Day 24: 20 July 2010

It was an early morning for us today since we needed to drive 1.5hrs and be in Pordenone by 9:30am today.  Met Francesca in her modern condo in downtown Pordenone, then hopped in her car for a day in the mountains in Cansiglia.  On the way, we stopped once as Francesca explained a geologic phenomenon that occurs here.  From what we understood, there is no visible water or rivers in the mountains; it is all underground in caves until it drains at the base of the mountains outside Pordenone. 

We drove about an hour up the winding roads to a Parque Nazionale in Cansiglia.  From the parking lot, we hiked an hour up a paved road before turning off onto a trail through the woods that took us another hour up to a clearing at the top.  There wasn’t a view but there was a small shelter, latrine, and some nice picnic tables for lunch.  It was a bit chilly here, and we actually pulled our coats out for the first time on this trip.  Francesca is a big hiker; she brought along a nice hiking pack and poles for all of us, a watch that tracks barometric pressure, and she told us about her many adventures in this area and beyond.  Among the stories were her encounters with vipers and a bout with ticks and lyme disease.  Took a nice lunch break before heading back down to the car.  Joe and I both agreed that we might need to invest in hiking poles since we used them for the first time today and found them incredibly helpful!

The ride down from Cansiglia was scenic even though I slept through most of it.  Just out of the parking lot we past a golf course among the fields of tall grass, and then sheep further down the road.  Once again, we took a windy path down the mountains to the town of Sacile, where Joe’s second cousin Noamie lives.  Noamie welcomed us into her home and showed us around her condo, then took us to the center of town.  She was so excited as she pointed out places in her hometown in a mix of Italian and English, and compared Sacile to Venice because of the many small bridges people have built to facilitate crossing the river that runs through town.  At one point on our walk, several Air Force planes roared overhead towards Aviano.  Although we were surprised by the noise, Noamie said these were mosquitoes compared to the huge planes she saw in the U.S. while visiting Chiara.  We ended our visit with gelato on the piazza before returning to Francesca’s home in Pordenone.   

After a quick shower, we walked through downtown Pordenone with Francesca and her boyfriend, Andrea.  Although I thought it was a small town, Pordenone itself is a city with an old town pedestrian area and a newer residential area beyond the center. Pordenone made its name selling textiles and clothing which are still sold in the same buildings from the 13^th and 14^th centuries.  We walked to a great pizzeria and stayed for a while talking with Andrea and Francesca about life in Italy.   Finally said goodbye around 11pm and started the drive back to Montegalda.

On the way back, we took a side-trip to Prata di Pordenone to see where Joe’s father and family lived before they came to the United States.  Although it was late, we figured we couldn’t come all this way and not drive by.  I think I got a good idea of where they lived in the neighborhood of Perrisine.  Their house had a vineyard out back and had since been added onto.  Tried to imagine what this area looked like 50 years ago with fewer houses and no electricity.  It must have been pretty rural then even though it looks like a residential neighborhood now.  After a few pictures, we got on the Autostrada, mission accomplished.