Paris churches

We went first to Sant Chappell church. It's claim to fame is the architecture that allowed huge walls of stained glass windows. The colors were incredible, but it was hard to see the images in the glass. They were so small and went so high. They are supposed to tell various stories from the Bible. I did see Moses being put in a basket in the Nile.

To be honest, Notre Dame was not quite what I expected. The front was more boxy shaped instead of angles and arches. You couldn't see the gargoyles from the ground. We went into the church and I walked around. It's a cool church. Their confession "booths" are glass rooms where the sinner confesses and receives counsel. No anoniminity.


We were going to climb to the top, but decided not too. I was still sick and we'd already been to the top of two different Paris landmarks.

Mona Lisa smiled

We started off in the Louvre today. It's huge...we didn't even try to see everything. I had an audio tour that I had downloaded. That was pretty handy.

I saw Mona Lisa. Is that amazing? I think so. Did you know they say her expression is dependant on the person looking at her? For some she is smiling. For others, she looks smug. For me, she smiled calmly...not sure what that means about me exactly.

After looking at many works of art, both painting and sculpture, we left to stroll the Champs-Elysée. Back in the day, people used to dress up just to walk along this street. Today, it is still popular and is filled with pricey shops. They sell everything from clothes to cars.

We walked all the way up to Napolean's Arc de Triumph. Even though it was starting to rain, we climbed to the top for a slightly different view of Paris.

Tour Eiffel

I slept for a long time this morning. It was wonderful!

We spent the entire afternoon at the Eiffel Tower. There are parks and grass and playgrounds everywhere. And then, of course, there's the tower. I don't know if it was the tower that impressed me so much, or what it represented: We're in Paris! That's just crazy.

We walked the Champs de Mars, walked under the tower, and then continued across the river to get a view from the "back" side. After a while of relaxing in a Parisian park, we made our way back down to the tower and stood in line to get our ticket to the top.

We spent a long time at the top, hoping to extend our time on the tower into the night.

We went down to the second floor just in time to see the sun set. Beautiful...even if I do prefer landscapes to cityscapes.

We had a picnic dinner on the tower and wandered around until it was finally dark enough for the lights to come on. We gazed up at the top of the glittering tower.

Making our way down to the first level, we slowly walked around looking at displays and old photos.

Finally, we made our way back down to earth and started the short distance back to our hotel. We took our time though and got to see the light show again. Incredible.

From da Vinci to Paris

Before we left, I was able to get a reservation to see the Last Supper (sorry Terri!). We arrived with more than enough time to see Milan's favorite church. It's the fourth largest in the world. The church is dark inside, but vast. It did have some beautiful stained glass windows.

The best part of this church is the roof. You can walk the stairs or take a lift all the way to the top. Here, you can look out on Milan amidst a forest of gothic spires and gargoyles. It was so cool to wander wherever you liked.

We got lunch and then waited for my timeslot to see da Vinci's masterpiece. I don't know what happened to the other 24 people who had a reservation at the same time, but I was the only one there. I had the entire room to myself. I walked up close to look at the details and expressions on each of the apostles' faces. Then I walked backward, watching the room become more real. If you block out the walls and ceiling around you, it's almost like you're standing in that room.

Later that night, we caught our flight to Paris. Because the flight left late at night, and the airport was an hour from Paris, we didn't arrive until around midnight. Our only option was a taxi to our hotel. Our driver took us right by the Eiffel Tower which was glittering with their hourly light show. It was amazing.

We pretty much checked in and crashed. I've been sick the last few days, and I desperately needed sleep.

The rest of Rome

Sunday, April 20
Church was good. Not hard to find at all...especially when we saw a lady holding a copy of the Joseph Smith manual on the metro. Poor lady. Hopefully she wasn't too scared when we started following her everywhere she went.

That night we went on a walk to the Spanish Steps. I really wanted to see Trevi Fountain at night with all the lights on. People everywhere. But it was beautiful, glowing. I threw a few coins in to guarantee my return to Rome.


