A Journey of Faith and Family

October 30, 2009

Bob’s Sabbatical

October 30, 2009

 

            VERY foggy this morning, but it looks like it will burn off.  We go up to see Susan [the Brit].  First question is about the olive farmer’s name.  He is Aldo, and is 72 years old.  The second question ends up breaking an assumption Susan Cowperthwaite has had all her life.  She has been told (see yesterday’s blog) that she was named after her Grandmother, whose name was “Asunta.”  Susan (Brit) says that she has never heard that, and that “Assunta” is a way of referring to the Virgin Mary, which she confirms with a call to a friend.  Later, a google search confirmed that.

            Dinner update from last night: Wonderful!  The people were fun and the food was great.

We want to follow-up on the olive-oil process.  Susan tells us how to go to the local “mill,” and also tells us that there is a small Etruscan Museum nearby.  We decide to go straight to the museum because it will close at 12:45 pm.  Note: Susan Cowperthwaite is getting tired of going places where one must, “park outside the wall and walk up the hill to the town.”

            Murlo is smallest village we have been to.  The Museum is in two buildings, one of which was a Church.  Artifacts from a town that was built in the 7^th and 6^th Centuries, BC are on display.  Apparently the town burned, and people left so fast that they left all kinds of things behind.  We found a little place for lunch, and then head back to the “mill,” which looked closed when we passed it earlier.

            Now there are cars, small trucks and plastic baskets of olives on a scale.  If we were looking for some “age-old” process, we were to be disappointed.  This is a modern building, with an elaborate series of stainless steel machines all run by computer.   Farmers pull up with olives in baskets (some in bags) that are put on a scale.  They then go inside where they are poured into a hopper, from which they are carried through a washing process, are then crushed, put through a centrifuge which separates the water from the oil, while the rest of the waste is pumped into a pile outside (used for fertilizer?).  

Each farmer’s oil seems to be kept separate, and I assume at the end of the season, the “mill” bottles and labels the oil and returns it to the farmer.  The men at the mill were very gracious – chair for Susan, after indicating the process takes about 1 hour – even though they spoke no English.

            Here is a picture of a garden behind our casa.  We had to ask what the plants were.  Do you know?

   Peace,

      Bob

           

 

 

           

October 29, 2009

Bob’s Sabbatical

October 29, 2009

 

            For a day that we didn’t plan to travel too far or do very much, this turned out to be a very interesting one indeed!

            First, they have begun harvesting olives.  That is what the “elevator”  is for (similar to the one I carried hay and straw bales off of in Pennsylvania, lo those many years ago!).  This is a co-op farm, and each farmer has their own section in the “barn” where they store the olives, l etting the water dry out of them for a few days before they take them to the mill.  In order for the oil to be “certified,” they are required to take them to a specific mill in their district.

            Next, we found out that there is a chapel on the property.  The Roman Catholic Church will not let them use it for weddings, but there are other services here occasionally.  Susan finds some stairs in the sacristy and sends me up.  There are two HUGE hornet’s nests, and I decide not to explore further.

            On our way down the lane, they are fertilizing and/or seeding.  This is one hunk of a John-Deere tractor!  I guess they need something like this to do the hills, etc.

            We drive on to Monteriggiani, a walled town with 14 towers, which was built in the early 13^th Century to protect Siena from Florentine attacks.  The whole town is two blocks long and two blocks wide.  The Church, Santa Maria Assunta [Assunta=”Susan” in Italian](WRONG info, see 10/30 post!!)was built at the same time as the town, and is the second one in the town.  The first, built earlier, is now gone.

            When we return to Montestigliano, they are still “picking” olives.  Actually, what they do is spread nets on the ground, and use a pneumatic “shaker,” which runs off a compressor powered by the PTO of a tractor, to shake the branches and knock off the olives onto the nets on the ground.  In some areas, there are machines that shake the whole tree, but around here, they fear that that method damages the trees.

            The old man in the little hat was born in the house across the road from our cottage.  His son and daughter-in-law are working with him.  In the early pictures, he is using the “shaker.”  I am sure that he spent a lot of time on a ladder when he was younger, literally “picking” the olives.  The old ladders they used actually flex (hold the sides and wiggle up and down).  This is important, because the ground is so uneven, that a solid ladder would be less steady!  There is a sermon in that, I’m sure – something about our being too rigid, perhaps?

            We are having dinner tonight here, with a group from Seattle and one other couple.  Promise is of a nice dining room, fireplace, and good food.  We never got the cooking class, but maybe we’ll taste what we missed!

            I’m going to publish this before dinner, will put review and pictures up tomorrow.

