New Year in Valtellina, 2019

Having spent the past four months in Almeria, Spain, away from my friends and family and my poor boyfriend in Glasgow, I was nothing other than excited to go back home for the holidays.

Going home:

We finished on the 21st of December. After a month of report cards, open classes and a drama show, all the teachers in Almeria were exhausted and in need for a break. All of the Scots got a flight from Malaga to Edinburgh early on the Saturday morning. Despite the cold and the rain, I was so happy to be home.

Christmas:

Christmas was lovely; my sister had flown in from Dubai, we all exchanged our presents and got a good amount of food and alcohol before calling it a night. I managed to see a lot of my friends for the for six days that I was home but unfortunately I didn’t see everyone.

They will have to wait until Easter when I am next home. It was a busy few days but I was desperate to see Iacopo, my boyfriend. He was, of course, in Italy spending the holidays with his own family and friends but we had agreed that I would spend half the time in Scotland and the other half in Italy with him.

It had been a month since we had last seen each other in Malaga and I was so excited to reunite with him. I got myself to Edinburgh airport early so to avoid ay rush of missing the flight. Of course the flight was delayed so I had to wait around for a bit. Finally, I was on the plane and ready to go. Iacopo was driving up to Bergamo airport to pick me up before driving up to his village, Ponte in Valtellina.

Arriving in Italy:

He was waiting for me in the arrival area and we shared a lovely embrace before heading out on our two-hour journey up to the valley. We found a nice pizzeria on the way for a spot of dinner before continuing our journey. By the time we arrived in his village, it was already past midnight so his family was asleep.

Day 1:

The next morning, I opened up the shuttered to look onto the stunning view of the valley’s snowy mountains surrounding us in the bright sunlight and fresh alpine air. Valtellina always seems like a fairy-tale land to me. The landscape is so naturally beautiful and breath taking that I still wonder why Iacopo ever left to go to Glasgow.

We went down to meet his parents where I was showered with Christmas presents and snack before lunch. Of course it was a three course meal and I was struggling to speak by the end of it, I was so full!

Iacopo’s dad has his own winyard not far from the house. We always spend the first day of the holiday wandering around the lines of plants looking over the beautiful view of the valley. We sat for a while on a wall chatting when Iacopo got a call from a friend who was walking his dogs in the mountains. We went to go meet him. We drove up the winding roads that took us to a secluded spot where we all sat and chatted before the sun disappeared behind the mountains opposite us.

In October, there was a terrible storm that wiped out a lot of foliage in the valley. We drove around the bending roads up the mountains, looking at the destruction that the wind and rain had caused. It had all changed so much since last year but work was being done to restore the land.

We returned back to Iacopo’s parents for dinner then chilled in the local pub with some of Iacopo’s other friends. That night was the celebration of the ‘conscriti’. Every year in Ponte, there is a tradition where the class that turns 18 that year go up the mountain and hang the Italian flag with the date that they were born. They also paint a mural on the wall to commemorate their class. For example, this time was 2018 so the class of 2000 were out celebrating. Iacopo meets up with his Primary School class every year over the Christmas holidays to have their annual meet up. I also got to experience this. It was lovely that the tradition keeps going but I found it hard to follow the conversations in Italian as a lot of the time I didn’t know who or what they were talking about. We got home late that night and I was so exhausted from the first day.

Day 2:

The day after we headed up to his aunt’s house high up in the mountain over Tresivio.

It is not normally possible to go there in the winter but as there was no snow this year, we could easily drive up. Iacopo’s aunty is an amazing cook so the food is always amazing. She had a beautiful food fire oven on which heated up the whole house. After a massive lunch of stew, cheeses, meats, cake, fruit and chocolate, Iacopo and I decided to go for a walk to walk off all of what we ate. In the afternoon, we returned back for a merenda of tea and biscuits then Iacopo and I did an Italian crossword together which was nice as I was too full to do anything else. We then had even more food at dinner. I was never going to get used to all the food that Italians eat!