Monday, April 21
Today featured the Vatican City. We saw St. Peter's Basillica. It's huge and there are windows in the rooftops everywhere, so it's quite bright inside. The only thing a little weird were the two dead popes displayed in glass caskets. I am not even joking. Kind-of creepy if you ask me...

One of my favorite things was a glass window featuring a dove with gold light shining out from behind it in rays of stained glass. It was really beautiful. I also liked Michelangelo's Pieta. It's incredible how he can make stone look like real fabric.

After the church, we stood in line for the Vatican Museum. I loved this museum because all of the displays and statues were right there, close. They're not 10 feet away behind glass. You can get up close and look at details and take all the pictures you want.

The Sistine Chapel is incredible. Michelangelo wanted it to show the history of the world and power of God. The ceiling panels start with the creation and goes through to after the flood. The main wall shows the Last Judgement. We sat in there for quite a while, staring at his masterpiece.

It's a Roma

Ahhh Rome. The only place we didn't have a reservation. We walked around, finally found the place we had decided to stay at, and then...no one was there. We tried calling three different places, but I'm afraid we're phone illiterate here.

I pulled out my trusty book and found us a little convent not too far from where we were. The rooms they had were a little bit pricier, but could I really complain? We each had our own room with a private bath. No, I definitely could not complain.

Sightseeing
We started out at Capitol Hill and went all the way to the top. Wow! What views! All of Rome was right before our eyes. We could see the Roman Forum leading all the way up to the Collesseum, churches everywhere...

Our next stop was the Collesseum. Terri and I went exploring on our own, so I walked all the levels accessible to tourists. It's huge and amazing...although I'm not sure I like the idea of it so much. It was basically a slaughter house for men and animals.

After exiting, I waded through tourists and vendors to the entrance to Palatine Hill. This is where Rome's rich built their palaces, wanting to be as close to the action as possible. It's actually where we get the word "palace".

I really loved Palatine Hill. It's like a huge, tree-filled park with ruins sprinkled all over. I saw a lot of ruins...I'm no archeologist, so I'm afraid they all started to look the same to me after a while. But to be in that area was wonderful. You could lay on the grass and just listen to the wind in the trees. It must have been a beautiful place to live.

After Palatine Hill, I wandered the Roman Forum. This was Rome's main street. It was the center of Rome's political, religious and legal world. When a country was conquered by Rome's superiority, they would march up this street to Capitol Hill, displaying all their plunder and truimph.

Among other things in this area, there is the Arch of Titus (sorry, not sure about this because I don't have any notes with me). This arch (Arch of Triumph) was built by Jewish prisoners after the Roman's conquered them...I believe in 70 AD? It is basically the entrance to the forum. On the other side, just before Capitol Hill, is another arch, although I don't remember what victories it commemorated.

The law offices were housed in a huge building that overlapped the street. Just down from them was the temple and housing of the Vestal Virgins. It was their job to keep the fire of Rome burning. They were "volunteered" at the age of 10 and would spend the next 30 years of their lives in this occupation.

So, lots of ruins today...sorry there's no pictures.

Leaving paradise

We left the Cinque Terre bright and early on the first train leaving town. Our goal was to see a leaning tower in Pisa before we arrived in Rome for the weekend.

We stored our bags and found the bus to the Field of Miracles. It's a beautiful area. Green, green grass, white marble buildings, and lots of people holding up a leaning tower for their photo collection...me included.

We didn't go into any of the buildings. They cost money and I wasn't particularly interested. The only one that did sound interesting was the baptistry. It was built with amazing acoustics (or so I hear). The guards can do a three-part harmony with themselves because the echo lasts so long.

We walked around the entire grounds, marveling at the tower. It really is quite amazing to look at. It would make me cringe with horror if I didn't know it was "supposed" to do that. They actually let people walk up to the top now, but it requires a reservation and about $30.

A bus ride later, we had lunch at the train station and caught the train to the next location on our list: Rome.

