Gathering Graces 7/5/2017

*Today we spent 8 hours in Rome. The temperature was 95 degrees.  In that 8 hour period we walked over 7 miles.  Quite an incredible day.

*We left Villa Magnolia at 5:30 a.m. and Eric drove us to La Spezia.  On this type of train you are assigned seat, and April and Tina were in Carriage 8, the second to the last car, and Kellee and I were in Carriage 9, the last car.  People started running to get on the train, so we did, too.  What did we know?  Later we realized we could have got on the train anywhere, and walked through it to our seats.  When I arrived on the train and went to sit in my seat, there was someone in my seat sleeping.  So I joined Kellee back where she was sitting, and spent most of the trip sitting by her.  At one point, a business man with a laptop moved over to work next to me (the trains have two seats, one on the aisle, one by the window, facing two other seats with a table in between.)  He didn’t like the sun coming through the window so he lowered the shade.  So much for seeing the beautiful Italian countryside!

*At one point I got up and returned to my assigned seat for the rest of the trip.  The sleeping passenger had departed the train.

*We arrived in Rome around 10 a.m.  We knew we had to purchase a ticket to ride the subway, so we all did that, found the right platform and waited for the A train.  Well, we weren’t paying attention and got on the B train.  So off at the next stop, and then up and around, paying for another ticket, then we got on the right train to the Vatican.

Dome of St. Peter's Basillica

*As we made our way toward St. Peter’s Square, the crowds increased.  We had purchased a Rome City Pass so we had to go pick it up in a small office by the square.  After a few attempts to find the office, we finally found it and got our passes, then headed toward the Vatican Museum entrance....again after a few failed attempts to go in the right direction.  Once in the Vatican museum we took the shorter itinerary that gets you to the Sistine Chapel quicker.  The Sistine Chapel was smaller than I anticipated.  But the paintings on the ceiling were magnificent.  I wish I could have sat and really looked at them better.

Vatican Museum

Vatican Museum

*We left the chapel and walked through more halls of artifacts and sculptures and artwork that was amazing.

Ceiling in the Museum

Roma

*After a quick lunch in the museum, we went outside. The plan was to go see the Colosseum.  We walked for about 15 minutes to get on the Hop on Hop Off tour bus.  It took us by a few sites, and we got off at the train station, where we once again took the subway to the Colosseum.  It was so awe inspiring. 

Inside the Colosseum

*We left, got back on the subway, and back to Roma Termini (train station) and grabbed a quick bite to eat and got on our return train at around 6:30 p.m.  I was hot, sweaty, my feet hurt, but I did get so spend about 8 hours in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and see some of the most incredible things in the world, and share it with three very wonderful people.  So despite all the twists and turns we experienced, it was a good day. 

The Italian Countryside outside the train window

More Italian Countryside

Gathering Graces 7/4/2017

*Quiet day at Villa Magnolia today.  Most of my morning was spent organizing for the trip to Rome tomorrow.

*I got in a nap in the afternoon.  It was actually a very cool and pleasant day today.

*No fireworks in Italy.  Funny, but I didn’t really miss them.  But I did miss Paul and his always entertaining narration as he lets off fireworks in front of our house.

*It was nice having a day of doing a whole lot of nothing.

Gathering Graces 7/3/2017

*Today I celebrated my 54th birthday.  And what an incredible day it was.

*Tina made a delicious breakfast with waffles and bacon, and Eric served up a delicious cup of coffee.

*The morning was pretty slow and relaxed.  Paul has been emailing me while I’m gone, and this morning he sent me lyrics to love songs related to the two of us.  I loved spending the morning listening to these songs, crying (because I miss him so much), and then finding some songs to send to him.  I felt like James Taylor and Carole King captured my feelings for him on this birthday morning.

*We had lunch, then got ready to depart for Fivizonno, a walled city up in the hills.  We walked around a bit, and had a cappuccino, and hot back in the car and headed through more hill country to Fosdinovo to visit an ancient castle. Construction on this castle began in the 12th Century.

*On our way to Fosdinovo we traveled through lots of villages, and saw many grape vines and olive trees.  We stopped in one village, Tendola, and took some photographs.  One of my favorite views was the church tower.  The bell rang while we were there.

The beautiful church tower

*Then we arrived at Fosdinovo Castello Malaspina.  I remember as I thought about coming here to Italy, and that I would see such ancient buildings.  And this was one of them.  This  castle began construction in the 1100’s, and it is still standing today, quite intact.  I put my had on the wall of the castle, so I knew I had touched a building that was over 800 years old.

Touching a castle that was built over 800 years ago

*Our tour began with a woman who only spoke Italian.  But once another tour guide realized were were English speakers, he took over, and helped us understand, and spoke and read English.  It made it easier to know what each room was about, and I loved that some was in Italian and some in English.