New Year's Eve:

The next day was New Year’s Eve. Iacopo and I had a few options for how to spend the night. We had friends in Bologna, Lake Garda and in Milan but neither of us were too fussed about what to do. In the end, one of his friends invited us to a gathering that was happening, again, up in the mountains.

The was an ‘agri-turismo’ which was situated above 2000 feet over the valley. It was a type of restaurant but also a house where the owner cooked and entertained for all of the guests. It was really cool. We drove up most of the way then had about a 20-minute walk up to reach the cabin. There were so many people there, many who I had met already.

There was a starter of serrano ham, bread and meats along with prosecco and Aperol Spritz. There were so many dogs running around, it was great! The main course was an array of polenta, stews, means, vegetables, potatoes and cheese. There was so much meat! The desserts then came and I couldn’t eat any more. For a few hours we all continued to drink and listen to strange alpine music which was hilarious. At the bells, we all congregated outside to watch the fireworks over the valley. They looked so small from where we were up so high in the mountain! We all cheered and were then given some more food of lentils which is meant to represent coins, wishing good fortune for 2019. At around 2am, Iacopo and I decided to head back down the mountain. Luckily enough we caught a lift off of another couple who took us to Iacopo’s car. It was such an amazing night and a real Valtellinese experience!

New Year’s Day :

New Year’s Day was spent up at Iacopo’s aunt’s house again.

I was still full from the night before! In the afternoon, we all went for a little walk, high overlooking the valley that was full of smoke form the bonfires and fireworks down at Lake Como. I complained the whole way as per as I was in heeled boots and I was worried of going over my ankle.

When we returned home, we all decided on homemade gnocchi for dinner so we started preparing the meal. We pealed potatoes and boiled them, ready to mix them with flour and whatever else to make the pasta. We all worked together to make them and it was such a nice afternoon well-spent! Not to mention, they were delicious!

Il Ponte nel Cielo:

The following day, after lunch, Iacopo and I headed to Il Ponte nel Cielo which is the highest walk bridge in Europe!

It was over a smaller valley above Valtellina and we could see Lake Como at the end. It was so cool but it was freezing. I’d love to go back in summer to see the difference in the views and sunlight. It only cost 5€ and you could go back and forth as many times as you want.

The wine cellar:

When we got back to Ponte, Iacopo and I wandered around his dad’s cantina where he kept all of the wine. We also paid a visit to the pig that his family has, It was smelly and scared me a little so we didn’t stay too long.

That evening, we went for aperativo in Sondrio and looked around at the different Christmas lights and the old town before heading back to meet Iacopo’s other aunty for dinner.

She took us to the best restaurant in Valtellina, Ristoro Castel Grumello, which was situated under a castle that overlooked the valley. It was stunning.

As per usual, we ate a mountain of food. We had a seafood starter accompanied by white wine, then a lasagne main with red wine, then a chocolate cake dessert which came with prosecco all to be finished off with some fruit (including cherries) and a sweet dessert wine. I was a weird mix of tipsy and full but I can definitely confirm that it was one of the best restaurants that I had ever been too.

Skiing day:

The following day, we got up and decided to go skiing. I was terrified as it had been so long since the last time I went. We decided to go to Alpe Palù for the afternoon. Iacopo already had all of his gear but we had to hire skis for myself. It was a fun afternoon but I was annoyed at myself for as I was too scared to try any of the bigger slopes. I really want to get good at skiing so I just need to keep practicing!

The end of the holiday:

For our last night, Iacopo’s parents took us for the famous pizzoccheri and sciat at a restaurant owned by his dad’s cousin. It was amazing as always but I am always so incredibly full after eating the buttery, filling dish.

It was an emotional good bye as we had such a lovely time with Iacopo’s family. They make me feel party of the family and I feel so comfortable there. I was happy to go back to sunny Spain but I always miss Italy when I leave. I wasn’t to see Iacopo until February so it was going to be a long eight weeks before we see each other again in Almeria.

Despite my sadness, I couldn’t help but smile when thinking back at all the great things we did over the past week. Italy will always be a number one choice for me.

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