sydney and I were leaving for Toulouse a few days later.

Toulouse is the furthest west I had been in France, and it surprised me how different it was from the rest of the country I had seen. It’s located only 100 kilometers from Spain, and I could very much feel the influence- many street signs were in French and Spanish, and tapas were a staple on many menus. Sydney and I didn’t really have any concrete plans in the city, so we spent the two days there wandering the pink-hued streets and the banks of the river. It was a lovely and relaxing two days, and it recharged me to come back to school.

Being able to travel is one of the best perks of my job- I love that in the first six weeks of living in France, I had visited almost ten cities. Experiencing new places and communities is one of my favorite things to do: I could sit with a coffee on the street, just watching people pass by me all day, and call it a success. Immersing myself in the unknown, even if it’s by myself, is like a little lesson: I feel that each time I come home from a new place, I have learned something new, something that I will carry with me. But even with all the adventures that the first month in Lyon brought, there is still so much more to see- which adventure will we have next?