Peace,

  Bob

 

 

           

October 27 & 28, 2009

Bob’s Sabbatical

October 27 & 28, 2009

 

Tuesday, Oct. 27  - Family day and old times.

            The last time we were in Italy, we stayed at a place called Lupinari, near the little town of Bucine.   It is about 50 km. from where we are now.  Lupinari has connections with Susan’s extended family (not her father’s Italian side).  Francesca married Steve Sotomayor, the son of Susan’s step-mother’s neice.  Francesca’s family is the connection.  She is in Italy now, with their almost two-year old daughter, Antonella (Steve is joining them this weekend), with her Aunt, who lives a few miles from Bucine.  We arranged to get together for lunch today.  It turned out to be the same restaurant we ate in with our children, Susan’s brother, sister-in-law and niece, and Susan’s cousin, Sharon (and Mike), all ate in one night 5 years ago.   The same wonderful man runs the place, and the food is still great.  Susan and I enjoyed meeting Francesca’s aunt, playing with Antonella, and driving around the area, seeing some of the same places we remembered from before.

 

 

Wednesday, Oct. 28 – Siena

We decide to head to Siena today.  We have been warned that this is not a good day, because Wednesday is “Market Day,” and it is crowded and parking is even worse than usual. 

[As I write this, we are back at Montestigliano, and hearing rifle-shots.  This goes on every day, from early morning to dusk.  We do not know what they are hunting.]

Anyway, we want to go to Siena because it is market day.  It is such an Italian thing.  Every town has a day when vendors line the streets with clothing, food, shoes, crafts, etc.  We did the tourist thing in Siena before, this is sabbatical Siena!

            We should have asked for more specific directions. We drive in, and have no clue what part of town market is in.  I just find a parking place (illegal) just outside the wall.  We start walking.  It turns out we are on the total other side of town from the market.  We have to walk uphill and downhill, past the Duomo, past the famous Campo (where horses race around the piazza twice each year).  We finally find the market, where we shop, eat, people-watch, etc.  Like everything else in Italy, it is closing down after lunch.  We window-shop all the way back across town, find our car (whew!), and head home.

            Still have not been able to confirm cooking class, so that may not happen this week.  We will go to another little place “just up the road” for supper.

  Peace,

   Bob

 

 

 

           

October 25 & 26, 2009

Bob’s Sabbatical

October 25 & 26, 2009

 

Sunday, October 25 -  We wake to a glorious sunrise.  We decide to lie low today, read, pick flowers, etc.

            About 4:30 pm I decide to go check email – have to go outside to get wireless.  After that, I remember seeing something about Daylight Saving time ending soon, so I google it.  Sure enough, TODAY the time changed in the European Union.  We didn’t get to take advantage of our extra hour of sleep this morning!  And now, the sun is already going down.  Until next week, Franklin will only be 6 hours behind us, since you do not change until this coming week.

 

Monday, October 26 – We decide to head to Volterra and a little town named Mazzolla today.  As we head down our hill, I get a picture of an old farmhouse, with a satellite dish on the roof and solar panels in the yard.

            After we pass Siena, we turn onto winding roads with some gorgeous scenery.  Some leaves are starting to turn as fall approaches.  Fields have been plowed, some have been disked.  There are few straight lines anywhere.  I think God likes things this way.

            We park in an underground garage and walk into the town of Volterra, known for its alabaster.  It was established by the Etruscans and later settled by the Romans.  The Piazza is the site of the Palazzo di Priori, the medieval seat of government.  This one is the oldest of its kind in Tuscany.

            Next we head for the tiny town of Mazzolla (Franklin’s Historic Overlay district is twice as big).  We’ve been told that a couple of Australians have a wonderful Herb nursery here.  As we wind along a narrow (what else is new?) road, we spot a heard of sheep.  It looks like a great view beyond them, so I stop to take a picture, leaving the car running and Susan in it.  As I get away from the car, I hear the sheep bleating, but also the sound of many bells.   Each one of those sheep has a bell on its collar, and since they are all walking along, the bells are making a wonderful pastoral sound.  I go back to the car, tell Susan to “listen,” (She cannot actually see the sheep now), and turn off the engine. We sit and listen to the music of the sheep-bells and the quiet as we take in the view across the valleys and mountains.

            We drive into Mazzolla, not seeing any Herb Nursery, much less Trattoria Albana one of Tuscany’s originals that is still intact (which is the real reason we made this little side trip).  After a quick circuit of about two blocks – the whole town, we are back where we started.   We decide to park and walk back to see how we managed to miss what we came for.  Susan asks some people in the piazza, and they tell us that the trattoria is closed.  We walk to where they point, and there is a paper sign on the door, “Chusia- ferie,” [Closed – vacation].  On the way out of town, we look for the Herb Nursery, but never see it.

