On Wed, Oct. 5, my sister, Jan LeBaron and her daughter, Ginger and husband, Brian Starkes, arrived at Linate airport about an hour before 32 new missionaries arrived from the MTC in Provo. Myrna and I had spent the last couple of days getting ready for the new missionaries and had our car full to the gills with food for them and training materials. We were able to spend about a half hour with Jan, Ginger and Brian before they left in a Toyota they rented from Hertz, which had a lot of luggage space, to drive to the temple in Switzerland, where we cannot go because it is out of our mission. They went up the eastern route, through Lugano (where we can go) and came home the western route through/near Mt. Blanc (think my favorite fountain pen) and the St. Bernard (think big dogs) pass in the Swiss alps. They were able to go to the temple and saw a lot of beautiful places, figuring it all out by themselves. They got back to our apartment on Friday evening. Ginger and Brian slept on our living room couch, which is relatively comfortable, and Jan on a single bed like our missionaries use (we got it from the missionary apartment below us). On Sat. we all went to Bergamo in their Toyota, and we all fit okay. We took the funicular up to Cità Alta, where the duomo is, and showed them the sights that we have seen before and like.
In the big plaza near the duomo this mime was dressed up to have his pix taken with tourists (see his collection pot on the cobblestones near the front of his pedestal). I sort of ignored him, not wanting to feel badly that I didn't put a coin in his pot, but Jan talked with him (reminded me of mother), and, interestingly enough, he talked back to her, in English, although he is Italian. Anyway, he told Jan he recognized from my name tag that I am a missionary, that he is from Monza and that he is reading the Book of Mormon. Of course, this made be feel badly that I wasn't a better missionary and hadn't spoken acknowledged him, so when we went back by, I spoke with him and Jan took our picture together (on her cell phone). I think they were impressed with the old cathedral and church, which are next door to each other, and we also visited the museum under the duomo,which has archaeological findings from the Roman period, which have only been unearthed within the last 20 or so years. I also saw statues in the duomo that impressed me, having recently seen the 12 life size statues of Christ's original apostles that are now at the Rome Temple Visitor Center (we learned this when we checked into going to Carrara, where they were made, with Jan.)
The duomo of Bergamo also has life size white marble statues of all 12 of Christ's apostles. This is John the Beloved, which, interestingly is very similar to the one made for our Church, including the eagle, book and pen (his symbols). They are relatively high on the walls of the inside of the duomo, 6 on each side, and I had previously missed them, probably because you have to look up (I did admire the cielings). You could see on this blog my previous pix of these old churches, as well as the statues that are now in Rome for the Visitor Center, so I will not duplicate that here.
Ginger and Brian with an old Italian tapestry behind them.
The organ is still there, and I saw that they are having an international organ festival in Bergamo, although the concerts start at 9 pm, which is sort of late for us. when we need to drive an hour to get home.
The weather was pleasant and we had a good day seeing the sights of old Bergamo.
We even got french fries, which come with little wooden spears, which Myrna and I had enjoyed before.
We also had lunch street food, on the go.
They seem to be getting ready for Halloween, such as they have it in Italy.
We read this saying of St. Augustine, who lived about 400 AD. We could probably put this one in a missionary manual.
This is a bit of flooring from his time we saw in the museum under the duomo, which was built above this Roman stuff.
On Sunday morning we all went to our ward block. We had testimony meeting and then Myrna taught Sunday School, in English, for those in our ward who don't speak Italian. There were about ten in the class. Then, in the afternoon, we visited three nearby monasteries, Mirasole, Chiaravalle (St. Bernard's) and the Certosa di Pavia, and we also saw another old church S. Maria della Fontana.
They are doing a little remodeling at the Certosa, and we still couldn't take pix inside. It is amazing, and beautiful, including the graves of the Visconts. I wish we could take pix inside, which some tourists, mostly German, were doing, but we were obedient. Last time I tried a monk yelled at me.
Brian and I got at the end of a tour conducted by a monk showing where the monks lived their solitary lives, which I have heretofore commented about.
Brian is here looking at a monk's "living" room with fireplace and dining table.
On the way home we drove by recently harvested rice fields.