Our tour guide and Eric

*For dinner we went to a local pizza place in Aulla for dinner.  It was delicious.  I had pizza with tomato sauce, mozzerella, ham, pepperoni, artichoke hearts, olives, and arugula.  I also got a delicious pastry filled with cream for dessert.  April, Eric, Kellee and Tina made it all very special.

Dressing up for dinner

*To top off the evening, I had a video call with Paul and Zoe.  It was fun telling them about my day.  Christy also sent me a hilarious birthday card.  I also received many birthday greeting throughout the day which was very nice. 

April, Me, Tina, Kellee  (And photo bomber on the right)

*Wonderful friends, incredible scenery, delicious food...what more could you ask for on your birthday??  What a fabulous day.

Gathering Graces 7/2/2017

*Today we went back to the sea and experienced another day of beautiful scenery and views.

*One of Eric and April’s favorite villages they have visited is Tellaro, so they wanted to share their special place with us today.  It did not dissapoint.

*We actually visited three villages, Fiacherino, Tellaro and Lerici.  I got my first glimpse of the Bay of Poets while walking through Fiacherino.

Bay of Poets

*Then we arrived in Tellaro.  We stopped for a cold drink and then strolled out way down through the streets to the water.  There were lots of narrow passages to explore, and, again, the vistas were beautiful and the buildings so colorful.

One of the views from Tellaro.

*We enjoyed lunch in Tellaro at one of the sidewalk restaurants, and I had a dish called Tagliolini allo Scoglio...Seafood Tagliolini.  It was delicious.

Tagliolini allo Scoglio...ate at Ristorante La Gritta.

• While we were down by the water, I got my feet wet in the water.  I really wish I would have brought my swimming suit.  How refreshing it would have been to take a dip in the beautiful blue waters.

*After lunch we went to the third village, Lerici.  This had a beautiful marina and a wonderful plaza full of restaurants and shops. 

Lerici

*While we were heading back to our car, Kellee stopped to take a photograph and met Mario, who wanted his photograph taken.  We walked along with Mario for a while, talking about America, singing That’s Amore and My Way with him.  He referred to himself as Pizza Mario, because he made pizza in one of the local pizzerias.  It was a very delightful encounter.

*One of the things I read about Tellaro is that some experts believe it is the most beautiful Italian village.  The Bay of Poets is so named because poets lived on the bay, such as D.H. Lawrence, Percy Shelley and Lord Byron.

*We had a late dinner, and headed to bed early.  We were all very tired.  So many wonderful memories from a beautiful part of the world.

Gathering Graces 7/1/2017

*Since Tina Marshall in no longer a retreat participant, she gets to cook again, so she made us some wonderful pancakes for breakfast this morning.  Yum!

*Eric drove us to Aulla to attend the Saturday market again.  It was again fun to stroll along and look at what the vendors were selling.  I was tempted to buy the Canadian Mountie Barbie I saw for sale, but did not give in to temptation!

*We came home and had a relaxing lunch on the portico, and I went upstairs to do some work on the computer.  I kept nodding off to sleep while at the computer, so I decided it was nap time.  I took a nice nap.  Late nights, early mornings and afternoon naps seems to be my new schedule here at Villa Magnolia.

*I woke up and it was time to prepare dinner.  There was one dish I did not have a chance to prepare last week during the retreat because of our abundance of leftovers, so I prepared it tonight.  It was called Sausage Pasta With Four Cheeses.  The sauce was colorful while simmering in the pan, and the end result was delicious!!

The simmering sauce for the Sausage Pasta and Four Cheeses recipe

Dinner is served

*I had my first video chat through Facebook with Paul and Zoe.  I also caught some glimpses of Zoe’s friend Jason, Molly, Travis, and their friend Jimmy.  And our dog Sadie and Clark the Cat.  It was so fun visiting with them and seeing some things around the house.  I hope to do it again soon.

*Before April and Eric bought Villa Magnolia, they were sent some videos of what the house looked like.  They showed us those videos tonight.  Once you see the videos, you really understand the absolutely incredible transformation they have made on Villa Magnolia.  And all by themselves.  No contractors.  No carpenters.  Just the two of them working hard almost every single day for the last eight months to bring this house back to life.

*In the wee hours of the morning, Kellee and I decided it was time to learn how to do a Snap Story on Snapchat.  What better way to have fun at 1 a.m. than making your face look goofy, changing your voice, and singing Sweet Caroline, and sending it to your daughters.  I hope they all appreciated it!

*I am sending a special congratulations to Jessie Margason on becoming Mrs. Jesse Lambert today.  Congratulations Jessie and Jesse, and I pray many blessed years ahead for both of you.  Mamma Roberts is sending you lots of amore from Italy!!  I hope Paul and Cosette were able to give you a big hug from me!!  Complimenti!

Una vecchia benedizione italiana di nozze

Il pane è in modo che non si possa mai sapere la fame.

