Aussie in the Boot: Veneto

I am spending six months travelling around Italy. I am staying with hosts around the country, WWOOFING (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). Learning, sharing and creating great connections. There will be ups and downs, but I have my yoga mat packed and a 560g jar of Vegemite, so I’m ready to take it all on. 

Region: Veneto

Host: San Bonifacio (Albertone)

“Many people, many emotions, many activities … and a big mansion to come back to at the end of every day”

“Verona really is the city of romance … is it in the air?”

 

I arrived on the farm, the 1st of April 2019, to the sound of chiming church bells … I have now realised that the church bells aren’t super significant because you can hear them in almost every town in Italy! At my new location, I would be staying in the house of the hosts, located in the nearby town, about an 8-minute drive from the farm.

The owner of the farm, Federico, took me first to the house. The house is basically a mansion (Federico is Italian royalty, his family is very old and they were lords or something, he said that basically everything we can see, his grandfather owns. Also, Federico’s Grandma was a good friend of the queen of Italy!). I have my own apartment in the house, sharing only the kitchen with Federico and his partner Giulia.

We then headed to the farm. As I arrived on a Monday, we got straight into work. I did a variety of jobs, helping to clean the farmhouse that they are restoring for future wwoofers, painting a bee house and making pesto with wild herbs. What was really awesome was that I got to see the bees swarm! What a coincidence that it was when I arrived!

At this farm they produce cereals, they also have bees, two big horses, a mule and a donkey which they use to work the fields, oh, and of course, three cats because this is Italy! Given that they are a younger generation of farmers, they have made some changes to the regular cereal growing that is open, flat fields of the same crop. They have added diversity — growing fruit trees, vegetables, beans and nuts. Federico has shared some of his innovations like companion growing and keyline designs. These are concepts that I touched on in my Permaculture course. I don’t completely understand all of his methods and the information he has shared about cereals is a completely new area of agriculture for me. It is very exciting to be at a new location and meet new people — lots of learning to do.

Giulia and Federico are amazing! I found out that I am their first official wwoofer. This is good and bad. Good because I am the first and get to set the standard. Bad because they don’t really seem like they know what to do with me. I hope that we can learn and grow together. It is very interesting to see the different styles of hosts.

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Dates, bananas, seeds, nuts, whole grain everything, vegetable milk, vegan yogurt! I am in heaven! Giulia is into all the same foods that I am! I have already learnt so many food things from Giulia, (she is also basically vegan). An awesome trick that she did was to put seaweed in with the beans when boiling them to make them easier to digest … less gasiness!

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Today I drove! The car is named panda and is a questionable vehicle. I joked with mum before I left that I would drive in Italy because everyone can drive in Italy! Federico just casually was like, “can you park the car over there”, he didn’t even ask if I could drive a manual. Luckily I can drive a stick!

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I have been waking up each morning, going downstairs and making an amazing breakfast with all the awesome foods I love: seeds, vegan yogurt, fruit, oats… then going for a walk alongside the river. All before Federico and Giulia are even awake. When they are ready, we head to the farm and get to work. I work with the three guys that live on the farm. The work has been tough but the people are lovely. Though I do find it hard to say that it’s time to stop. I will work until they tell me not to, but they are very flexible … I think we need to work out what is best for both of us. I just want them to feel like they are getting the most out of this trade.

It is amazing how things work out. I feel that the order of farms has been perfect for many reasons. Each farm has been what I have needed at the time, even if I don’t know it. Being the first wwoofer that this farm has had, I would have struggled if this was my first location. But I feel equipped with the confidence and experience to adapt to being the first wwoofer.

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I walked into my apartment and the bed was made! I can’t believe that there is room service! I better not get used to this, especially not with India on the horizon.

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I had a great first weekend! I went downstairs to have breakfast and saw a little note, “For you, Steph have a nice day!” sitting with some homemade pizza and focaccia. Later in the day, I met up with the Brazilian guy from the farm. He rode his bike to Villabartolomea and then we both rode our bikes to the town of Legnago. This little adventure was because I wanted to get my first tattoo! I wanted a bee on my finger! I knew I wanted a bee tattoo but I was waiting to stay on a farm that had bees to make it relevant. (Also on this farm they take very good care of the bees, never feeding them sugar water). We went to Sketch Tattoo, the guys there were amazing and finger tattoo experts! They were so kind and they were very considerate, I told them that I wanted vegan ink and they ensured that all products used in the process were vegan. After the great experience, we rode through the beautiful town of Legnago. It was a great day!

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I have been really forced out of my comfort zone. Each day at this farm is challenging me (which is always positive!). There is absolutely no work schedule, this for me is tough because I am the kind of person that likes to know what the game plan is. The other thing is that people just keep showing up! Federico seems to have many great friends from all over the world … they have all just decided to pay a visit while I am staying here! For me, it’s a strange feeling to be living somewhere and to have completely no idea about the day to day plans and events. It is still really interesting to meet all of these people from different walks of life.

I connected with one of the travelling friends-of-the-farm and in a nutshell, I had my first Italian male “encounter”. It really comes in waves, as on the same day, one of the guys from the farm admitted his love for me after our week of work together! While all of this is occurring I am questioning whether or not I am even interested in males, what a time!

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I think I have settled in here more now. I am getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, unaware of what work is to be done. I am learning to work more like an Italian — removing the rush and the stress and taking it slow and as it comes. It helps to live with such beautiful people, Giulia and Federico! They have opened their home and hearts to so many people, friends and strangers. The longer I spend with them, the more I am witnessing their kind, selfless acts.

