Italy Part 1

Italy is by far my favorite country in the world. Even though I have been here before, I have loved every minute.  The rustic look of the buildings along with the colors make the country absolutely beautiful.  Our next stop after Austria was Padova, Italy. It was a one-night deal, so that we could break up the drive to Parma. However, there was nothing in Padova. Ha! Ironically, all of us at different times made our way to pizza place down the street just because it was the only food for kilometers. After fouling around with the Internet and updating everything, Rogelio, Adam, and I walked around Padova. We did not walk far, but we made it to old town before we turned around. It was a fun walk because it was fun to see what the area was like. The sad part about it was we walked by eight prostitutes. They would look at us, but we would just walk by. Ha! We had a fun time joking about it. Ha!

Sunday was by far the most interesting day. We woke later that day, so that we could travel to church. It was the first time we were exposed to a ward that did not offer English. However, it was a feeling that I have never felt in a ward. Adam expressed to me that he finally understood how President Monson could tell people that he loved everyone individually. Adam felt that each person in that room was expressing love towards us. I have to agree that I felt that same way. Besides feeling loved, I especially loved listening to the sacrament prayers. Even though they were in Italian, I whispered them in English to myself. The church is the same no matter where you go in life. I love knowing that fact. This gospel is an amazing gift that I have been given and I am grateful for it. Another side note: I was thinking of bearing my testimony, but I never felt inspired to do so, but I felt like Adam should do so. Ironically, he did. I flipped through the Inni (hymns) and found a poor wayfaring man of grief, I know that my redeemer lives, families can be together forever, and hymn 172. I was going to give my testimony in Italian. I laid it out so I could, but I never did. I will say though, El so che vive il redentor.

After church, we loaded the bus and headed to Parma. We arrived in Parma with nothing to do expect stay in the hotel. We were stranded in the middle of nowhere. Technically, we were not in the middle of nowhere, but we were four kilometers away from the old town. The hotel did not offer much expect for the slowest wifi. Ha! I was able to Skype with my family, so there is no reason to complain. I miss my family. I feel like I have missed out on a lot since I have been in Europe, but that is okay because I will be home soon. The only thing I wish I could have attended Jenessa’s graduation. I had planned on going to it after my mission, but plans were changed. That night was filled with talking with friends and playing games. I learned a new game called Scum, which is much like the card playing of Tripoli, so it was not that hard to learn. I cannot wait to introduce it to my family. Ha! I usually hate card games, but this is one that I actually enjoy. Ha! Plus my family already knows how to play it, so it would be fun.

Monday was amazing! Our business visit was with Barilla. They are largest pasta producer in the world.  Their story is very interesting. I have it written in my other journal, but I will post it later. Parma is a very interesting city. The city is known for ham and producing the most ham in the world. We spent the whole day with a man from Barilla. We toured a cheese plant, which was nasty. I love cheese, but I am not good with smells. I felt so sick. Luckily Bristal felt that same way. Also, when we went to the ham house, Bristal and I felt sick again. We felt better after leaving both places, but we could still smell both when we went through other activities that day. Interesting facts about the cheese and ham places: the cheese plant cellar is worth 3.5 million Euros with all the cheese; also, the ham house produces 150,000 legs that are worth 150 Euros per leg. These places make bank.

We finally arrived at Barilla to learn that I could not take pictures of the plant. The plant employees 15,000 people. We walked onto the campus and went into their cafeteria for lunch. We had our own private room where we were served a four-course meal. It was amazing. I love this country. This business easily became my favorite. If I get feed, I will love whoever provided the food. Ha! The gelato was the best part of the meal because it was an orange cream. Also in the gelato bowl was fruit. It was so delicious. Ha! A new fact about myself since I arrived in Italy: I have been drinking mineral water in order to have more water available while everyone drinks the natural water. I love mineral water. Ha! Yesterday alone, I drank about three liters of mineral water. Ha! The tour of the Barilla plant was sweet. The machinery was unbelievable. I could not believe how large these machines were. How does someone create this? The pasta was that was being produced was very good as well. Italy cooks it pasta a couple minutes shorter than the US. The US tends to eat overcooked pasta, which is bad for the stomach. If the pasta is a little bit undercooked, it is easier to digest and it makes you more full, so you do not eat as much.

Following Barilla, we went over to Academia Barilla, which is known for promoting better food around the world. It is also known for its culinary experience. Juliann would love this because they offer from one to two weeks of classes. I wrote more about the Academia in my journal, but the place is amazing. There is a gastronomy library that has meals and courses from the 1500’s. There are over three million recipes in the library. The library has meals that were catered to for royalty and it listed the different songs that would go along with the courses. It was amazing. There was also a book from 1516 that I was able to touch. I believe that is one of the oldest books that I have touched. It was in Latin, so I did not have the chance to read it, but I wanted to. Ha!

The night was much like the previous night because there is little to do. Like the previous night, we had dinner again at the hotel. It was three-course meal that was delicious. Following dinner, we had FHE, which consisted of a name game. It took forever because of the number of people and the random names. It ended in a stalemate because everyone forgot the last two names. It was fun to play, but there were better games to play that would have not taken forever. Ha! The rest of the evening, I talked with Adam, Sarah, and Bristal. Adam and I played pranks on people that would have been funny if we had actually followed through with them. We set an alarm on Sarah’s and Kandace’s televisions, but once we learned what time they were actually going to wake up, we felt bad and changed the alarm, so that they would not get up two hours early. Ha! Besides those pranks we played with their circuit breakers. Ha! Also, we doorbell ditched. We acted like ten-year-olds, but we did not mind because it was so much fun. We are planning on doing it again because we have two more hotels. The idea that we have two more hotels is scary because I never want this trip to end. I love everyone I am with along with the areas I am visiting. The end of this trip also means not seeing Sarah Pitts again for months. Ha! I guess that is life. I just have to move on a make the best of home when I finally arrive home. I am excited to hang out with Jaclyn, Jenessa, Cameron when he comes home, mom, and dad. Party at the Hutchins home. All we need is the Munson family at it would be the best party ever.