            We finally find another place to eat.  By the time we drive back in to Montestigliano at 5:15pm, the sun is going down, no Daylight Saving Time anymore.  Maybe we’ll get that extra hour by going to bed early tonight.

  Peace,  Bob

 

 

           

October 24, 2009

Bob’s Sabbatical

October 24, 2009

 

            Further note on Assisi – it seemed that at least one half of all the visitors @ San Francesco were religious (monks, nuns, clergy).  The “PAX” on the lawn out front is a sign that St. Francis’ ministry of peace-making with all of God’s creation continues to influence all of the Church, lay and clergy.

 

            Lesson of the day (which probably goes for preaching, as well as what happens in a country where I do not speak the language):  “Just because I think I have made something clear does not make it so.”  I know this because when I went to pick up the laundry we left to be washed and folded the other day, the bill was 35 Euros!  I came back with shirts, socks and underwear that had all been dry-cleaned, carefully ironed, folded and either put in plastic bags sealed with tape or hung on hangers.  The smell of dry-cleaning fluid was so bad, we spread everything out in the room and left the windows open overnight.  I repeat, “Just because I think I have made something clear does not make it so.”

 

Saturday, Oct. 24^th.

            We wake to a continuing drizzle, but reports are that the weather is supposed to clear up.  As we head toward Siena, the sky does begin to brighten.  We arrived at Montestigliano, about 20 kms southwest of Siena.  It is a working olive farm on a hill with views of a valley and towns in the distance.  Susan (a Brit) and her husband own/manage the farm and the guest business.  She sends us down the road to a family-run restaurant for lunch.  Wonderful food – this is what we love about Tuscany. 

            After lunch we head to town for supplies for breakfast, lunch and dinner the next couple days.  Check back in with Susan, who is going to try to set up a cooking class for us one day this week.  She is also going to let us sit in the office at 8:00pm to watch the web-cast of Bob Park’s funeral from Trinity Parish, New York (WIFI does work at our cottage, but signal is weak and we don’t want to lose it in the middle of the service).  Christopher, who has known the Parks’ since he was 5 years-old has gone to NY to represent our family.

            As I knew from the beginning, this was going to be the hard part of sabbatical for me.  I don’t know what is going on with folks at St. Paul’s or Franklin, and with things like Bob Parks’ death, we cannot do anything.  Every day I pray for whoever may be sick, suffering, or may have died.  The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

            Bob

 

 

           

October 23, 2009

Bob’s Sabbatical

October 23, 2009

 

            We woke to rain again this morning, but decide to go to Assisi anyway.  We had a beautiful ride through the mountains, especially when the rain would let up so we could see the fields and farms below.  Arrive in Assisi, drive through town one way, then back through the other way before finally finding a parking lot.  There is still a pretty good walk before we get to Piazza San Francesco.  We arrive looking down at the entrance to the Upper church and the rose window of the Basilica di San Francesco.  St. Francis died in 1226, and the Church was begun in 1228.

            The painting, windows and style of the Upper Church is unbelievable.  But then we went below to the Lower Church, where the paintings seem even more complex and the colors are richer and deeper.  Finally, we make the trek below to the Tomb of St. Francis. For someone who led such an austere life, this Church is quite a tribute to his influence.

            We exit the Church, and find that the rain has started again, so we duck into a little place for some lunch.  After lunch, we wander around the streets for awhile, but it is clear that the rain will continue, so we head back to the car.

            Before leaving, we want to go up to the top of the mountain to see Eremo della Carceri, a former Etruscan Prison where Francis would go to pray, according to Alex Wilkerson, who loves the place.  It is now a Franciscan Monastery and Retreat House.  It is still raining, and looks like a good walk from the gate, so we do not go inside –  cannot even get a good picture of the Gate for Alex because it is so cloudy and we are so high in the clouds.

            We return to L Terre de Verde, and decide to just stay here for dinner (it is still raining).  The food was good, and the price was good the other night.  Tomorrow we head for Tuscany, where we will spend six nights in the same place – a record for continuity on our trip – one we are looking forward to, for sure.

            Peace,

                  Bob

 

 

 

           

October 22, 2009

Bob’s Sabbatical

October 22, 2009

 

            The rain we thought we left up in Portofino caught up with us overnight.  We decide to put off trip to Assisi until tomorrow, hoping for better weather.  About 11:00am the rain lets up, and since we have to find lunch somewhere, we decide to drive into Gubbio, a town that dates from the 3^rd Century, B.C.  It is further away than we thought (did not use GPS), but when we arrive, find a parking space close to the old section of town and walk in, we find quite a place.

