Bergamo

This week we were not sure where we should go on our Saturday outing.  It is still Fieragosto where most of the Italians go on vacation for some or usually all of the month of August. They either go to the beach or the mountains.  So we did not want to go where the crowds were.  Thursday in the office Anziano Modugno (a native Italian missionary from southern Italy) said we should go to Bergamo, a city less than an hour away.  Bergamo is beautiful!

We are driving thru Bergamo and can see the old, upper city ahead.

Bergamo old city, was built on a hill.  the newer city is built down below.  When we got here we drove to the upper city and found a funicular that took us up above the upper city

What a view!

Nice view of the city below - see the cell tower on the right?

Italy provides free foot massages as you walk around.

This is the driveway for one of the homes perched on this hillside.  Not too easy in winter?

 

Grapes were growing everywhere in the people's yards. 

 

 How would you like to live here?

 

This is the central plaza in Bergamo and is lovely.

 

You can still see parts of the original frescoes on the houses in the town. 

This is the cathedral. Although we think these are very narrow streets, people do drive cars here to get to their homes surrounding the church.

This cathedral is one the most ornate we have seen over here.  There were many ancient tapestries hung around the church and many paintings on wood and plaster.  There were inlaid wood tablets that were stunning.

Tapestries were everywhere

 

These are the wood panels that are amazing.  This one is about Noah and the Ark

A painting of the last supper

This is a wood door many centuries old and very intricate.

Big trucks drive down these streets and you just squeeze yourselves along the wall when they come by.

The views from the high city were breathtaking.  This city is very old and at one point was conquered by the Venetians.  The city has many examples of stone lions.  The winged lion was the symbol of the Venetian doges (leaders) They were not popular.  But now they use them everywhere in the city - part of its tourism.

The mountains are the foothills of the Alps.  Everything is lush and verdant.

This is one of the few cities that sustains very little damage from WWII

These romans knew how to build things that last!

We loved Bergamo.  The views were fantastic on every side.  We rode the funiculare up to the citta alta (the high city) and could see for miles.  Then  we went back down the funiculare and walked and walked and walked up and down in the citta basso (the lower city).  Everywhere we looked it was gorgeous.  In modern buildings you could see doors that were centuries old still being used.  The juxtaposition was so interesting and part of Italy's charm.  We wandered hither and yon.  In the alta citta the homes were perched on the hillsides.  We decided to drive thru the rest of the city and couldn't find any restaurants open and ended up going to McDonalds.  Ironic huh?  Oh, well they always have clean bathrooms over here.  There are not many public bathrooms and many are shared by men and women. 

 

The drive home was lovely and always interesting.  We love being able to spend Saturdays seeing this beautiful country.  We are gearing up for 28 new missionaries in a week and a half so we work long hours each day.  It is exciting to see them arrive and get their first look around.  We hope some of you come to visit us and see the wonders here. 

 

We get to go to the questura (police and immigration center) Monday afternoon (it will probably take all afternoon and involves an hour long metro ride each way) as our permesso di soggiorno are ready. (our visa is to get into the country, the permesso di soggiorno is to stay in the country.)  Seeing as the permesso costs 160 euro to get and must be renewed about every year and the renewal fee is 140 euro, I think it is a way to bring money into the economy. The couples seem to get their permessi quickly and the young missionaries have long waits. 

 

We are getting the hang of our work and learning how much time to allocate to each task.  Marv is always busy with the financial aspects of the mission, paying rents, getting the missionaries their monthly allotment, etc.  I work with the permessi, work with the housing contracts, and am now the fleet coordinator ( I take care of the mission cars - all of them).  It is never boring in the office. 