Cinque Terre

The Cinque Terre is beyond beautiful! We've been exploring the towns, watching the waves crash in, hiking along various trails, and loving this area of Italy. I apologize in advance that there are no pictures to prove my praise of this area. They won't let you plug anything into the computer at our hostel, so I promise to add them as soon as possible.

The towns sit amidst cliffs and coast. Walking the streets would make quite the exercise routine. Hills, stairs, twists and turns. It was not the funnest thing to take our bags UUUPPP to the hostel we're staying in, but wow! Views every time you turn around.

Most of the days we did (generally) the same thing, so instead of a day-by-day, I'll just give a summary of the towns and some of the things we did while we were here. The towns, while similar, each have a different feel to them. Oh! And don't miss the last section with a little story from our hike from Vernazza to Corgnilia.

Monterosso.
Monterosso is the flattest and biggest. We focused most of our time on the beach. We watch the waves crash in, teenagers playing soccer in the sand, kids laughing as they ran away from the incoming waves...It was great. I definitely love the beach.

Vernazza.
The only street we really went on was the main one from the train station down to the water front. We sat on the breakwater rocks, soaking in the sun. This was on a day that had been off-and-on rain...What am I saying, they had all been off-and-on rain since we got here, so the sun felt wonderful. I read for a long time and then just laid on a nice rock, almost napping. I really like the feel of Vernazza though. It was definitely one of my favorites.

Corgnilia.
We didn't hang around Corgnilia very long. It's the only town that doesn't have a direct connection to the water. It sits high on a cliff that juts out into the water...a mini peninsula. We came here via the hike we took from Vernazza to Corgnilia on Wednesday. We were a little tired (and smelly), so we just grabbed some lunch and then a train back to the beach in Monterosso to relax.

Manarola.
We are staying in Manarola, so we've seen a bit more of it than any of the others. Our favorite spot is a little area that overlooks the dock and rocks. We've eaten quite a few meals here, sitting on the stone benches and watching people, waves and birds. It's very relaxing. You can also walk down to the water from here. I kind-of got surprised by a wave coming in. It was a little bigger than any of the others, and before I could get out of its way, it had soaked my tennis shoes and pants half-way up my shins...I had to walk around all day in squishy shoes. Although, the plus side is, I think they fit better now.

Riomaggiore.
This town is a little bigger than the others (except Monterosso), but is still definitely small. They have an elevator you can ride to the top and then you can enjoy the walk down, back to the train station. We also took the walk from here to Manarola...although it was much, much easier. It's a 20 minute stroll called the Via del Amore. Way of Love for those of you not up on your Italian. There are names of couples written on walls and carved into cactus all along the path. At one point, there's a 2D statue of a couple kissing. All along the railing next to the statue are padalocks. If we remember right, a couple will put a lock...somewhere...when they are married. We saw some in Florence as well.



"I must kiss you!"
There are plenty of hikes to keep you busy for a few weeks, I think. On Wednesday, we tackled one of the "easier" hikes. I am really glad we didn't try the "hard" one. Up stairs, and steep inclines for the first....45 minutes, maybe? I wasn't checking the clock, but we took our time.

Besides, every few feet you had to stop and look around at the amazing views! It's too hard to look while you're walking...there's too much of a chance of stumbling on a rock and falling off the narrow trail. One side is cliff wall up, the other is cliff or really steep hill down.

At one point, I stopped to let a group of hikers go by on the narrow trail. The last man stopped to say "gracie", and then asked where I was from. I said Utah, and he got very excited.

"Utah. In United States? We there two years ago." He started naming off Salt Lake City, Bear Lake and other areas they visited. Then he started listing national parks. "Yellowstone, Grand Teton. What do you think of our..." He pointed around at the trail and area.

"Ohhhh! It's beautiful," I answered honestly. He must have sensed my complete sincerity and excitement because he said, "Oh! I must kiss you!"