            After walking a little, we find a place for lunch, and have really good pizza.  We walk around some more, but most places are closed (norm around here), so we head back.

            Le Terre del Verde, where we are staying is a huge (500+ hectares) organic farm/hotel/conference center.  They have their own sheep, goats, cattle and pigs.  They make their own cheeses and cure meats.  They serve their own beef and pork in their restaurant, and have an organic garden.  We took a “tour” in the car around the place, on a mostly gravel road.  It had wonderful views of the Umbria farm country.  It took us up and down hills, past fields, vineyards and olive groves, and we checked out the cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. 

Peace,

    Bob

 

 

           

October 21, 2009

Bob’s Sabbatical

October 21, 2009

 

            It was cloudy when I walked to get my daily double espresso (I cannot wait until 9:00 am for my first cup of coffee, even on sabbatical!).  By the time I got back, the rain began.  There was an Italian Navy ship in the bay.  It began firing practice rounds.

            We had a long drive – 340 kms, the longest of the trip, I think.  About half of it we drove in the rain.  We headed southeast toward a little place near Perugia.  Our GPS took us the last 30km on a 2 (more or LESS) lane road, parts gravel, over a high mountain and along the ridge.  There were some beautiful views of Italian farm country, we would not have seen from the main road.

            Went to town to buy cokes, and to drop laundry.  People at hotel said there are no laundermats like we have in America.  No pictures today.

 Dinner here at hotel tonight.   Hope to do Assisi tomorrow, weather permitting. 

 

 

           

October 18,19 7 20, 2009

Bob’s Sabbatical

October 10-18, 19 & 20, 2009

 

Sunday, October 18 –

 

            Bright sunshine as we depart Portofino.  Lots of bicycles and walkers on narrow road.  Back on toll road, we are in and out of tunnels.  We exit and head for the little village of Tellaro, where we will stay at Albergo Miranda.  An elderly couple is in the kitchen, and say their son, who speaks English, will be with us in a minute.  .Allessandro welcomes us and takes us to a large room, one bedroom and one sitting room with couch, chiffarobe, table and chairs.  It looks pretty dark.  He pulls back curtains opens doors and outside louvered doors to reveal two balconies with stunning view of large bay, hills, islands, boats.  Across the bay is Portovenere, on the other side of which is Cinque Terre.  Allessandro says he will check in the morning to see if the boats are running to Cinque Terre, since that is the best way to see it – but this late in the season they do not always run.

            When we ask about internet, he says that a hotel down the way has wifi.  It turns out we have three balconies, the third one looks up at a hillside village, Laserra [pic w/ birds].

            We walk to the main part of town (one block long), no cars allowed.  Streets are really just walkways curving up and down the hillside leading to the water.  The doorways are of all shapes and sizes.  We see a man in a wetsuit carrying scuba gear.  As he goes past, we look back and he has an octopus hanging from his weight-belt.  We have a light lunch, because we are eating at Miranda tonight, and Allessandro’s parents are touted to be wonderful cooks.

            Susan goes for a nap, and I walk down to check on internet.  Place is closed. I go a little farther, and see winding steps that look like they go to the water.  They end at a small beach, with stones instead of sand. 

            The sun is about to go down behind the island, Palmaria, off Portovenere.  We’ll try to get pictures for Sarah, the Sunset picture queen.

            The Octopus is much beloved here.  Not only as food, but for having saved the town at one point.  The guard was not paying attention one night, and the Saracens mounted an attack on the town.  The Church bell began ringing, alerting the townspeople, who were able to fend off the attack.  A giant octopus was credited with coming out of the sea, wrapping its tentacles around the bell rope, ringing the warning.  There are octopi everywhere.

            Dinner turns out to be fantastic.  We were the only ones they served.  We waddle upstairs to bed.

 

 

Monday, October 19

 

            6:00 am, the phone rings.  Chris and Sarah are calling to let us know of the death of Bob Parks.  The news was already on Facebook, and they did not want Susan to find out that way.  Bob was the Rector of Trinity Parish in New York.  He was a good friend and mentor.  He and Nancy were surrogate grandparents to Chris and Sarah during our years there. 

            About the time I was taking pictures of the sunset last night, Bob and Nancy walked to Church, where he died soon after she handed him a Prayer Book and Hymnal.  We talked, cried and reminisced.

