July 10-13, 2007
These last few days have been packed!
I went to the British Museum with Mom and Merrily, and I could absolutely live there and be fine with it. It holds over seventy thousand exhibitions across two and a half miles of corridors. We focused on the Egyptian sections, the Elgin Marbles, Mesopotamia, Ancient Celts, and the Sutton Ho Exhibit. My favorite pieces are still the Rosetta Stone, which caused the deciphering of ancient hieroglyphics, and the papyri containing the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony, an ancient ritual from the Book of the Dead that is supposed to occur in the afterlife, in the Egyptian sections. The Elgin Marbles are reliefs and statues chopped off the Pantheon by Elgin, a British curator/lord/whatever who went to Greece and took them. They are absolutely beautiful, especially the carving of the dresses and robes--it looks like they're about to start flowing! From there we headed through the Mesopotamia section to the Celts, where we saw intricate belt buckles and weaponry; the Sutton Ho exhibit finished, which contains remnants from elaborate graves found near Sutton. It was amazing, and I could spend several days there easily.
From there we headed straight to Evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral, and we walked right through the crowds and straight under the dome. We sat under its painted beauty for an hour, listening to a wonderful men's choir sing praises and beauties to the Lord. A short walk across the Millennium Bridge found us at the Globe Theatre, where we saw Love's Labour's Lost, a comedy about a court that forsworn love and women only to do everything in its power to get women to fall in love. It was hilarious, and the actors ran through the groundlings and jumped off the stage all night! If you ever get a chance to go to the Globe, do so--you won't regret it.
The next day I got my phone fixed, which I can't wait to use--you don't realize how much you miss a phone until it's gone! We tried to see Macbeth that night at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, but delays on the Circle line saw us fifteen minutes late. Tricia and I ended up walking through Regent's Park for about an hour (Bend It Like Beckham, anyone?) before heading back and having a tea party in my room.
Thursday was a very full day. We had a day trip to Canterbury, and what a cathedral! Its gothic arches rose to the dusky ceiling in fan vaulting, and the graves were intricately carved. The crypt beneath still had its original Romanesque architecture! We recited Chaucer's opening eighteen lines there, and I felt very accomplished as a Meredith woman right then. I got lost on my way back to the bus from a ridiculously silly exhibit about the Canterbury Tales that everyone should go to at least once, and then we headed to the shore at Broadstairs. The beach was absolutely beautiful, and the white chalk cliffs loomed behind us as we numbed our feet in the English Channel--France peeked at us from the horizon. I had a cup of hot tea on the beach, and we relaxed and watched little children build sand castles and play with seaweed.
The best part of the day came that night, though--at 8:40 we headed into the Odeon Theatre at Liecester Square, home of countless film premiers, and saw Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix!!! I thought I was going to explode with excitement! The action and graphics were absolutely amazing, and Daniel Radcliffe and Michael Gambon's acting was superb. Tickets are really expensive here--the equivalent of about $26--so I plan to go a lot when I get home after August 6th. Anyone up for an adventure?
venerdì 13 luglio 2007
lunedì 9 luglio 2007
Cheerio!
July 2-July 9, 2007
London is beautiful, if not rather wet and rainy and entirely unpredictable. I've been here just over a week, now, and it feels like home. I'll stop suddenly on the street and realize that I've been walking down the streets of London, taking the Tube and sipping tea in cafes, and it's completely normal--more normal than walking through Meredith, at times.
I dyed my hair! It is now a lovely nutmeg brown, and it was very spur-of-the-moment. I saw Maureen's hair dyed and decided that I should do it too. It gave me a very European feeling, and I caused everyone to stop in surprise when they saw me. Excellent!
It's been quite a busy time here! I recited the opening prologue of the Canterbury Tales over Chaucer's grave in Westminster Abbey, which was absolutely beautiful. The graves are so elaborate, and everyone from Lord Byron to Handel to Elizabeth I are buried beneath its floors and crying angels. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the first of its kind, is surrounded by poppies--it's the only grave no one can step on, according to a tour guide, though that statement's a bit erroneous. Good job, tour guide.