Il sale è così che avrai sempre sapore.

Il vino è così che avrai sempre qualcosa da festeggiare.

Gathering Graces 6/30/2017

*Today was the last day of the retreat.  I woke up and baked some delicious Italian Breakfast Cookies, and served them with cheese and watermelon. 

*For lunch we pulled out all the leftovers from the refrigerator and warmed them up for lunch.  Then we said goodbye to Sherri as April and Eric drove her to the train station in Aulla.  She will continue her time in Italy in Lucca.

*After lunch I went and walked around the grounds of Villa Magnolia and took some photographs.  I also explored some of the garden area, known as the “secret garden”.  I look forward to doing more exploration in the garden in the following week before we leave.

*The rest of Friday was very relaxing.  It gave me time to think about Bill, Christy, Zoe, Paul, Everett and everyone else helping care for Mom while I am gone.  I get daily updates from family members about how Mom is doing, and it really helps me to know how she is from day to day.  Some of the reports are good, some are hard to read, but, true to form, Mom adds a little humor in almost every day, and I am glad my brother shares that with me and others.

*No, this is not easy being here in Italy and having Mom at home struggling as she is.  There are a few of us here at Villa Magnolia who are dealing with aging parents who have some form of dementia, and it is very hard to see our parents enter into a world of confusion, fear and loss of independence.

*But it helps being surrounded by wonderful friends who ask about how things are, and support me as we support each other in all the things that each of us are going through.  And that has made this time away from Mom a lot more bearable.

Gathering Graces 6/29/2017

*Today we visited Cinque Terre, an area of Italy consisting of five villages all together.  We visited two of the five villages, Manarola and Riomaggiore. 

*Manarola is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited.  The lovely colored buildings, the view of the Ligurian Sea, the people on the streets.  It was all very beautiful.

*Riomaggiore was also beautiful.  I visited a lot of fun shops, drank some caffe, and ended the day eating a cone full of deep fried seafood.

*While in Riomaggiore, Kellee had a pidgeon land on her head. 

*On the was home on the train, we arrived at our final destination, La Spezia, and April and Eric got off the train, but the doors shut, and the rest of us were left on the train and headed for who knew where!!  Fortunately, is was a small village right down the tracks, and we got off and April and Eric came and got us in the car.  A funny end to a wonderful day.

*Sherri cracked open the bottle of wine she received for her birthday and shared it with us, and we had a good time visiting with her, since she would be leaving after lunch on Friday to continue her Italian travels on her own until she goes back home to Oregon.

Gathering Graces 6/28/2017

*Today it was a joy chopping up and putting together ingredients for Minestrone Soup.  And it turned out so well.  What a delicious soup.  I love cooking meals here at Villa Magnolia.

*Kellee and I got a break from cooking tonight because Alan Balzano came to Villa Magnolia to prepare a meal for us.  He, along with his wife Ivana, are friends of Eric and April, and has a dream of owning his own restaurant.  If tonight was any indication of his cooking abilities, he is well on his way to fulfilling his dream.

*After he got organized in the kitchen, he said it would be okay if we came in and watched him prepare the meal.  Eventually Kellee and I started talking with him, and all three of us made good use of Google Translate to communicate with one another.

*The meal started out with some Italian meats, a herb torte, and an egg dish.

*The next course was Chestnut Noodles with leeks and speck (a kind of Italian ham.)

*Roasted pork and roasted potatoes were served next.

*The meal was topped off with a fig pie.  It was all very delicious, and what an experience to eat this way, and watch how the food is made.  Alan joined us for dinner at the table as well. and we are all overjoyed to have made new friends.

Gathering Graces 6/27/2017

*I have been keeping quite busy this week preparing meals for April’s retreat, so I have got a little behind on my blog posts.  So I have a little catch up to do today.

*It has been hard to keep days straight this week, often because of the nine hour time difference with my family back in Kellogg. 

*At the end of the day, April M Lee, Eric Lee, Tina Marshall, Sherri Melson and myself drove to an abandoned train station and walked a part of the Greenway Fiume Magra through the town of Terrarosa.  The trail we walked along was part of a the Via Francigena, the ancient route that in medieval times connected Canterbury to Rome and to the harbors of Apulia. It has been discovered by modern wayfarers, who set off on a surprising and enchanting route. I was very enchanted as I walked along this ancient trail. I especially liked the stone fence that was along most of the route.

*As I walked along the trail, which used to be the route of a train track, I thought of all the numerous trains that ran along this track, and what could have possibly be in them.  It is amazing to think about.

*I also enjoyed observing people just living their normal lives as you walk along the trail.  The trail had some similarities to the Train of the Coeur d’Alenes that runs through Kellogg.  The part of this trail we were on reminded me of the part that goes through Osburn, where you are fairly close to people’s homes.