12 June 2016

This is the third time I have started again on this blog today. I spent about two hours on a post of our week and trip to Como yesterday, and it lost it.  The last time it did this I had spent a lot of time on our trip to Florence, and had to start again, but then it showed up, so I will not re-create this post again right now, hoping it comes back.

Our cleaning lady, Sorella Cano, has worked for years to become an Italian citizen and finally made it.  Myrna made her a cake and the mission bought pizza for everyone in the office.  This is President and Sister Dibb with Sorella Cano and cake baker Myrna.

These are the missionaries in the office that day.

Except for Anziano Thompson, who was to my left when I took the pix above.

Myrna and I went to Pavia to inspect two apartments this week. One, with two missionaries, was okay and we spent about an hour helping them clean.  The second, where we went a few weeks ago to show them how to leave it vacant, was pretty gross.  They had done a little cleaning, like using bleach to get the mold off the bathroom ceiling, but I had to clean the chicken bones out of the sink (remember the pix a few posts ago with thawing chicken). I won't show you the toilet pix, although we learned that muratic acid does a pretty good job on yellow stains on toilets and bath tubs.

On the way home from Pavia we passed by this sign

It is for Scotti brand rice, which from 1860 has given more value in rice, according to the sign. In the back is a field of rice.

On Saturday (yesterday) we went to Como, a city about an hour north of here.  It is on a lake, which is shaped sort of like a V, with Como at the bottom.  The lake starts in Switzerland, and a few weeks ago we went with the president and the office elders to Bellagio, a little town at the top of one of the fingers.

We easily found a parking garage downtown and parked on the 6th floor for almost 7 hours and paid 9.50 euoro, which was a good deal. We went to check out this town to see if Amy and family want to go there.  They should, it  is cool. We walked toward the duomo, always in the center of any Italian city.  We went in the duomo and saw they were having a service, which the usher said was an ordination of new priests and would last another two hours. I did get to hear the organ and choir, which were very beautiful.  When we got home I googled and found a Youtube of a similar ordination that day in the duomo of Milano, which you can find by going to Youtube and putting in ordination of new priests milano italy 12 june 2016, so yesterday must have been the ordination of new priests day.


We went to the lake, only a couple of blocks away from the duomo.  The history book says that Julius Caesar found the area around the lake swampy and ordered it drained, so the city was built up next to the lake, so this must be the equivalent of Nauvoo in Italy.  This was a father swan carefully guarding his wife who was sitting on four eggs.

which she turned while we watched.  She made her nest on twigs and garbage, and the city put the sand bags in front to keep it from flooding.

The boat harbor on the lake. They do fish on this inland lake, but it does not go to the sea.

We walked a few blocks to the funiculare, or tram which runs up the hill.  It took about 6 minutes to get to the top and cost 10 euros.


Where we could see the city of Como.

There was an old church up there.

With a famous altar painting, about eight feet high
 
Guarded on either side by these dudes.

With these relatively new bones under the altar

With this sign which says we remember the 90th anniversary of the beautification (before becoming a saint) of Maddalena Albrici whose mortal remains are conserved in the cathedral of Como which were formerly with the reliques venerated at this altar, Brunate (name of the town) 16 May 1998, pretty new for an old Italian church.

Of course, I had to check out the organ, with Myrna sitting patiently in the back.There was no one else in the church.  I found that the staircase to the organ loft was well hidden in the baptistry.

The wooden walls had been painted to look like curtains, and the panel to the left has a keyhole for the door leading to the staircase for the organ loft.  The round thing in the front is the baptizing bowl.

Then we went on a hike to see the sights below.

We passed by many villas (a villa is an Italian home, does not have to be large, but most are, where one family dwells, it is not an apartment house).

Same villa, from the end, showing the only road to it and all the rest on that side of the mountain.


City of Como below.

City on the other side of the lake, there are many of these cities on both sides of both fingers of the lake. It is easier to get there by boat, because the roads are very narrow and windy.

