Prosecco Hills

I booked that 2 hour horseback ride online and wasn’t quite sure how I was going to get to this rural area except try a taxi. There was a taxi station at the train station. So I walked there that morning giving enough time. I got an older gentleman. I show him and we take off. I quickly realize he’s a grumpy old man. He huffed and puffed. Yelled at cars, he would grunt for no reason that was apparent to me. About half way there he decides to speak into his phone for google maps to get him there specifically. Well, it was pulling up and he yells ‘CHRISTO’ and pulls into a gas station. I just hand him my phone which had the directions already on it and said, ‘would you like mine?’. He did say, ‘sorry’ in a grumpy way. So he used that. Well it didn’t take precisely to the place so he made me call them and he spoke with them on where to drop me off. I agree it wasn’t well marked, but we made our way on a dirt road to a barn. When I signed up it said English and Italian. Ha. VERY little English to be had. The only others on the ride were a young sweet Italian couple that spoke decent English. She had ridden before (she brought her own helmet) and he had not. As we were waiting I saw the guide riding a horse off in the distance, I knew that horse needed some work beforehand, whether to wear it out, remind it what’s it’s job was, to test to see if it were capable etc. I had to ride the ‘spirited ones’ at Windy Gap when I lead horses there. The guide asked our skill level and I was honest and guess what, I got that horse, Bart, pronounced like Bartah. I was told he likes to eat, don’t let him. Ha. He ended up being a wonderful horse and a great ride.  

We rode for 2 hours and covered some area. We rode through the grape vines, a small town full of barking dogs, on roads, through pastures, to an abandoned building where we stopped to let the horses rest and eat or just to let our guide roll his own cigarette.  

I thoroughly enjoyed myself, the scenery was amazing! Another great addition was the dog that came with us, I don’t remember his name in Italian but it means ‘bear’ in English. He had one ear that stuck up. He would run off and the guide would just whistle and he would be back in an instant. But he did his job too. When one of the horses would get lazy and fall behind he would come back and usher him on, he also stood watch as we passed in the town with the barking dogs, keeping an eye or ‘ear’ on things. He would just go in and out of the horses like he was herding us all along. One of my favorites things on the ride.

Before we started, I asked via my Google Translate if they would help me call a taxi when we got back. I had told the girl that the taxi driver was not happy bringing me all the way here. She said, yeah, they probably don’t like the winding roads, we can take you somewhere closer so they won’t be mad. SHOOSH! So they did. They took me to a nearby school thinking it was a good landmark, as did I. When they called the taxi service before we left they said it would be there in 20 minutes, about the time we would get there. Perfect. Well it didn’t. They called and it was a no go. The guy said the taxi service in Italy was shit and they would just take me back to my Airbnb. It was out of there way home. I insisted I would pay them and they say it was no problem. We talked on the ride, He is getting his masters in Nutrition and she is in college and needed to practice her English for an exam. The ride was a gift from him to her for her 21st birthday. We shared things about the States in comparison to Italy, He loves Coca Cola and has a hard time finding it in Italy. They have lemon Coke there. Weird. But they got me back and I was SO thankful. Yes, of course, I thought to myself that I am alone in a foreign country riding in the car with 2 strangers that I never got their name. But we are now following each other on Instagram. Ha. 

I took the rest of the day to relax, wash my jeans that had horse sweat on them, eat at the same cafe as when I arrived, walked to the local grocery to get snacks, and watched a show. I was feeling pretty worn out, my throat was sore and I could feel sinus pressure. Urghh.

I ended up at a Mexican restaurant……in Italy. It was close by. I ordered the chicken quesadilla and a mojito. When it came out I dunked a slice into what looked like white cheese dip…….NOPE. Honey mustard. WTF? Never. The chicken tasted like it was from a can. But the mojitos were good. So noted, don’t go to a Mexican restaurant in Italy.  

9.19 (Saturday)

Last full day in Italy. I’m not feeling wonderful, still have a sore throat and congestion so I take my time and drink coffee, make breakfast.  

Mike and Dea were on their way in from Cortina to my area, but on the other side of the Prosecco Hills. My plan was to rent a Vespa and ride to them and stop off at vineyards. Wasn’t feeling that so when they got into town they headed my way in their car and picked me up and we went out to the vineyards. After 3 stops and they were all closed, we finally caught one person and had a quick tasting. Apparently, this is harvest month and when they are ALL working hard and not having guests. Dea and I agreed that in ALL our research we never came across that. Pretty happy I didn’t rent that Vespa. We ended up making reservations at a great restaurant and stopped at a couple sightseeing places, a beautiful old watermill and church. That meal was AMAZING, steak, cheeses, salad, Aperol Spritz, bread, beans with sausage and pomme frittes (French Fries, very popular there). A great way to end my time in Italy.  

Tomorrow is check out day here in Conegliano at 11, train at 12:30, 3.5+ hrs to Milan Centrale, taxi to hotel near airport.