Italian Camp

Hello everyone,
It's been over a week since i got back from Italy and now i've finally got the chance to sit down and make a record of what happened and my thoughts along the way. So here goes...

The morning of Friday the tenth of August was a special day for me for two reasons. The first was that it was my birthday (I turned 19)! The second and slightly more obvious was it was the day i would head off on a day long journey to a little town in the north of Italy. To set the scene i shall give a little background information. Nicki, Matt, Maddie, Jo and Chigga had all flown out of London the previous night to go to the camp. They were only staying until Monday evening due to work commitments however i was planning to stay for the whole duration (a week). So anyway i got up reasonably early and made a few last minute preparations for the trip. I gave myself heaps of time to get there as i was trying to be as organized as possible... just the way i am i think :) After about an hour and a half i made it to Stansted Airport and went straight to the check in line. The lady on the desk informed me that my luggage was too large for the conveyor belt and that id have to take it elsewhere. In my ignorance though i walked off and only later realised i should of picked up my bag! For a brief moment i thought i might not see my luggage again but that was quickly quelled as being paranoia. I headed for the travellex office and collected some cold hard cash (euro's) for which would hopefully last the next ten days id be adventuring. After killing some time reading some magazines i checked my watch and decided i should make my way to the security queue, which i might add was massive. After what was probably half an hour i found myself at the departure gate and eventually on the plane and ready to go. To pass the time i responded to a couple of b'day txt's and quietly chuckled as i read my b'day card from my pez that had arrived a couple of days earlier (you have to read my bro's comment). About half way through the flight the window seat i had acquired provided some spectacular views of what i assume was the Austrian Alps. The huge peaks covered in snow and gigantic valleys gave me a real sense of perspective i.e. how small the hills are in Hobart amongst other things. The houses and landscape just prior to landing showed off the rows of tree's neatly aligned and trimmed. That as well as the typical orange coloured roof's of the houses are what stuck in my mind in regards to the landscape. I was surprised to find out how small the airport was where i landed, having thought that nowhere could top what tassie has to offer. A 45 minute bus ride later and i found myself at Verona train station. I was abit nervous about the whole train business. Luckily the ticket machine was in English and so buying a ticket was no drama's. Finding the right platform was another issue though. After going onto some random platform i asked (hand signal's mostly) a local where my train would be leaving from. He turned out to be really helpful and quickly got me going on my way. Problem overcome! I found myself a seat after double checking the train was actually going where i wanted to go and proceeded to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. After leaving Verona we winded our way up into this huge valley. The scenery stayed pretty consistent throughout the 2 hour trip but the different houses, farms etc littered all over the mountain kept me engrossed. It amazed me how they built houses in places that look totally inaccessible and impossible to get to! Upon arrival i set off in the direction of the town of Bressaone hoping to find a bus to Natz. I got as far as the bus depot which was completely empty and decided it was probably safer/easier to get picked up. Pastor Helmut and Antonio picked me up and we had a basic conversation with his limited English. After saying hello to everyone and downing a delicious meal we had a brief chorus session and a few testimonies. It was fun singing in Italian even when on occasions you didnt know what you were singing. I started to recall as well all those number's i learnt in High School! That evening I got a lift a few km's down the road to the next village where my accomodation was. I was sharing a room with a guy from Sydney who's been living in London the last few years called Darren. At 1.30am in the morning he arrived at last after travelling up from Verona airport by car. Much to his and my surpise we discovered that the two single beds was in fact one large bed with two single sheets! lol, anyway there wasnt much we could do about it so went to sleep. Thus ended the first day of my travel's. Stay tuned for more updates...
In the mean time, check out all the pic's ive taken here.