Looking down south at the other cities in these valleys.

After about an hour on top we came back down on the funiculare, which goes and comes every 15 minutes.

By now it was lunch time and we were hungry, and passed many restaurants with waiters out trying lure in customers.  The lake is to the right. It sprinkled on us from time to time, but the weather was cool and refreshing.

We finally chose a restaurant where we could eat outside and watch the people passing by.  Notice it is next to McDonalds (they are everywhere in Italy and are always very busy, with FootLocker across the street. We have never eaten at a McDonalds in Italy, but I use their rest rooms, which are clean, unlike those in other places in Italy.)  As we sat down I had a call from a senior missionary who needed information, so Myrna had to order our pizza for lunch.  We had one, which was 7 euros, and a 50 ml bottle of water (I had frizzante and Myrna naturale) for a total cost of 11 euros, which was all we needed, and we got to people watch.

Guy eating gelato and a toothless beggar woman. I wanted to get her face, without bothering her or being too obvious, but she never turned to look at me at the right time.  The steps behind are next to the duomo.

In this pix you can see her plastic cup, in which people put coins.

Duomo square in Como

Here she is again with her hand out.

We went into the duomo and found they were having a very well attended and impressive service.  I got to hear the organ and choir and learned it was the ordination of new priests, which lasted almost 3 hours. When I got back home I googled to see what I could learn about it, and learned that at the same time and day in the duomo of Milano they were ordaining 24 new priests, which was all on Youtube (already), so yesterday must have been the graduation of seminary and ordination of new Catholic priests day in Italy, maybe in the world. (We had seminary graduation in our stake this week too, but the priests were already ordained, and we graduated girls too.)

Just around the corner from the duomo is the Valdesian church, which has been there only since about the late 1800s, when Italy became a republic and they stopped persecuting non Catholics.  There is also a Jewish part of Como.

Across from the Valdesian church was a little restaurant with a couple of German tourists eating spaghetti.

Buon appetito. (Good appetite, which Italians say when they see you are eating)

We went to this gelataria to have ours, and in front was a newly immigrated African with his cap out begging for money.  This is also common in Italy, as there are lots of African and Muslims now, we also saw a lot of Chinese folks

The missionaries told me about A. Picci, a shop that sells silk ties and scarves.  They have processed silk for many centuries in Como, but over about the past 50 years the Chinese do it cheaper so the Italian silk is loosing out, yet it is still excellent quality.  I bought a yellow and red striped tie for 10 euros they promised me is real Como silk and the tie made in Como.


Silk ties in the shop

Silk scarves, Myna looked but didn't buy one.

More ties in the window.

As we were walking along we found another church, which we went in. They were about ready to have a wedding, and the people were starting to arrive.  The organist, soloist and violin player were practicing, which we got to listen to.  It was amazing and would have been worth attending the wedding just to hear the music.

Italians do a good job of dressing up for formal events, like weddings, funerals, baptisms, etc.

The bringer of the little packets of rice to throw at the bride and groom as they leave the ceremony.

This priest, in the black dress, was walking away from the church, with two buddies, as the wedding was assembling.  I presume there was another priest getting ready to perform it.

Inside that church, pix a little blurry, showing the organist and performers up practicing.  I made a video of it but don't know how to put it in this blog.

Inside that church was this old fresco (painted on fresh plaster, showing, on the right, someone who had a sore--perhaps plague--on his leg, to the Madonna and St. Sebastian, who was martyred with arrows.

We did get into the duomo, after the ordination, I didn't take pix during the service. It was very impressive too.

Highest cupola, which is covered with cooper on top, unusual for Italy, which has turned green.


Preaching pulpit to the right.

There were several very large tapestries in the duomo.  I don't know where they were made, Belgium made some of the best, but perhaps these were Italian.

Then we went down the street and saw a museum. It was while uploading the museum pix that this blog failed, so I will start a new post and post the museum, which was also very impressive.

Ciao for now.