            Today was the day we wanted to go to Cinque Terre.  Allessandro checks to see if boats are running, and reports that they are, so we take the bus to Lerici to get the boat.  Learn that they are on a new schedule, no 11:30 boat.  Next boat is not until 2:30 pm.  We decide to hang around Lerici today, and do Cinque Terre tomorrow.  Castle museum is closed on Monday.  Only place with internet connection is also closed on Monday.  Eat lunch and head back to Miranda.  Eat dinner at Osteria del Borga, recommended by Allessandro, since Miranda’s kitchen is closed on Mondays.  For the second night in a row, we are the only customers in the restaurant.

 

Tuesday, October 20^th.

 

            Wake to a cloudy and cool day, but if we are going to get to Cinque Terra, this is our last chance.  Bus to Lerici, boat to Portovenere, then continue to Cinque Terre.  At Riomaggiore we get off the boat and walk to the second town, along the Via dell’ Amore – “lovers lane.”  People put little padlocks, with their names written with sharpie pens or scratched on the lock anywhere they can find.  We had seen this elsewhere, but did not know what it meant.  We got back on a boat skepped Vernazza and went to the last town, Monterosso.  We ate lunch, got back on the next boat and headed back.  It was freezing cold, windy, and threatening rain. It was interesting to watch the boat unload and load passengers.  It would come bow-first right up to a small concrete pier where a ramp with wheels would be extended from the bow.  The wheels allowed it to move up and down with the waves.  The Captain really had to work to keep the boat in position so close to the rocks and pier.

 Arrived back in Lerici, just missing bus to Miranda and had to wait an hour.  Finally home, half frozen, we are glad we are having dinner at Miranda again.  It was just as good as the first night.  There was one other couple in the dining room.

                       

 

 

 

           

October 15,16 &17, 2009

Bob’s Sabbatical

October 15, 16 & 17, 2009

 

Thursday, 10/15 – Cloudy, with drizzle and fog this morning as we head for Manchester, stopping to mail over 4 kilos of books, papers, etc. so we will not be overweight at airport tomorrow.  Quick return to Bishops to return room key, and leave tip (oops).

            On drive from York, past Leeds, it is clear that we are in a more industrialized part of the country.  Then, between Leeds and Manchester we were back in lovely mountains (passing on the “highest roadway in England.”  Scenery included views of large farms.  As we near Manchester, roads get bigger (9 lanes) and busier – we’re not in the Lake District anymore, especially with Costco, Staples and Ikea.

            Go to small town to eat, fill car with gas.  Get parking ticket (voucher was upside down on dashboard – 50 Pound fine (25 if paid in 14 days).  I find City Hall, offered to pay,  and was told I would get an email, probably get off with a warning.  Nice town and area.  Leaves are turning and falling.  Wonder what Franklin looks like, with all the rain?

 

Friday, 10/16 – board shuttle for quick trip to Manchester Airport, for Flybe Airline trip to Milan.  Both the airport and the airline are very nice.  Arrive Milano, and pick up car, with steering wheel where it is supposed to be again!

            Area around Milano is very flat, but as we near the coast, hills then mountains appear (no wonder GPS says it will take so long to get to Portofino).  There are many tunnels, especially between Genoa and Portofino, which means we do not get much of a look at the Mediterranean.  Road to Portofino gets narrower.  Sailboats, fishing boats (street-side fish-markets), cruise ships, motorbikes and slow traffic.  Almost miss the hotel, trying to miss oncoming traffic.  Great room, great view.  I take quick walk into town and back.

 

Saturday, 10/17 – Christopher’s 33^rd Birthday!  How can that be????

            Wake to beautiful day – sun streaming in windows.  After breakfast (part of deal here!) we walk into town.  Arrive first at San Martino Church.   Like so many in Italy, it could be a museum.  Painting, architecture, sculpture abound.  We continue down to the waterfront.  A ferry is arriving, looks like hundreds of people on board.  After a few minutes, we decide to walk up to Castello Brown, which we can see across the bay from our room.  On the way we arrive at the second of Portofino’s Churches, San Giorgio.  It is not as large or ornate as San Martino, but behind it is the town graveyard.  Many tombstones have pictures of the person on them.  George slaying the dragon is an ever-present theme here.

            We buy simple sandwiches in a little market, and eat at a bench on , but the waterfront.  Walk back to the hotel and go to the beach (rocky) while sun is still out.  I only go in up to my ankles, but found more green lave-glass (like years ago in Sicily) for Susan.

            We’ll go back to town for dinner, then home so Susan cn try to watch some of the Gator Homecoming game via computer connection.

 Peace,

    Bob