Wow. I honestly don't hear that very often, and it took me by surprise. But he gave me an Italian double-kiss cheek-bump. And as he called, "Ciao, bella! Ciao, bella!" I walked on down the trail, laughing.

Sunday at last!

Church
Do you realize we only have two Sundays left in Europe?! One in Rome, the other in Milan. We'll be in Denver for the one after that.

Terri is a Mapquest master, so we had no problem finding the church this week. The members, as we've found everywhere, were very warm and helpful.

There was an English speaking Sunday School class. Sister Rafaela taught the lesson (She served in Temple Square around 2001), and did a great job. The importance of keeping a record. For once, I can sit through the lesson with no current guilt for not keeping a journal.

One interesting thing did happen. I never thought I'd hear someone in Italy say, "You live in Monticello" like they knew where it was. Well, we did today when we met Heather Earl's sister. Crazy world.

We had multiple translaters in Relief Society. First the sister missionary got called out to talk to someone, then Rafaela's little girl fell down and bumped her head. Finally, Teresa came and helped us out. I got my first double-cheek kiss from her. She was really nice.

Oooh! I also sang the hymns in Italiano. It's the first I've attempted it in a different language. I mean, do any of YOU know how to pronounce Czech words?


Mmmm...food
We had nothing but cooked vegetables for dinner tonight, and I was in heaven. Pizza and pasta are easily available, but if you want a dish of zuccini, carrots, onions, mushrooms...you have to go into a sit-down restaurant.

Terri went for a walk earlier, but I was bound and determined to get this blog completely updated. And I did it! Yay. Now I get to go call home, and then I get to pack my bag since we're leaving tomorrow. Cinque Terre, here we come...

Hopefully the rain won't follow us to the beach, but I don't know. It's followed us everywhere else we've gone. I'd really like to just sit on the beach and read my book. Terri would love to go swimming for the next three days while we're there. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

From David to Goliath

David

Today we got up bright and early to make our appointment at the Accademia. Back in the day, the Accademia was a school of the arts. Music, painting, sculpting. Now it is the home of Michelangelo's David.

I have decided I am more of a sculpture person (rather than paintings). They intrigue me more.

The first room is surrounded on all walls with paintings, but in the center is Giambologna's Rape of the Sabine Women. While the subject matter is not very pleasant, the sculpture is amazing. The composition creates an eternal energy that draws you all the way around. That was the artists intention when he carved it in a spiral shape. You can see it here, if you want: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_the_Sabine_Women_%28sculpture%29

To the right is a little wing featuring musical instruments, particularly some of the first pianofortes. You should see the first upright piano. It's shaped like a harp, sitting on top of the box with the keys.

To the left of the first room is the main attraction: David. The corridor is lined with Michelangelo's Prisoners. They are four seperate, incomplete statues showing men struggling to escape the stone block. The original theme was to show the struggle from paganism to Christianity. Now, you can attach your own personal significance to it...like the struggle to overcome trials and weaknesses and become a masterpiece...ok, that was a little corny. But if you can make unfinished statues so thought provoking...

And centerstage, at the end of the corridor, is David himself. It is so different seeing "him" in person. He's almost real. Every muscle. Every vein. Every curl of hair. With the exception of his pale coloring and extreme size, he could be alive. I could almost imagine him shifting his weight onto the right foot and setting down the sling and stone.

His eyes and face have such an expression of determination. Whether you interpret the pose as happening before or after the giant, he looks like one who will do anything to protect his people.

One other room on the ground floor is the plaster room. The room contains plaster models various artists made before they started carving in stone. There were several statues I liked in here, but unfortunately, I can't remember their names or the artists.

There was one of two sisters, walking and laughing together. They just looked like they truly liked and enjoyed each other. It made me miss my sisters.

There were several funeral pieces. One depicted a lifesize replica of a young mother on her deathbed. One hand clutched her rosary beads, the other rested on the head of her young son.

Another, called "Inconsolable" showed such raw emotion. It portrayed a woman, inconsolable at the death of her husband. There was also a young angel, her hands held out in prayer. Her eyes were closed and a soft smile played on her lips.