 

It is cooling down some here and yesterday we had a huge storm that blew in.  Today is windy but still bright and sunny.  We just heard that our sweet Abigail broke her arm and is in the hospital (should be home in awhile today)  Since our day starts eight hours before theirs, it is hard to realize the actual time here versus the time there.  At the office, if we need to call Salt Lake City, we have to wait until four in the afternoon here to talk to them at eight in the morning.  Italians also use a twenty four clock - so three pm is 15:00 and so on.  Also they write the day then the month and the year.  So today is 25/8/2013.  It is easy to get confused at times.  But most Italians are very helpful.  Though when you call for help with a utility company, no one is helpful and are often cranky.  The hang up if you don't speak Italian well.  Also, we got a couple of bills and there was no address listed, just the payment amount.  As we have over fifty apartments we called to see which apartment the bill was for.  The utility told us they didn't have that information and could not tell us which apartment the bill was for.  Rather frustrating.  Business is very different here. 

 

When we open a new apartment, you have to pay the agents fee up front, the security deposit, sign the contract before they do, and have to put in everything in the apartment - the cabinets and appliances, sink, etc. and usually also put in the bathroom fixtures.  Nothing is done quickly.  But it is all part of the adventure.  We wouldn't be anywhere else at this time of our lives.  What a blessing to be here and serve our Heavenly Father. 

 

We fall more in love with Italy each day.  We are making friends - our cashier in the COOP (co-op to us - cope to them) is very friendly and greets us each time we shop there.  We are very happy here.  We do miss our family a lot - thank heavens for Skype and phones and email.  We just heard Abby is out of the hospital on her way home.  Hurray.  Wish we were to sign her cast.  Well, time to go.  Take care and know we think of all of you often.  Wish you here with us.  Ciao!

Pavia

This week was hectic so we decided to stay close to home on Saturday and went about twenty miles away to the city of Pavia.  It is a nice little town and was very quiet.  We visited the duomo there (there is duomo - cathedral - in every city).  They are amazing and most are very old.  Here you can see the remains of a tower that fell only a few years ago. 

The front door is about 30 ft high.  I am amazed how they get the hinges to be square.

Again the streets are tiny in parts of the city.  Lots of cobblestones too.  After visiting the Duomo and a few calls from the Mission President we sat down at a sidewalk café and had Orange juice and chocolate filled croissants  They were delicious!

Everyone seemed to be walking down this one street.  So did too!

There are street performers usually in the city center (main piazza) mimes, musicians, even Mickey Mouse (topolino here).  People dance with dummies dressed up in flashy costumes, etc.  It gives a lot of atmosphere.

Just one of the usual gorgeous buildings present everywhere.

This scene is in one of the small parks everywhere.

This is the University of Pavia - Columbus graduated from this university.  In many of the pictures of Columbus, he is wearing a kind of flat hat that covers his ears and is nearly to his shoulders.  It appears to be the same hat worn by many of the illustrious graduates of this university.  In any of the statuary and stonework effigies the same hat is present.
 

These statutes are of more modern day heads of the university.  They like to see themselves in stone a lot.  There are tons of statutes or stone effigies everywhere you look in any city.  There are a lot inside the churches as well.

Usually these stone pieces give a bit of history to identify the people and places.

This little house was very ornate and around the back there were funny little cupolas and towers . We tried to get where we could take pictures but the traffic flow did not allow us to stop.

Believe it or not - these are rice paddies.  We are surrounded by rice fields.  That is why there are so many mosquitos.  This field was right next to the monastery we visited.

This is the monastery.  We didn't get in - Italians take their two hour lunch very seriously and so it was closed when we got there.  As it was a very hot day, we just walked around it.

It is a lovely setting though. After we left, we came across this tiny little restaurant with a "tourist" menu.  It was just a married couple, the dining room was upstairs and lovely and cool.  The man cooked all the food which was wonderful.  We had an appetizer (antipasti) of homemade bread and a pepper salsa.  Then we had the prima piatta (first course) of really delicious spaghetti with a fresh basil and tomato sauce ( a whole 12 inch skillet full).  Then for the seconda piatta (second course) we had grilled sausages with chilled grilled vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, peppers) Normally the vegetables are served separately as a third course (contorni), But the man knew we were Americans and asked if we wanted our vegetables with our meat.   It too was so good. Then we had fresh chilled cantaloupe for the last course.  All for about 18 dollars each.  The atmosphere, the music, the couple who owned it made it worth every penny.  Speaking of new experiences, when we shop for groceries, things are a little different here.  As you can see from this next picture.