The Tower of London was amazing, as always--a beef eater gave us a tour, and he described in detail the blood and guts of the Tower's history. Did you know that beef eaters and their families actually live IN the Tower? They have their own quarters and doctors and barbers and everything! Poor teenaged children, though--you have a permanent curfew of 9:30 pm. I also saw the Cabinet War Rooms and St. James' Park (with the largest pelicans EVER!) and Buckingham Palace today, which were all amazing. We got a tour of Parliament this morning, and I would like to be a member of the House of Lords just so I could sit on those sofas. Dang, they look comfy!
My sister and mother came to visit me, can you believe it? They're staying for ten days, and we spent the weekend touring the Cotswolds, picturesque villages clustered to the northwest of London. We stayed in a bed and breakfast in Cheltenham (pronounced "Chilt'n'm"), and our room was the Egyptian Room--maybe the guy knew it was ME coming to visit! We saw the Rococo Gardens at Painswick, a beautiful Georgian Gothic church in Tetbury, had our rental car side-swiped in Cirencester (no damage, thankfully), had tea in Bourton-on-the-Water, and fed the ducks in the Slaughters (the most beautiful villages of the lot). The next day we saw the stone circle at Avebury, and the gnats mistook Mom for a sheep because of her blonde hair and white shirt--they were all over her! We had to dodge sheep poop in an effort to get her away.
By the way, our manner of transportation that weekend--rental car. Driver--sister. The UK needs to give out driving lessons before letting anyone take to the roads! Everything is backwards, it often looks like dogs are driving the cars because they're sitting in the front left seats (passenger seats, here), and the round-abouts are about the most ridiculous things I've ever seen. Four different people told us four different methods of using them, so clearly we're not the only ones confused. Several near misses and the most expensive gas in the WORLD and we survived, but it felt like we barely made it sometimes.
Remember--if you need to get around the UK, hire a professional. You'll live longer.
London is beautiful, if not rather wet and rainy and entirely unpredictable. I've been here just over a week, now, and it feels like home. I'll stop suddenly on the street and realize that I've been walking down the streets of London, taking the Tube and sipping tea in cafes, and it's completely normal--more normal than walking through Meredith, at times.
I dyed my hair! It is now a lovely nutmeg brown, and it was very spur-of-the-moment. I saw Maureen's hair dyed and decided that I should do it too. It gave me a very European feeling, and I caused everyone to stop in surprise when they saw me. Excellent!
It's been quite a busy time here! I recited the opening prologue of the Canterbury Tales over Chaucer's grave in Westminster Abbey, which was absolutely beautiful. The graves are so elaborate, and everyone from Lord Byron to Handel to Elizabeth I are buried beneath its floors and crying angels. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the first of its kind, is surrounded by poppies--it's the only grave no one can step on, according to a tour guide, though that statement's a bit erroneous. Good job, tour guide.
The Tower of London was amazing, as always--a beef eater gave us a tour, and he described in detail the blood and guts of the Tower's history. Did you know that beef eaters and their families actually live IN the Tower? They have their own quarters and doctors and barbers and everything! Poor teenaged children, though--you have a permanent curfew of 9:30 pm. I also saw the Cabinet War Rooms and St. James' Park (with the largest pelicans EVER!) and Buckingham Palace today, which were all amazing. We got a tour of Parliament this morning, and I would like to be a member of the House of Lords just so I could sit on those sofas. Dang, they look comfy!
My sister and mother came to visit me, can you believe it? They're staying for ten days, and we spent the weekend touring the Cotswolds, picturesque villages clustered to the northwest of London. We stayed in a bed and breakfast in Cheltenham (pronounced "Chilt'n'm"), and our room was the Egyptian Room--maybe the guy knew it was ME coming to visit! We saw the Rococo Gardens at Painswick, a beautiful Georgian Gothic church in Tetbury, had our rental car side-swiped in Cirencester (no damage, thankfully), had tea in Bourton-on-the-Water, and fed the ducks in the Slaughters (the most beautiful villages of the lot). The next day we saw the stone circle at Avebury, and the gnats mistook Mom for a sheep because of her blonde hair and white shirt--they were all over her! We had to dodge sheep poop in an effort to get her away.
By the way, our manner of transportation that weekend--rental car. Driver--sister. The UK needs to give out driving lessons before letting anyone take to the roads! Everything is backwards, it often looks like dogs are driving the cars because they're sitting in the front left seats (passenger seats, here), and the round-abouts are about the most ridiculous things I've ever seen. Four different people told us four different methods of using them, so clearly we're not the only ones confused. Several near misses and the most expensive gas in the WORLD and we survived, but it felt like we barely made it sometimes.
