Couples Conference

December 8, 2013

This week was the semi annual couples conference.  We currently have 13 missionary couples in our mission not counting the mission president and his wife.  All 28 of gathered at the hotel for 3 hours of training on Thursday afternoon.  Than about 6:30 we headed over to the local Roadhouse for dinner.  This is an Italian version of an American Stake and hamburger joint.  On Thursday the hamburgers are half price.  So can get you a very large hamburger with fries and a coke for 8 euros.

Elder Durrand , the Savona branch president from France chose the Maxi burger.  It is a 500 gram beef patty (over 1.1 pounds)!  Very tasty too.

The next day was set aside for touring Milano.

We met at the Duomo.  This building never ceases to amaze me.

 Here are a couple of the carved stove panels on the front of the building.  "David & Goliath"

 Abraham offering Sacrifice

From the Duoma we walked through the Galleria  - The  fashion worlds shopping center!  The tile floor is amazing.  Here is a Mosaic of Remus and Romulus who settled Rome.

And then right in the center of this extremely high class shopping "mall" was a window display with Goose decoys!  I guess even the geese are shopping at Louis Vuitton.

We continued to walk north and here is statue of Leonardo

 Across the street is "La Scala"  The most famous opera house in the world.

Saturday night was the opening of the Opera season and La Traviata was on the bill.  We got a group tour of the opera house museum. 

A bus of the most revered Italian composer - Toscanini.  He looks very stern!

 We were able to go up to the 3rd of 6 balconies and stand in one of the booths (box seats) and look at the opera house.  It was very impressive.

 We then went through the museum.

 

 Some very strange paintings

 This is Franz List's Piano!

 Another fabulous Italian composer

 Here is a custom guitar with two necks and 4 sets of strings.

From La Scala we walked to the ENEL building (our elec & gas supplier for most of our apartments).  They supplied us a fabulous snack of juice and fancy sandwiches.  While on the walk there we saw this bakery with bread decorated like turtles.

 We then rode the trolley to see Leonardo's Last Supper.  We had to be there early to pick up our tickets.

 Yes - more interesting doors

 While waiting for our time to see the last supper i took some pictures. This is a poster outside.  The painting in side was extremely large.  It was worth the wait to see it.

 Here is a girls school's top of a 4 story building

 Drinking fountain

 Elder Keeffer waiting at the bus stop.  How about that seat?

 Here are the Burgers who find all of our apartments.  They look so Dapper in their hats.

 The Keeffers stayed with us Friday night and Saturday we went to the International Craft fair where shops and sellers from all over the world gather each year to show off their wares.  It was amazing.  here is a whole cow on a spit!

The Milano Fiere grounds are enormous.They are the left over from a worlds fair.  parking for over 10,000 cars.  I am certain there were over 100,000 people there that day.  More in one place than I have ever seen.  And the fair was only in less than 1/4 of the building space of the fair grounds.

We ate Brats with Kraut and fabulous buns (Italian bread).  While we ate, there was an Oom Pa Pa band playing and Austrian dancers jumping up and down on the tables.

We also watched this Scottish Bag Pipe and drum group playing.  They were great in thier kilts and long hair and beards.

We saw and sampled many things and had a great time.  Here are some chocolate shoes!

Thanksgiving

December 1,  2013

This week was an extremely busy week.  We had a group of 12 new missionaries come in on Wednesday along with all of their training to do on Thursday.  And Thursday afternoon after they have left with their new companion to go to their assigned areas,  We met 10 missionaries that were going home.  Because it was Thanksgiving week in the States, we decided to have thanksgiving dinner for both groups.  So Peggy and Sister Dibb cooked two huge thanksgiving dinners with all of the trimmings.  One on Wednesday evening and another on Thursday evening.  Italians do not do Thanksgiving in Italy!  The turkeys were obtained by our military relations couple.  They turned out to be the best turkeys I have seen.  It was great.  Peggy and I worked in the kitchen for both meals.

So far I have only had a couple of small groups of missionaries going home.  My job is to collect their mission ATM cards and all of their mission cash.  I then need to give each of then enough money for their extra suitcase fee and also some spending money to buy some food on the way home. Because home is England, Italy, South America, Canada and the US - everyone is different.  Getting the correct amount for each person was way more than 10 times as difficult sending 10 home than it is to send 1 home.

Because it was the end of the month, I spent all day Saturday in the office doing my end of the month reports.

This week I only have one picture.  Earlier this month we had to got to Lugano Switzerland to pay a cash deposit on a new apartment we are opening.  It had to done in CHF (Swiss Francs).  It was a major hassle changing  Euros to Swiss Francs at our bank - but we got the job done.  We didn't have our camera while we were in Lugano - but it was beautiful.  Much cleaner than Italy and the drivers were way more polite and nice.  They ALWAYS stopped for pedestrians.

The picture is of a shopping mall in Switzerland that looks like a space ship.

We didn't have the camera so I took with with the phone.  Does this looking like a shopping center to you?

Brescia

November 24, 2013

On Sunday we decided to go to church in Brescia.  This is where Antonella lives.  She is one of the study buddies I had during the 6 weeks I was learning some Italian.  Antonella would get up at 3 am in Italy to help me via Skype learn some Italian.  It was great to meet her and her family.  Her sacrifice to help me touched me deeply.  Her mother, Father, brother, sister and herself have all served full time missions for the church.

After church on the way home we decided to drive around Lago Isola.  It was a beautiful drive.

As we were driving north up the eastern side of the lake, following some very narrow roads we came to this blocked tunnel.  We had to turn around and drive on a different road.

At the northern end of the lake we stopped and took some pictures.

The road going south along the western side got very narrow.  Carved right into the mountain side.

A beautiful lake

Out in the distance is a mountain that raises up out of the lake.

A water falls

As the waterfalls ends in a pool at lake level and

Vigevano

November 23, 2013

This Saturday we decided to go to a town about 35 miles away.  It was a great find!

 Typical Italian Centro Streets

It had a fabulous Piazza

They had built an ice skating rink. They had little penguins for the kids to hold onto while learning to skate.

After walking around the piazza we began wandering around town

A couple blocks away was this interesting fountain.

Great place for dogs to get a drink?

Cool court yards

Look at the size of those mushrooms!

There was even an ancient castle 

Here are the main doors to the duomo

The water of the Holy Ghost

The cathedral was very impressive

A resting Bishop / Pope?

Horrible picture but here is Peter with the Keys

This is gruesome painting of the beheading of John the Baptist.

This last door is just across the street from the cathedral at the corner of the piazza.  If you read the signs it is a doctor and dentist office.