Arrivederci, Mantua

Well here I am, back in Vancouver. Arrived home last night. It’s a readjustment, getting back to my normal existence; having to cook for myself and others, not having a spritz every afternoon (followed by great Italian wine at every dinner), and of course not being able to get around on my mint green bike. 🙂 (Fortunately I have other bikes, just not nearly as stylish).

Festivaletturatura was, as you could probably tell from my posts, an exceptional experience. They make every author feel special. But here’s a little more info. I discovered that they have 700 volunteers working for them during the week. And that they get more applicants than they can use. People take time off work just to volunteer and be a part of it.

We had the chance to watch the town transform, from Monday/Tuesday when it was still a sleepy, quiet place to Wednesday/Thursday when more and more people showed up, to the weekend when the population exploded. My photos don’t really do the crowds justice, but this is a country that clearly enjoys and values its literature. Every single venue we passed was full (and there must have been at least 20 venues, possibly more), the outdoor venues in piazzas overflowing with people listening respectfully to authors – honestly, I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

Saturday was a free day for me, my mom and my aunt, so we had a leisurely day, pedaling to the other side of the lake.

 

I don’t know if you can see that my aunt has a cane attached to the back of her bike. She’s awaiting hip replacement surgery (she’s a real athlete, and this has set her back). The bike was a huge boost to her as it let her get around all over the place without pain.

We went back to the outdoor vintage market to shop some more.

Then we had one last lunch at the canteen with people from my Italian publisher. Did I mention that the food is made by the students at the cooking school (where the canteen is located?). Delicious! We then said our goodbyes to the wonderful staff. I must give a special thanks to Marella, Aline, Eleonora and Marta for being so helpful, always, especially with my mom and my aunt. They got my mom a new bike immediately when hers got a flat, and even offered to drive them to their next destination of Venice because the train workers are on strike on Sunday!

 We had to go back to our rooms to pack, and that’s when I saw this:

Like a zoomba, but for mowing the lawn. I’m amazed these haven’t taken over North America yet. This thing just cracked me up.

We went for one last spritz at our favorite Italian bar and watched the fashionable people go by. And boy are they fashionable.

Then we had a last dinner at Ochina Bianca, and Roberto was just as wonderful the second time around. Aline and her boyfriend Salvatore joined us. It was a great evening.

A funny story: As I was trying to find the restaurant, the three of us on bikes and me not doing very well, sending us the wrong way down a one way street, I stopped at a corner to consult my map. Suddenly I heard, “Hello!” and looked down to see a young girl waving at me. “Hello!” I said. Her mom said, “It’s Lucrezia.” I remembered Lucrezia; she was at my first event. We chatted, then they gave us directions. I don’t know why I found it so sweet to run into a reader on the street, a reader who was really at the right place at the right time!

Sunday morning I was picked up by two volunteers again, a driver (Fausto) and a young woman (Irena). I don’t know why we get two volunteers to accompany us, but it’s great. We had a great two and a half hour drive to Milan, chatting about all sorts of things. Oh – and I almost forgot the most important thing – I was driven there in a JAGUAR!!! They are a sponsor of the festival.

Thank you again, Festivaletturatura and Il Castoro, for giving me this incredible opportunity to be a part of this fantastic event, and to meet some of my Italian readers (just to find out I had Italian readers!). I miss the people and the town already.