Remember--if you need to get around the UK, hire a professional. You'll live longer.
domenica 1 luglio 2007
Five Countries, Countless Adventures
June 25, 2007-July 1, 2007
I cannot recount the full tales of my adventures from the past week, but I will give you the best run down I can. Let's just say that trains, cars, buses, boats, and very VERY tired feet took us through five countries and four major cities within seven days.
We left Lugano after a night of farewells at about 8 AM and headed for Salzburg. Crystal had planned out a wonderful itinerary for us: train to Milano, train to Verona, train to Innsbruck, train to Salzburg, bus to hotel. It cut off over an hour of our trip, and we missed Italy. We grabbed reservations for the trains and headed out, and our first train went like clockwork (Switzerland, hello! Cuckoo clocks!). We ran to our train in Milan with all fifty pounds on our backs, and I thought we were going to miss our train, so I jumped on a car early. Ah, Italy. The train was packed like sardines in a can, and we couldn't move ANYWHERE. People were beginning to put their stuff down and sit on it, and I was hot and sweaty and heavy and not a happy person. I growled loudly that we had reservations and we needed to switch cars, and two beautiful Australian men said they would help--they shoved people out of the way and led us to the next car! I'm pretty sure I hit somebody in the face with my bags, but I don't care at this point. The next car was even worse, and here's the icing on the cake--the trains had overbooked! People had already reserved our seats, and there was nowhere to go. We were all really good-natured about it, surprisingly, and I spent a pretty-pleasant two-hour ride atop my luggage in the aisle of an unairconditioned Italian train, squished between the walking definition of BO and a woman with about ten kids. We smiled and laughed with each other, though, and that transcended all languages. Switzerland may be on time, but you can't beat the comraderie of the Italians.
We missed our connection by one minute and hopped a train to Brennero, where we hoped to get across to Innsbruck. An Italian woman by the name of Jessica started speaking with us, and we ended up hanging out with her for the full train ride. She told us to come with her to the Bolzano stop, and she ended up helping us communicate with the train reservations desk. We bid her farewell and the train lady said "track three, NOW," so we ran for it and hopped the train. It was only AFTER the train was moving that we realized, hey, we're headed to VENICE! WRONG DIRECTION!!!!! We got out at a mystery station and studied the partenze board, and we were going to go back to Bolzano and try again when a woman came out of nowhere and asked if she could help us. We told her we needed to get to Innsbruck and then to Salzburg and she said that a train was headed here RIGHT NOW for that place! The train she was speaking of was over two hours late, and it pulled up right when she said it and right when we needed it the most. We got the rest of the way without a glitch and arrived at the Hotel Turnerwirt in Salzburg (recommend it!) at about 10 pm. We fell RIGHT to sleep.
The next day was taken up with the Sound of Music tour, which was AMAZING, a marketplace, the Hohensalzburg (best-preserved medieval fortress in the world), and several beautiful churches. Our bus driver on the SoM tour could yodel, and I cajoled him into serenading us--I was yodeled to by an Austrian busdriver! Yeah, how many people can claim that one?
We headed to Luzern the next morning, which found us retracing our steps to Switzerland. Several crises found us homeless, but the incredibly helpful TI found us a place toward the outside of town. We saw several beautiful sites the next day, from the old wooden bridge to the towering cathedral to the Weeping Lion. And to top it all off, I got my hair cut! In Switzerland! The lady couldn't speak any English, but I think it's my best haircut to date. Kind of odd, but it works...
The 29th saw us bidding farewell to Crystal, who headed back to the states, while we forged onward to Paris. I've heard so many things about the French being rude, but I would like to say here and now that every Frenchman I met personally and interacted with was absolutely sweet. They were all helpful and nice, and some of the most personable people I've come in contact with.
We arrived in Paris at the Gare de Lyon station and took the Metro to our hotel, which was the SKETCHIEST place ever! I won't go into details, but needless to say it was quite an experience. Don't stay at the Hotel Tamaris, whatever you do. However, they were nice enough to hold our bags the next day while we traipsed around.
