My next stop was only a short train journey away to the place where prosecco is made, but you can’t imagine my delight when I found my familys house for the next two weeks was in the middle of a vinyard!
So where do I start? My final city camp was in a school in San Polo di Piave, a tiny village surrounded on all sides by wine fields. Including my host family house and I often stole the opportunity to cycle around at dusk, snapping away and grabbing the occasional plum from trees scattered along the tractor tracks. In the middle of the vines were old farmhouses crumbling away in their hiding places, although it was too dangerous to go closer.
Class was hectic due to a learning experience called process drama, and my class really made the most of the theme survival island (basically acting out improvised scenes every day as they try to survive on the imaginary island). This led to a crazy final show with rainbow and unicorn island, candy cannibals, celebrities crashing their plane, a shamrock, an invisible umbrella and magic dust! We took a short school trip to an american military base to meet with the students in their middle school. I think the most memorable part for kids was arriving at the security checkpoint to have the soldiers with big guns climb into the bus for a good look around. The most memorable part for me was the journey. In an unbearably hot and tiny schoolbus with plastic seat and no air. We also managed to tie dye tshirts, have a wild fashion show, played safari with a random assortment of animals and the kids managed to build a bridge out of limited recycled materials that withstood me standing on it! What a great way to end my last week at camp. The final show was over all to soon and ended in floods of tears from me. again. My waterfall of tears the next day at leaving the family just complemented the waterworks that have been going on all summer!
My free time was spent shopping and playing just dance or tennis with my host sister, drinking coffee with the mother and improving my Italian with the father. Evenings out were to Oderzo and Conegliano, beautiful little towns with charming centres, the latter also having a castle on top of the hill, the former having the most interesting version of patatine aperitivo in the shape of roast potatoes on sticks – normally its just crisps! Spritz were drank, gelato was eaten and stories were told over tables in tiny bars.
Something worth visiting in San Polo should you ever happen to pass through is a great restaurant. Gambrinus is located on the main road through San Polo di Piave and has beautiful gardens with even more spectacular aperitivos and food. Try the local elisir and cocktail made with the cherry liquor, on Wednesdays they make delicious fried fish which you can devour relaxing with a glass of their white wine while wasting the evening away watching the fish glide around in the pond.
The castle in San Polo is teeeny tiny and private, but we were lucky enough to get a tour under the golden light of dusk, most of which we spent dreaming of how we would spend our daily lives there. Although it is open for catered events it was lovely to wander around its maze of rooms and dreamy gardens.
San Polo was small and unknown, a place I would never have considered visiting before but I will have to return, if only to see the wonderful family I stayed with again! This was one of those weeks that epitomises the acle experience – wonderful enthusiastic students, great fun coworkers and an amazing family who take you in as one of their own. San Polo di Piave – ti voglio tanto bene!