 

 

We get the whole experience including the smell.  Needless to say, we are not squid fans.  The stores have many different kinds of foods.  We do try many but not this.  We try many of the different stores to find our food.  We will try a German based store this week.  Every shopping trip is an adventure.   So far we have found almost everything we need.  Pavia was a nice little trip. 

 

 



Random pictures and teaching

Here are a couple of random things that we have run into over the past couple of weeks that folks may find interesting.

First - We go to church each Sunday morning to the Navigli ward. Navigli is the name of an old shipping canal that runs from the lakes up north through south east Milano and south to Pavia.  The canal is no longer used to ship barges since 1978 but is still used for irrigation. Any way take a look at the way they park in front of the church.

Yes, the marked parking space is half on the road and half on the side walk. 

Also, while we were in Torino last week, we were shopping in an open street market and bought some of these. 

Yes, this is a peach. But it is flat. About the diameter as a normal peach, but only half the height. The flesh is a very pale white, and the flavor is a mix between peach and apricot. Very good. We will buy more the next time we see them. 

Almost everything is a new experience. Does all of this new discovery and learning make you young?  I hope so.  We are certainly engaged and busy in our work and doing all we can to enjoy the people and our time here. 

For the past couple of weeks, I have been helping the Navigli sister missionaries teach a guy. We meet with him a couple times a week.  The 1st time Peg and I attended the Navigli ward we were asked to come to the front and bare our testimonies. I kind of stumbled though mine in broken Italian and Peg translated for them. Jimmy, our investigator we are teaching, was there and I guess was quite taken by what I had to say. Anyway he seems to like me, so I have been doing what I can in the lessons. 4 to 5 times during each lesson (which I am catching about 10% of), everyone turns to me asks me a question. I answer in English and the sisters translate into Italian. I feel the Spirit when I am in these lessons. Anyway, this past Thursday he committed himself to baptized mid September with no prodding by the sisters. And he was very specific he wants me to baptize him and I must do it in 'Americana'.  Very interesting. I am very happy to lend what little assistance I can.  The church is true!

Torino

On Saturday, August 10 we went to Torino with the Molinaris  This is the other couple in the office with us.  They have been here about 6 weeks longer than us.  She is the Presidents Secretary and He works with the apartments.

We found a parking spot and then as we were walking to the Torino Duomo we saw how they move furniture into an apartment.  This is a portable lift that runs up and down on these rails. They were lifting couches and other large pieces of furniture.

Does your local Elders Quorum need this equipment?

 

Our 1st stop was the Duomo in Turino  It looks rather plain compared to some of the cathedrals here.

However, this is the home of the famed "Shroud of Turin".  This is a horrible picture of a shrine to the shroud. I understand the real shroud is hidden away down in some vault in the basement.

 We then walked around the corner and though a big courtyard and came to this piazza.  Peggy then got really excited, because just across the street from here is where she spent many many days. as a missionary.

 



Here she is, standing on the exact spot where they would street board most days while she was in Torino on her 1st mission.

We next wandered trough the streets on our way to the Egyptian Museum. It was great!

We found mummies!

And even a mummy warehouse

 I was surprised that much of the story from the Egypt movies I have seen  (10 Commandments & The Mummy) were all based on facts.

The last exhibit was amazing. Two very large rooms were filled with enormous statues.   This one is at least 20 feet tall.  There had to be at least 20 of these large statues in each room.  How did this guy pack all of this stuff in his suit case when he came back to Italy?

After Egypt we wandered around trying to find a place for lunch.  Here is a palace!

And a pink car parked right in the middle of the palace.

 

We then saw some mimes.  I first thought this was a statue until they waved at me.

 

 AND THEN WE SAW AN INVISABLE MAN!!!  Yes this guy was sitting there reading a book.  he would turn pages and even wave at us occasionally

.

Here is a galleria - indoor shopping area next to the palace.

