It was a full day at the hospital and after finally getting the taxi company to respond, Fabio the bello taxi driver arrived. We intended to grab our bags and check into our new Hotel but as we got closer to the center of town we noticed a bunch of tents.
Could it be? My absolute favorite idea of a good time? A street fair?! Yes! As a matter of fact, once a year this big fair comes to Bergamo and they shut down the whole street in the center of town. Joy! Fun! Recreational and therapeutic shopping! They had just finished setting up so we jumped out of the taxi and started checking it out.
The Food! Cheeses and spices, tea, meats, and sweets.
Lots of fun to try them and buy them. Also, leather and cloth, a bunch of vendors from other countries. The best part is that we heard nothing but Italian throughout the fair. It is so incredibly nice to be in a small town that is not touristy. People are friendly and forgiving of our bad Italian, and most of the time hand gestures and smiles work like a charm.
We bought a ton of stuff then after regrouping in our new hotel room, headed back by taxi to see Mom and watch her eat dinner. She was doing very well, but still a bit tired and needing lots of assistance to move. She insisted we leave at about 8:00 because it was dark and had started to rain. Then came the taxi fiasco. Couldn't get one. No answer at the taxi office, no information from the guy at the ospedale information station. No uber, no lyft, no nothing. We googled and searched and then decided at almost 9 pm that we should just try to figure out a bus in the right direction. Information guy vaguely pointed to the left and said CHE UNA. Okay C1, got it. But it was so dark and rainy we couldn't see any bus stop and so we just
decided to head out to the main road where we remembered seeing buses go by. We reached the bus stop after about five minutes and hoped for the best as cars zoomed by. I was thinking in my younger and braver days I would've found some nice looking people and hitch a ride but instead we focused intently on the bus stop sign while reassuring each other "we're intelligent people we can figure this out." then suddenly Karen yelled "What time is it?!" She had figured out there was one more bus that night and within 3 minutes, sure enough, it rounded the corner. Hallelujah! It took us back toward Porta Nueva, the main square and within a few minutes of our hotel. Success!
Check out the rest of the fun fair photos!
2025-02-14