Paris was busy and crowded, but we saw some amazing sites. We went to Notre Dame Cathedral (I wanted the gargoyles to come out and dance) and walked from there to the Louvre, and we went in on a spur-of-the-moment thing. I saw the Mona Lisa! I had been prepared for disappointment, but she was absolutely beautiful. I got within three feet of her, and I could study the beautiful hair, mysterious smile, and breathtaking background up close. I was enraptured! From there we got lost in the Spanish painting section on our way to the French artists. Did you know that the Louvre has only two Monets? And they're not even good ones! His winter scenes were so blah to me...However, such boring work was glossed over when we entered the Egyptian section!! I saw a Weighing of the Heart Ceremony depiction, a statue of Tutankhamen, and a bust of his psychotic father, Ankhenaten. Amazing! Our final stop in the Louvre was the Mesopotamia section, where I saw Hamurabi's Code--the first written code of law in history! It was AMAZING!
From there we saw the Arc de Triomphe, and I got my French Kiss phone call picture in front of it ("I will triumph!"). The Metro then took us to the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, which was absolutely breathtaking. You can see it from all over the city, but it's like a ghostly spectre through the clouds. To see it up close and personal, especially to stand beneath it, is beyond compare. The crowds were too long to go up it, but I was perfectly happy at the bottom--for now...
A train took us on to Calais, and we stayed in the lovely Hotel Pacific for a night. We woke up early this morning, had a scrumptuous breakfast there (the honey and jam were in individualized jars about the size of your thumb--talk about supporting home companies!), and took a taxi to the ferry station. The ferry was like nothing I had ever seen before--it was the size of a cruise ship! It had a shopping mall inside, and I saw it load over a dozen eighteen-wheelers after all the passengers were on. HUGE! We came to the white chalk cliffs of Dover, which were absolutely beautiful, and then we took a train to London Charing Cross Station. An underground ride later we were at the Centre, and I now have my OWN ROOM! Be excited!
Well, that's all for today, ladies and gents. Hopefully a hot pasty will be in my future.
I cannot recount the full tales of my adventures from the past week, but I will give you the best run down I can. Let's just say that trains, cars, buses, boats, and very VERY tired feet took us through five countries and four major cities within seven days.
We left Lugano after a night of farewells at about 8 AM and headed for Salzburg. Crystal had planned out a wonderful itinerary for us: train to Milano, train to Verona, train to Innsbruck, train to Salzburg, bus to hotel. It cut off over an hour of our trip, and we missed Italy. We grabbed reservations for the trains and headed out, and our first train went like clockwork (Switzerland, hello! Cuckoo clocks!). We ran to our train in Milan with all fifty pounds on our backs, and I thought we were going to miss our train, so I jumped on a car early. Ah, Italy. The train was packed like sardines in a can, and we couldn't move ANYWHERE. People were beginning to put their stuff down and sit on it, and I was hot and sweaty and heavy and not a happy person. I growled loudly that we had reservations and we needed to switch cars, and two beautiful Australian men said they would help--they shoved people out of the way and led us to the next car! I'm pretty sure I hit somebody in the face with my bags, but I don't care at this point. The next car was even worse, and here's the icing on the cake--the trains had overbooked! People had already reserved our seats, and there was nowhere to go. We were all really good-natured about it, surprisingly, and I spent a pretty-pleasant two-hour ride atop my luggage in the aisle of an unairconditioned Italian train, squished between the walking definition of BO and a woman with about ten kids. We smiled and laughed with each other, though, and that transcended all languages. Switzerland may be on time, but you can't beat the comraderie of the Italians.
We missed our connection by one minute and hopped a train to Brennero, where we hoped to get across to Innsbruck. An Italian woman by the name of Jessica started speaking with us, and we ended up hanging out with her for the full train ride. She told us to come with her to the Bolzano stop, and she ended up helping us communicate with the train reservations desk. We bid her farewell and the train lady said "track three, NOW," so we ran for it and hopped the train. It was only AFTER the train was moving that we realized, hey, we're headed to VENICE! WRONG DIRECTION!!!!! We got out at a mystery station and studied the partenze board, and we were going to go back to Bolzano and try again when a woman came out of nowhere and asked if she could help us. We told her we needed to get to Innsbruck and then to Salzburg and she said that a train was headed here RIGHT NOW for that place! The train she was speaking of was over two hours late, and it pulled up right when she said it and right when we needed it the most. We got the rest of the way without a glitch and arrived at the Hotel Turnerwirt in Salzburg (recommend it!) at about 10 pm. We fell RIGHT to sleep.
