Meet Julia & Company

MANTOVA, Italy - Logged almost 52 miles today from Parma to Mantova. Good roads and nice weather, but it felt like I was stopping every 15 minutes to ask for directions and then two minutes after that to seek clarification.

Finally landed around 7 p.m. in Mantova and sat down outside a church near a center square.  (see story on Father Giorgio and my animal neighbors HERE).

After getting settled in, Rev. Giorgio brought in Julia. Julia was 21 and well versed in English. "You are in Colle Aperto and you're camping in our Sunday School room," she said. Julia spent 10 months in New Zealand, and that's where she honed her English skills. Studying to be a nutritionist, Julia soon introduced me to her friends Mattia and Marco, both 17 years young.

Both claimed to have poor English-speaking ability, but they did just fine. My checkout time is 7 a.m. as class gets under way at 8 a.m.

Headed northeast tomorrow to Castiglione as I make my way to Milan.