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I visited Verona with one of the guys from the farm. I finally got to see mountains, the flatlands had come to an end. After I left Bologna, the ‘Po Valley’ began, 46,000 km² of a flat plain, extending 650 km … I missed the mountains, it was a very nice sight as the train rolled into the central station of the city. We spent a good chunk of the day exploring the city, making sure to tick all of the tourist boxes. We saw the house of Giulietta, while I was getting the “must do” photo, touching the boob of the Giulietta statue, a man proposed to his partner! It truly is the city of romance. We also saw the house of Romeo and “Porta Leoni” (that was for you, Mumma Leonie!). For my big day out, including getting there and back, I spent a total of € 0.70. Yes, I really do mean less than one Euro and this shrapnel was spent because I needed to go to the toilet and in Italy when nature calls, you must pay!

My € 0.70 day trip breakdown: € 5.80 for the train to Verona, paid for by boy in love (I tried to convince him not to pay, using my best feminist arguments). Lunch was free because I packed fruit and veg from home. € 0.70 spent on my poor bladder. € 5.80 for train home was avoided because the ticket man didn’t ask us to pay … (my first rebel act, my tattoo has given me an edge).

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I am really starting to feel comfortable with everything now … it’s a great feeling! I decided to ride this wave of confidence and explore a part of the area that I had not yet discovered. I had a beautiful bike ride by myself to a nearby town. Something fantastic that I have observed in my time here in Italy is the number of people actively foraging. It is very common to come across a bike or a car randomly parked. You will then spot a person, often with a basket, rummaging in a bush for some wild Italian foods!

I have picked up little habits in my words and actions from each of my hosts. It is crazy the impact people have on you, and you have on them, when you live so closely for a period of time.

I realised that I am yet to mention something evil that has been present throughout my whole journey here in Italy — the worst creatures that are known to man (Italians anyway) —  the brown marmorated stink bug. They are absolutely horrendous. My two worst experiences have been: (1) waking up to one on my face and (2) feeling the need to scratch my head under my hat, only to realise one of the beasts was crawling through my hair!

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We worked all week at the villa, preparing it for the first guests of the season. The guys and I had some spare time to use the toys at the villa that are for the guests (table tennis, badminton, darts …) I beat the guys at every game! Thanks, Dad, you taught me well!

?I can’t believe what I did for love…? A little love story; On my last Saturday, I decided to ride into the next town, Legnago, to go to the market, or that’s what I said I was doing. The previous weekend I had a mind, and heart opening experience. When Giulia and I went to coffee with a friend, we all met a girl, Maggie, a friend of a friend. I now believe in love at first sight. We only sat with them for about 10 minutes, I was so nervous and lost all train of thought and ability to talk. All I know about this girl is her name and that she works at the only organic cafe in Legnago (Isn’t she perfect?!). So my mission this Saturday was just to see her again, not even knowing if that was possible, or if she is even gay (I’m about 80% sure she is… maybe 35%, I added the extra 45% out of hope). I asked Giulia the name of the cafe where Maggie works and headed into town. I made it to Legnago with a heart full of love and a smile on my face. I wandered around the town, walking the perimeter, all through the beautiful weekend market, and stopping by the cafe… but no luck. Wouldn’t it have been a great story if I had seen her?!  Anyway … we must take chances on love, when-in-Italy (or any country!). Life is short.

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For the rest of the Easter weekend, I was mainly by myself at the Villa. I enjoyed some nice walks and rides but really had a lot of time in my head. On Easter Monday we had a great gathering with friends at the farm. In Italy it is a tradition to spend this Monday with friends and family, often in the country, having a picnic or a barbeque. I had a blast! When I was riding home from the farm I got a sweet reminder of the beautiful novelty of my current style of travel. I was honked by a car as I rode home when I looked back I was receiving a kind wave from one of the many friends-of-the-farm that I have met! I feel as though I am apart of Villabartolomea.

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The last few days at this location were raining, doing mostly inside repair jobs at the farm, attempting to renovate the old house. It was a very relaxed last day as it was Liberation day (ANZAC day in Australia), so it was a public holiday. I followed the tradition and made a kite from the Easter egg wrapper to fly. We had a lovely gathering at a friends house and everyone tried to help get the kite working. Let’s just say that it is lucky it looked pretty!

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On leaving day, all of my emotional learning from this location was tested. We were supposed to leave straight after lunch. Giulia and I had to wait for Federico so we decided to go to the op shop. On that trip, we hit the curb and damaged the front of the car that was supposed to take us on the journey to Bologna. We drove to the mechanic and the most Italian thing happened. They took a look and literally ZIP-TIED the front bumper of the car — fixed! Leaving at lunchtime turned into, “we are definitely leaving at 3 pm”. So… we left at about 5:30 pm! I wasn’t even stressed, I found my calm. I just decided to splurge on a fast train. I had a beautiful moment with Giulia and Federico, all of us sharing our emotions and expressing our appreciation for the time we had together. They have so much greatness in their future and I can’t wait to hear about the progress on the farm. I’m also super excited to have made my mark as their first official wwoofer! I hope that I set a good standard and that I feature in some of their stories they tell to future wwoofers.

Back to Tuscany, how time flies!

See ya, arrivederci!

Kindly, Steph