The next day was taken up with the Sound of Music tour, which was AMAZING, a marketplace, the Hohensalzburg (best-preserved medieval fortress in the world), and several beautiful churches. Our bus driver on the SoM tour could yodel, and I cajoled him into serenading us--I was yodeled to by an Austrian busdriver! Yeah, how many people can claim that one?
We headed to Luzern the next morning, which found us retracing our steps to Switzerland. Several crises found us homeless, but the incredibly helpful TI found us a place toward the outside of town. We saw several beautiful sites the next day, from the old wooden bridge to the towering cathedral to the Weeping Lion. And to top it all off, I got my hair cut! In Switzerland! The lady couldn't speak any English, but I think it's my best haircut to date. Kind of odd, but it works...
The 29th saw us bidding farewell to Crystal, who headed back to the states, while we forged onward to Paris. I've heard so many things about the French being rude, but I would like to say here and now that every Frenchman I met personally and interacted with was absolutely sweet. They were all helpful and nice, and some of the most personable people I've come in contact with.
We arrived in Paris at the Gare de Lyon station and took the Metro to our hotel, which was the SKETCHIEST place ever! I won't go into details, but needless to say it was quite an experience. Don't stay at the Hotel Tamaris, whatever you do. However, they were nice enough to hold our bags the next day while we traipsed around.
Paris was busy and crowded, but we saw some amazing sites. We went to Notre Dame Cathedral (I wanted the gargoyles to come out and dance) and walked from there to the Louvre, and we went in on a spur-of-the-moment thing. I saw the Mona Lisa! I had been prepared for disappointment, but she was absolutely beautiful. I got within three feet of her, and I could study the beautiful hair, mysterious smile, and breathtaking background up close. I was enraptured! From there we got lost in the Spanish painting section on our way to the French artists. Did you know that the Louvre has only two Monets? And they're not even good ones! His winter scenes were so blah to me...However, such boring work was glossed over when we entered the Egyptian section!! I saw a Weighing of the Heart Ceremony depiction, a statue of Tutankhamen, and a bust of his psychotic father, Ankhenaten. Amazing! Our final stop in the Louvre was the Mesopotamia section, where I saw Hamurabi's Code--the first written code of law in history! It was AMAZING!
From there we saw the Arc de Triomphe, and I got my French Kiss phone call picture in front of it ("I will triumph!"). The Metro then took us to the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, which was absolutely breathtaking. You can see it from all over the city, but it's like a ghostly spectre through the clouds. To see it up close and personal, especially to stand beneath it, is beyond compare. The crowds were too long to go up it, but I was perfectly happy at the bottom--for now...
A train took us on to Calais, and we stayed in the lovely Hotel Pacific for a night. We woke up early this morning, had a scrumptuous breakfast there (the honey and jam were in individualized jars about the size of your thumb--talk about supporting home companies!), and took a taxi to the ferry station. The ferry was like nothing I had ever seen before--it was the size of a cruise ship! It had a shopping mall inside, and I saw it load over a dozen eighteen-wheelers after all the passengers were on. HUGE! We came to the white chalk cliffs of Dover, which were absolutely beautiful, and then we took a train to London Charing Cross Station. An underground ride later we were at the Centre, and I now have my OWN ROOM! Be excited!
Well, that's all for today, ladies and gents. Hopefully a hot pasty will be in my future.
domenica 24 giugno 2007
The Last of Lugano
June 23, 2007
I won't be able to update for at least a week, I think, because this is my last day in Lugano, Switzerland. Tomorrow we say our last goodbyes to the half-program members of Summer Abroad and head out into the Continent. Bekah, Crystal, and I will be spending two nights in Salzburg, Austria; two nights in Lucerne, Switzerland (where Crystal will then leave us and head to Zurich to fly back to the USA); one night in Paris, France; and one night in Calais, France, where we will then take the ferry across the English Channel to Dover and a train to London. One month in London and a week of travel in Scotland, and then I come home on August sixth. Pretty scarily quick!
Well, now that my travel plans have been laid out so cleanly, it's time to recount what happened today. Turns out that my journal was due at 8:30 AM, and I still had two requirements to fill! I visited the Parco di Florida, a second-story garden/park across the street from where I live. I was the only person there at 8 AM, and I spent some time wandering through the old marble archways and gardens, taking a few moments to play on the swingset. I felt more like a child, swinging back and forth with my backpack still on in a park in Switzerland at 8AM, than I have in quite a long time. It was wonderfully refreshing.