We finally found a focciareria and each got a piece.  I had one with eggplant, tomatoes and artichokes and it was fabulous.  We sat down at some tables on the walkway and began to eat.  A waiter came by and said that we could only eat there if we were going to buy something from their café and gelateria.  Gelato?  Of course we had to have some gelato for dessert.  I got us two medium coconut ones.  They were very large and absolutely the best frozen dessert I have ever had.  It was fabulous!

We then decided to walk about 6 blocks to the Mole Antonellina - the tallest structure in Torino.  Peggy found a new fan on the way at a street market. We had to wait in line about 30 minutes to ride the elevator up to the observation deck.

Here is a picture looking strait up through the glass elevator at the ceiling that had to be 500 feet up.  There was no elevator shaft.  Just the cables pulling us up through mid air up to the top.  WOW!

I got to the top and had the willies.  The view was wonderful in all directions.

 

Torino looking east.  Take note of the cathedral at the top of this hill.

 

Torino looking west toward the Alps

Torino looking south west.

Torino looking South east.  You can see the Po river that runs through town.

We then had a long slow walk through a park and back towards the car.  We were pooped from the walking .  We saw the Roman wall that dated before Christ.

Here are the cobbles stones under the roman wall arch.  you can see the grooves worn in them from the carts that rolled through here thousands of years ago.  Some of the cobbles had been replaced.

We then found a street market selling vegetables, fruit, meat, bread, and just about everything else.  Prices were much cheaper than in the super mercato.  Peggy had brought one of her bags along and we bought some cheese, fresh pasta, bread, flat peaches, asparagus, water.  It was a wonderful shopping experience.

 

We then met back at the car and punched in the Superga into the TomTom.  This was the tiny cathedral you saw from the tower.  We were navigated through town and up the hill side to this wonderful cathedral on the top of the mountain.

 

Superga

 

 

A view of the inside of the dome

Next to where we parked was this strange wooden sculpture.  I would expect to see something like this in cowboy country.  I think it is meant to be a playground structure.  Check out this cow - it even has an udder!

 

 The view from the top towards Torino was fabulous.  The picture does not do the view justice because there was the smallest amount of haze in the air which the photo seems to magnify.  You can even see the Mole Antonellina.

 

 

This was a wonderful day.  It was about 1.5 hour drive from our apartment.  We left home at 7:30 and did not get back until about 7pm.  We look forward to many more Saturdays like this.

 

I was so happy to once again be in Torino.  It is a beautiful and welcoming city.  To see the places I served in is marvelous.  So too are the Italian people.  Everywhere we go, if we speak or try to speak Italian they are so friendly.  When we were buying the fresh pasta, the storekeeper was packaging our pasta and there was about two cups left in the bin and he smiled at us and poured it all in our bag for "gratis" (free).  It is the same wherever we go.  The couple we replaced never had a kind word to say about Italians and service here but they never tried to learn Italian and were very abrupt and demanding and they got the service they earned - nothing.  We have had lovely experiences with the Italians and they have all been helpful and charming.   Just today in church, a  couple from the filipines asked us to home teach them (he works for the Filipino consulate) and a lovely sister who is married to an Italian but she is Scottish invited us over for dinner.  Everyone at church kisses and hugs a lot.  Italians are very demonstrative and caring.  We are gearing up for a new batch of 28 young missionaries in two weeks.  We are having the dinner here in our apartment on our lovely patio.  It will be fun.  I am cooking a lot - we have lots of training sessions, zone conferences, mission council meetings, etc. I am experimenting with my Italian oven.  Everything is in centigrade and not Fahrenheit degrees.  My oven has few settings and I have to guess on temperature.  But the office elders have no problem eating my less than successful cookies.  I will get it right soon.  We have found nearly everything in local supermarkets, even oatmeal, peanut butter, soy sauce, but no tortillas.  I may have to make my own.  We are experimenting with new recipes all the time, using what we find in the mercato.  It is way fun.  Italy is a dream come true.  We are doing valuable work for our heavenly father and love these young missionaries.  They are remarkable and hardworking kids.  I wish you all could be here to see this wonderful country and meet its great people and their culture.  Ciao!