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!