Nothing lasts forever, however, and I quickly realized that I was late to breakfast. I defeated the Hellish Hill and scarfed my croissant, cereal, and yogurt before heading to the cemetery on the hill. The Lorengo Cemetery is beautiful and simple, with detailed mausoleums and small in-ground graves the majority of the place. Next to it is the Santa Maria di Lorengo church, a beautiful but simple church that has mass mainly to bless the dead before they are interred. I spent the rest of the morning finishing my journal before turning it in for the final grade (I got an A! Be proud!) and relaxing with my friends. A basic shopping excursion was much-needed, even though I found only ONE shirt.
Lizzy made dinner for us, wonderfully delicious Penne alla Caprese, and then we played cards and listened to old-school Michael Jackson until the wee hours of the morning. Speed and War can get pretty intense, ya know!
I won't be able to update for at least a week, I think, because this is my last day in Lugano, Switzerland. Tomorrow we say our last goodbyes to the half-program members of Summer Abroad and head out into the Continent. Bekah, Crystal, and I will be spending two nights in Salzburg, Austria; two nights in Lucerne, Switzerland (where Crystal will then leave us and head to Zurich to fly back to the USA); one night in Paris, France; and one night in Calais, France, where we will then take the ferry across the English Channel to Dover and a train to London. One month in London and a week of travel in Scotland, and then I come home on August sixth. Pretty scarily quick!
Well, now that my travel plans have been laid out so cleanly, it's time to recount what happened today. Turns out that my journal was due at 8:30 AM, and I still had two requirements to fill! I visited the Parco di Florida, a second-story garden/park across the street from where I live. I was the only person there at 8 AM, and I spent some time wandering through the old marble archways and gardens, taking a few moments to play on the swingset. I felt more like a child, swinging back and forth with my backpack still on in a park in Switzerland at 8AM, than I have in quite a long time. It was wonderfully refreshing.
Nothing lasts forever, however, and I quickly realized that I was late to breakfast. I defeated the Hellish Hill and scarfed my croissant, cereal, and yogurt before heading to the cemetery on the hill. The Lorengo Cemetery is beautiful and simple, with detailed mausoleums and small in-ground graves the majority of the place. Next to it is the Santa Maria di Lorengo church, a beautiful but simple church that has mass mainly to bless the dead before they are interred. I spent the rest of the morning finishing my journal before turning it in for the final grade (I got an A! Be proud!) and relaxing with my friends. A basic shopping excursion was much-needed, even though I found only ONE shirt.
Lizzy made dinner for us, wonderfully delicious Penne alla Caprese, and then we played cards and listened to old-school Michael Jackson until the wee hours of the morning. Speed and War can get pretty intense, ya know!
sabato 23 giugno 2007
The STUDY of Study Abroad
June 22, 2007
Happy Birthday, Laura Combs! Yeah cuz, the big TWO OH!
I sure hope you had a happy day, because those of us in Lugano realized why the program is called STUDY abroad. I had an exam in my History of Renaissance/Reformation class, and after that was done I had to write a research paper on how Ulrich Zwingli influenced the Reformation. I'm not quite sure how any of it turned out--I think my head exploded somewhere around "Please compare and contrast the different manifestations of the Radical Reformation," and I haven't been able to find it since. Whoops!
Happy Birthday, Laura Combs! Yeah cuz, the big TWO OH!
I sure hope you had a happy day, because those of us in Lugano realized why the program is called STUDY abroad. I had an exam in my History of Renaissance/Reformation class, and after that was done I had to write a research paper on how Ulrich Zwingli influenced the Reformation. I'm not quite sure how any of it turned out--I think my head exploded somewhere around "Please compare and contrast the different manifestations of the Radical Reformation," and I haven't been able to find it since. Whoops!
Flying House, Anyone?
June 21, 2007
I visited the Santa Maria di Loreto today, a beautiful stone church dedicated to the House of Mary (the Casa di Loreto). The church was a simple affair, with beautiful marble floors and remnants of a recent wedding. The chapel at the back had a stained glass window with a dove descending out of a cerulean sky, and I fell in love (pthelo, Mer?).