Goliath

I'm sure this doesn't look like any Goliath you're used to, but when Terri got in the line to go up to the Duomo (Dome) of Santa Maria deil Fiore (church), I figured she knew what she was getting us into.

Apparently, she thought we were just going into the church to gaze up at all the pretty paintings, say a few ooohs and awwws and be on our way. No. 463 plunges on a Stairmaster later, we reached the top of the church's dome for an incredible view of Florence's red-tiled roofs.

Man. That was one heck of a climb. We climbed in narrow staircases. Got dizzy ascending spiral staircases that felt like you were putting your hand on a pole and just spinning around and around and around. We climbed between the domes (Brunelleschi built one dome [maybe for stability?] and then built the real one just above it.)

We hope you enjoy the pictures because they took a lot of effort to get :)

Ponte Veccio

After our giant accomplishment, we went to the Ponte Veccio to see where the rich and famous shop...well, I don't know about famous, but you would definitely have to be rich to shop there.

A long, long time ago, when the ruling government decided to put an extra tax on any buildings built on land, some clever paupers decided to build their homes somewhere else. The somewhere else was the Veccio bridge, spanning the River Arno. The buildings were not on land, and therefore could not be taxed.

Today, it is filled with high-priced jewelry shops and tourists.

Hello Firenze

Florence is next on the itinerary. Our first stop was the Uffizi, an art museum.

The Ufizzi is huge. It has two floors filled with paintings and more paintings with a few sculptures here and there. To be honest, it was a bit boring. I guess I'm not an art person. I appreciate the talent, but not necessarily the style. Mainly it's just the style of the time period. Really solemn faces in what should be happy occasions.

Don't get me wrong, I did see some interesting paintings. It was just a little weird seeing Mary and baby Jesus dressed like they were in the Renaissance age.

So after the Uffizi, we grabbed some lunch and started back toward the train station. On the way, I stopped for some gelato. Let this be a lesson: make sure you know how much stuff is before you start pointing fingers at it. €9 for an ice cream cone! And it wasn't really that good either.

We got our bags from the luggage storage and found our hotel. This is by far one of the best places we have stayed at. The Luna Rossa is not fancy or anything, but Marco (the owner, bell hop, tour director, maintenance man and everything else rolled into one) makes staying here so enjoyable. We have some kind of fancy cable tv that lets us watch shows in English and we have FREE internet access with a computer IN our room. No other place has had that. Marco's really young too. Probably my age or even younger.

As boring as it sounds, we decided to take advantage of the amenities here instead of exploring the city further. I've been typing away on this computer trying to get the blog completely updated, and Terri did our laundry (across the street). We also went shopping (also across the street) and cooked dinner in our nice little kitchen. Mmmmm....nothing like a home-cooked meal to make you feel at home.

Riding the Vaparetto

We decided today was time for a little relaxing. Instead of walking all over the city, we rode the canals in the Vaparetto. I just wanted to enjoy Venice, and this was a perfect way to do it. (Plus, it got us out of the rain which has been falling since we got here.)

The houses/buildings really do intrigue me. You can tell where the separation between buildings is. Each house is individual. It has its own color, its own window style, its own roof height. Sometimes one will stick out from the line-up. Sometimes one will fall back. But, with the exception of a street running through here or there, they all touch each other. They all share a wall. They all lean on each other.

Terri wanted to keep riding the boat, so we decided to do dinner on our own and meet up later at the hotel. So, I took off in the pouring rain. I wandred around the streets and the Rialto shopping, and went in around six to put some things in the hotel room and do some laundry.

Around 7:30 I went back out to see St. Mark's at night. Because of the rain, there really wasn't very many people out and about. No ensembles were playing for diners in the square, but I did get to see the square and canals lit up with the street lanterns.

