Bergamo

Our Lake Garda VRBO host, Barbara (who, by the way, is hands down the best host we’ve ever had — no contest), tells us she’s heading to Bergamo to pick up a puppy. I’m collecting regional Italian playing cards while we’re here, and it turns out Bergamo has its own variety. Sounds like a perfect excuse for a little day trip: see the sights, hunt down a tobacco shop (because, for reasons unknown, that’s where you buy playing cards in Italy).

There’s a weird haze hanging over everything today. I can’t get a clear answer about it — AI suggests it could be pollution, Saharan dust, inversion… who knows? Whatever it is, I hope it clears up by Tuesday — Sophie and her friend Laurel arrive then.

I plug an underground parking garage into Google Maps — it’s a 10-minute walk to the funicular that takes you up to the old town. The garage has seven levels. The first six are packed, but we keep going. As we learned in Rovereto, Italians will cram their cars into any possible space. The seventh level? Total ghost town. We’ve got our pick. We back in so we can make a clean getaway later.

We take the elevator up and step out into a sun-drenched piazza with a fountain and dazzling light. Beautiful.

Turns out, Bergamo is quite the tourist destination — who knew? We sit at a café next to a couple; the guy’s wearing a Big Sky hat. Jim says, “Sorry to interrupt, but I like your hat. We’re from Montana.” They’re from New York, but visited Big Sky and loved it. We chat for a bit. The line for the funicular is daunting, and we’re not sure we’re committed enough to stand in it. They’ve got a tour booked, so off they go to bake in the sunshine.

We order a drink and a snack. Eventually, the line thins out. We buy our tickets and ride up — it takes all of a minute. At the top, we’re greeted by a gorgeous old town. We wander a bit, pop into an open church for a quick look — always a bonus.

We track down the Tabacchi, which is also a souvenir shop, currently overflowing with kids on a field trip. We wait our turn and ask for playing cards. The woman assumes we want the traditional kind and pulls some out right away. Nope — we’re after Modiano. Ah, okay! She gets a key, and unlocks a cabinet. Score: she’s got two regional decks I don’t have yet — Bergamasche (Bergamo) and Brescianese. We make our purchase and head out to explore some more.

I’m still experimenting with ways to walk without pain. At the moment, my limit is about 15 minutes before I have to sit. Today, I’m trying to keep my arm glued to my side — no swinging — and it actually helps a bit. But eventually, I hit a wall. I spot a gigantic church with an open door and tell Jim, “Let’s go sit in there. We can stay as long as we want.” It costs 5 euros each to enter — and wow, totally worth it. We settle into the cool interior, and honestly, I could sit there all day, completely entertained.

Here’s a link to what I was looking at. It’s a virtual tour, you can look around — on my laptop, I had to press a button at the bottom to enable it, but it’s so worth the effort:
https://www.basilicadibergamo.it/VT/5/

Recharged, we set out in search of a late lunch and end up in the shade at an outdoor restaurant near the funicular — perfect. Polenta is a big deal in this region, so we go for one of the specials: polenta with cheese and mushrooms, which also comes with a drink. We take our time, enjoying our meal and sipping our drinks at a leisurely pace. Eventually, we make our way back down — and to our surprise, we actually manage to squeeze onto the funicular. It’s completely packed and instantly brings back memories of the buses in Capri — shoulder to shoulder,and no personal space, but it is only for a minute, so no big deal.

Back in the car, we ease into the inevitable Friday rush hour traffic — made even slower by an accident up ahead. It’s a bit of a crawl, but eventually, we make it back to Lake Garda safe and sound. We swing by the store to pick up a few things for dinner, then head home for a cozy evening and a game of Scopa with our newest deck of cards. Tonight, we’re using the Trentine deck — the “pro” version. At first, I wasn’t a fan, but now that we’ve been playing with them, I actually prefer them. They’re lightweight, easy to shuffle, and feel like they’ll last forever. I even came across a review from someone who had the exact same experience — and then bought the pro set for his friends, and they all came around to loving them too.

Ah — mystery solved. We step out onto the balcony and it’s unmistakable now: definitely smoke in the air. There must be fires nearby. It’s hard to wrap our heads around — just a few weeks ago, there was unprecedented flooding. Italy, you’re keeping us on our toes.

paleremo presto