I found the legend of the Casa particularly fascinating. It holds that Mary and Joseph raised Jesus in a small, humble house in Nazareth. Three centuries later, Emperor Constantine built a basilica over it to honor and protect the abode. Threats from the crusades saw angels miraculously picking up the house and moving it to Romania in 1291. Muslim invasions caused the angels to move it again, this time to Italy, in 1294. A final move placed it in Loreto, Italy, where a startled parish priest saw it appear in an abandoned field. A vision of the Virgin telling him that it was her house caused him to venerate the site, and subsequent popes built basilicas over it to protect it.
Sounds like a load of nothing, right? Well, scientists have studied the composition of the house, and they have found two interesting things. Its materials are not found anywhere in this area--the building materials are those only found in the Middle East. Also, the house has absolutely no foundations in a place where buildings are liable to collapse without them. It truly looks as if it has just been plopped down on that spot and preserved. Maria di Loreto became the patron saint of pilots in the early 1900s in honor of the house's miraculous flights.
I love stories like this.
I visited the Santa Maria di Loreto today, a beautiful stone church dedicated to the House of Mary (the Casa di Loreto). The church was a simple affair, with beautiful marble floors and remnants of a recent wedding. The chapel at the back had a stained glass window with a dove descending out of a cerulean sky, and I fell in love (pthelo, Mer?).
I found the legend of the Casa particularly fascinating. It holds that Mary and Joseph raised Jesus in a small, humble house in Nazareth. Three centuries later, Emperor Constantine built a basilica over it to honor and protect the abode. Threats from the crusades saw angels miraculously picking up the house and moving it to Romania in 1291. Muslim invasions caused the angels to move it again, this time to Italy, in 1294. A final move placed it in Loreto, Italy, where a startled parish priest saw it appear in an abandoned field. A vision of the Virgin telling him that it was her house caused him to venerate the site, and subsequent popes built basilicas over it to protect it.
Sounds like a load of nothing, right? Well, scientists have studied the composition of the house, and they have found two interesting things. Its materials are not found anywhere in this area--the building materials are those only found in the Middle East. Also, the house has absolutely no foundations in a place where buildings are liable to collapse without them. It truly looks as if it has just been plopped down on that spot and preserved. Maria di Loreto became the patron saint of pilots in the early 1900s in honor of the house's miraculous flights.
I love stories like this.
It's...Naked Time!
June 20, 2007
I went to the pool in Lugano today, about a twenty minute walk from the Girasole residence where we're staying. The pool is, quite simply, awesome: it has lake access, restaurant/bar, a four-tiered diving board, two kiddy pools, a medium-sized swimming pool, and an olympic pool. It wasn't desperately crowded in the cool waters, and you wanna know why?
Because everybody and their GRANDPA is sitting in the park area, 98% naked and WAY more than I need to see! Lizzy and I were the ONLY two people under forty wearing one-piece bathing suits, and let me tell you that string bikinis are the DEVIL unless you are a negative zero in sizing. The men apparently find it fashionable to wear itty bitty speedos, including the oldest, frailest grandfathers I have ever seen. We sat in the pool for an hour and just watched the people walk by in their utter ridiculousness, occasionally gasping or cringing at the diving escapades of ten-year-old boys. I love Europe, don't get me wrong; it's a great place. However, surely these ancient civilizations have more sense than to walk around in pieces of STRING!
I went to the pool in Lugano today, about a twenty minute walk from the Girasole residence where we're staying. The pool is, quite simply, awesome: it has lake access, restaurant/bar, a four-tiered diving board, two kiddy pools, a medium-sized swimming pool, and an olympic pool. It wasn't desperately crowded in the cool waters, and you wanna know why?
Because everybody and their GRANDPA is sitting in the park area, 98% naked and WAY more than I need to see! Lizzy and I were the ONLY two people under forty wearing one-piece bathing suits, and let me tell you that string bikinis are the DEVIL unless you are a negative zero in sizing. The men apparently find it fashionable to wear itty bitty speedos, including the oldest, frailest grandfathers I have ever seen. We sat in the pool for an hour and just watched the people walk by in their utter ridiculousness, occasionally gasping or cringing at the diving escapades of ten-year-old boys. I love Europe, don't get me wrong; it's a great place. However, surely these ancient civilizations have more sense than to walk around in pieces of STRING!
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