The heart of Venice

Today began with a mission: Get a "Readin' the San Juan Record" photo for Bill. The pigeons sure liked something...sorry Bill, but I'm pretty sure it was the bird seed sprinkled all over my arms, not the paper. Man, you throw a few seeds and those birds come runnin'...er, flying. I held up the paper and smiled. Or maybe I cringed. It's hard to tell when there's a pigeon or two on your head.

After the pigeons, we went into St. Mark's Basilica. My favorite part about this church is the floor. It's all mosaics of course, but it rolls like the water outside. There are dips and peaks, all smooth. We're talking a good twelve inches in some cases.

We went into the Correr Museum (facing St. Mark's Basilica) and saw museum-type stuff showing the history of Venice. We saw paintings, sculptures, metalworks, coins, books...My favorite things here were a series of drawings depicting the constellations. It had the stars in there and then the shape or figure of the constellation was drawn in in detail. So Scorpio had a scorpion, etc.

We decided it was definitely time for some lunch...hopefully lunch that wasn't over $20 (that's about average). Good ol' Rick Steves to the rescue.

After some tasty pasta, we were heading to the Doge's Palace when we saw that the line for the bell tower was extremely short, so we jumped on for a ride on the elevator for some panoramic views of Venice.

The Doge's Palace was not only the Doge's residence, but also the political and judicial headquarters of Venice. It's a huge building filled with art and guilding on all walls and ceilings. The paintings were obviously intended for each room they appeared in because they went with the shape of the room. Angles, arches...no space was left out.

Most of the paintings were really dark, and it was hard to see them. To be honest, I kind-of had a headache after we left from looking up so much and straining my eyes.

The largest room is the Grand Council room. The Doge's throne is here. It's a little weird to me that they call it a throne because it doesn't create the correct image. It's a large wooden platform with several seats all along one piece of furniture. To say it's a bench sould simplify it too much, but it definitely wasn't a ruby encrusted seat.

Behind the throne, filling the entire wall to the ceiling is the world's largest oil painting. It depicts Christ and Mary surrounded by 500 saints. The intent was to remind the Doge that wise decisions could get them in such company.

We visited the dungeons. Stone cells. Metal bars. The different thing about this dungeon is how you get to it. To reach it from the courts, you must cross the Bridge of Sighs. It is here, tradition says, that prisoners saw their last view of Venice and sighed as they continued on their way. We paused to let people on the outside take our picture, waving at them. Do you think they can see us in their pictures?

Day 30: The islands of glass and lace

We decided to focus on some of the outer islands today instead of jumping right into the St. Mark's area. The first step to getting there was a gondola ride. Ok, a cheap gondola ride where you stand as they take you across the canal. These are quite useful considering there are only three bridges that span the Grand Canal. It was a good ride though...and we were even serenaded across the water :). From there, we hopped a vaporetto out to Murano.



Murrano
(pronounced Moo-ron-oh...and don't forget to roll the "r", it sounds much cooler that way)

Murano is the island of glass making. We walked along the Via Fondamenta (Way of the Glassmakers), staring in awe at the art created from glass.

Sculptures, chandeliers, jewelry...It's amazing. Some of the jewelry was a little too, um, much for me. Let's just say a lot of effort, colors, and glass. More art than jewelry. If you can't tell what the orbs are in the window display, they're fish bowls. Solid aquariums with glass fish and glass plants.

We found my store. I am so popular in Italy! Much more popular than in any place I've ever been. I mean, people name all sorts of stuff after me. Boats, stores, streets. I feel so loved.


We watched a glass blowing demonstration where they made a bowl (in the picture) and a horse statue. It was so cool. They just took pliers or tweezers and pulled the legs out, pulled the head out, pulled the mane and the tail out, all the while, turning it so it wouldn't lean too far one way.

Burrano
(pronounced the same as Murrano)
Burrano is famous for its lace. While I've never been a lace-loving girl, I have to admit they have some amazing products. Clothes, tablecloths, bookmarks, toilet paper holders...whatever you want I guess.