Near the nearby church of S. Maris, we saw the path to another clandestine meeting place of the Knights Templar. We thought about what they may have been up to here centuries ago, and even now.
On Monday we, without Myrna, who stayed back to mind the mission office because everyone else was gone that day, went to Como and Lugano. When we got to Como we could hear this brass band and saw a lot of young kids with cooks uniforms. We learned they were graduating from cooking school (not chef school), and were being honored at the city hall.
This is one of their teachers, putting on his cooking uniform. Cooking is a very important trade in Italy. We left them and went to the nearby duomo, to look at it, and found they were getting ready for a special mass there.
to honor all of the new cooks, who came filing in as we were ready to leave.
This big organ, which is usually locked up, was going to be used.
We left and went to a piazza, where they were getting displays ready for the new cooks. This sign is from the Provincial Association of Cooks of Como.
Here Jan and Ginger spotted a couple of young cook ditchers of the special mass, naughty boys.
In back of Jan and Ginger is a store that sells seta (silk), which is famously made in Como. Jan and Ginger bought scarves.
Brian obviously loves pizza, lasagna and other Italian specialties, which we had for lunch outside.
Including these peppers and eggplants, along with lasagna. While eating outside we could watch the people go by.
There is a running joke in the mission office that Italian men don't wear red pants (I say they do, our Italian AP says they don't), so I took pix of all those who went past us with red pants.
I think I saw about a half dozen, but only had my camera ready for three. I even saw one with red pants and an olive green shirt. So I win!
Jan asked if they eat snails here, which they do, although I have yet to taste one. I am not ready to fork out more than 2.50 for one, yet.
We walked past a place where they were repairing cobblestones.
I was so fascinated that I took this pix of the little "chairs" they use when they lay cobblestones in sand.
This is one of Como's old city gates. Lots of Italian cities have old walls, with gates and towers.
Outside the walls of the city was this gelataria, ice cream store, where we have been before, and really like.
Then we went to Switzerland, to a tiny town about a half hour away, called Ponte Capriasca, where there is a full size almost duplicate of Leonardo da Vinci's famous Last Supper, painted by painters who worked with Leonardo in Milano. This painting is in a small church, see above, that we walked to. Below is a pix I happened to take of a sweet little Swiss grandma on her way home from mass (wondering what Heidi has been up to), or, is it our own Suor LeBaron?
I have already blogged about this beautiful fresco (below), so underappreciated, and better than the "real one, mostly because the colors are still bright.
Brian drove us back to Opera. He is a very good driver and not at all afraid to drive like Italians.
On Tuesday we got up and drove almost 4 hours to Venice, took a city bus, which is a boat, and rode past some of the many cruise ships docked on the ocean side of Venice. It costs €20 for a 24 hour hop-on, hop-off pass, which includes the islands (glass and lace) and all of Venice, which Myrna and I had never taken. We had always gone into the train station and walked around all day, although we have been to the other islands, which we did not have time for.
Jan and I hung out together, mostly around St. Mark's, while Brian and Ginger walked around the rest of the large city.
This is the boat approach, from the water side. of St Marks piazza. I had never seen it from that side.
We certainly got in our fair share of Venetian shopping. Jan bought a new wool scarf.
Although we didn't buy any of this enticing candy, chocolate below, fruit shaped candy above.
Nor did we hop in a gondola, but we easily could have for about €80.
We spent some time in front of St Mark's, admiring the mosaics and people watching.
These kids were obviously doing their home work, probably writing what I liked best about the art at St Marks. It is too bad so many young people in Italy smoke.
The mosaics are breathtakingly beautiful, and so large. St. Mark's is a "copy" of St. Sophia in Constantanople, now Istanbul, Turkey, where the Eastern Catholic Church began.
Jan bought some little wooden pinnochi (Pinocchio) for her grandchildren.
Our boat back to the car parking garage in Venice left from near this statue.
This is the very nice car parking garage. You drive out and back to the island on a long bridge. It was a very pleasant day in Venezia, and we enjoyed the dinner Myrna had waiting for us.
Today, Wed, Jan, Ginger and Brian left by themselves for Florence, Pisa and Rome and we worked in the office, and are excited to learn about their adventures.