But my favorite part of Burrano is not what they make, but the island itself. If you have ever struggled and stressed over the color to paint your house, consider yourself lucky. Years ago, when the Burrano houses were first painted is the color they still are today. As a historical movement (I'm guessing), each home has to be repainted regularly in the same color its original owners chose. So if great-great-great-grandma loved fuscia, I'm afraid you're stuck with fuscia.

Each home is a different color. So, even though they are built in the typical European/Venetian style where they share a wall, they have their own color. Blue, pink, green, yellow, orange. We wandered the streets, enjoying the ambiance of such a bright, cheerful looking town.

I just had to show how wide the streets are. This is a normal sized street in Venice.

There are ones that are narrower. Obviously main streets are wider.

Oh, and if you've ever complained about road construction, consider theirs...

In Venice at last!

Trudy and Gianfrancco dropped us off at the train station in the morning, and we headed back into the tourist world and on to Venice...the place I've been looking forward to more than any other.

Our hotel was so easy to find. I don't think I even dragged my bag the distance of one Monticello block from the vaparetto (water bus) stop. It was so nice. In other places we were carrying bags forever.

We dropped are bags and went right to exploring this city of canals. We crossed the Rialto Bridge (and thus the Grand Canal) and escaped the many shops filling it to lean against the railing and watch the water traffic.

We walked along the Mercato (the main souvenier shopping drag) and arrived in St. Mark's square. Beautiful buildings, pigeons everywhere, Venice!

We didn't go into any buildings. Instead, we opted to explore. We walked along the bank, watching tourists, vendors, artists, gondaliers, boats, water, pigeons...it was wonderful.

Caught up in it all, we walked all the way to the end of the island where their park is. It's beautiful! I wished I had brought a book to read and relax in the sunshine.

We wandered around forever. Technically, you can't get lost in Venice (which is good news for someone like me). It is an island afterall. So we wandered with no real idea where we were and ended up right back near St. Mark's square.

My feet were so tired and ready for bed. BUT I WAS IN VENICE!

A taste of home at Casa DeAngeles

From April 2 to April 7 we stayed at Trudy and Gianfrancco DeAngeles' in Aviano, Italy. (Trudy is originally an Adair from Monticello.)

It was wonderful. A friendly face (or two). Someone who could handle communication issues and translating. Being in a HOME, not a hotel. And feeling completely welcome. We really, really appreciate Trudy and Gianfrancco letting us stay in their home.

It was a pretty relaxed week. We helped do some final cleaning on a house they're renting, ate out at a few of their favorite restaurants and toured the airforce base where Trudy works.

One of my favorite things was going to the high school where Trudy teaches. Their school is so cool. They have murals and quotes painted on all the walls. There are huge white boards outside the classrooms displaying student work. We met a few of the teachers, and I got to talk to the teacher who teaches Graphic Design. It was really fun to talk to him. I felt like a professional actually knowing what they were talking about ;).

They have so much opportunity at their school. For example, they can test and qualify to be certified in Adobe Photoshop (ACE). It's the same certification I've been wanting to do for the last few years. If you can put that on your resume, you are pretty well set for finding work. And they can do this in high school! He said they average about one student per year who certifies.

We stopped for a look at Gianfrancco's dream car...and then found mine. Yeah right! Can you imagine getting in and out of that thing, let alone driving it!? It was so tiny. I mean, look at how much space it takes up in the parking spot.

Trudy took us shopping in an open air market full of fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, and good deals. She also introduced us to the best pastry shop in Aviano, which happens to be about a block from their home.

Gianfrancco taught us a bit of Italian and sang for us..."When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie..."

We went to Conference at the church in Pordenone. For the Saturday Morning Session, we went to the church at 6 pm. We saw Saturday Afternoon at 2 pm on Sunday, Sunday morning at 6 pm Sunday night...and I missed Sunday afternoon. 10 pm to midnight is kind-of late.

All in all, it was a very relaxed week. It was nice to get out of the tourist mode for a while and just be there.