Apparently there's a hurricane brewing in the US? Who knew? During the program, I can barely keep track of what's going on with the program, let alone what's going on outside in the "real" world. I hope it leaves no damage in VA (or anywhere else).
Today was a long, but really awesome day! We went to Pavia, which is about 20 miles south of Milan. It was a powerful city until the mid 1400s. It was originally a Roman town, but I get ahead of myself :o)
The bus driver we've had for 3 out of the last 4 years, Massimomiliano, picked us up at about 8:45am and we went to the Certosa di Pavia. This is the 7th time I've been there and it is still utterly amazing! It was a beautiful day...not humid at all and not too warm. That meant no mosquitoes, which is lovely, and it meant we could see the Alps covered with snow! Terrific way to start the day!
We arrived and the monk who's given the tours since 2009 wasn't available and/or there anymore. The gentleman who is the docent said only Italian and French. I was in a bit of a panic and just had the students look around inside the main nave. I then decided that it would be better for them to see the inside even if they couldn't actually understand. I met the absolutely wonderful lady and she offered to speak slowly so I could translate. Oh my goodness, I about had a heart attack! Yikes! I said I would try to see how it went.
All I can say is THANK YOU to Vanna Moore for being the most amazing teacher in the universe! Without her tutelage, I would not have been able to do what I did this morning! In all the nervousness, I completely forgot the nice tour guide's name. She was so helpful, so supportive and so understanding!
She spoke slowly and clearly. While it helped that I already had been there before and knew the topic, I did not know what she might say. She would speak and then I would translate. When I had questions, I asked. The students got the gist of everything, although not 100% of what she said, haha! My classmates, John & Addi will appreciate this: she used the imperfect to describe things, not the remote past, which would have made me cry :o) Lots of "faceva" (it was made), etc. I could manage that.
Oddly enough the thing that gave me the most difficulty were the dates. In English, we combine the numbers into things like 19 and 96. In Italian, 1996 is said as one thousand, nine hundred, ninety, six. So, I was trying to focus on getting the right century and not getting the exact years, haha! Too many numbers...I'm a Communication person, hee hee hee!!
Of all the tours we've gotten, this was by far the most comprehensive! She did an outstanding job! It was interesting and entertaining and she made a couple of jokes that I managed to convey. Although laughing after the fact is always awkward.
I am so pleased that I was able to do this. It is a testament to my classmates and my teachers (and to my studying) how much I was able to accomplish. While my Italian is not great, I realized today that my Italian is really quite good. Better in comprehension, but still a struggle with words. I am a toddler....I can understand what they're saying, but cannot think of the words I need to use or the correct conjugation that I need so I cannot convey MY message. No wonder toddlers have tantrums!!!
From there we went back to the place we've eaten lunch at for the past few years: Locanda del Carmine. Delicious gnocchi with zucchini in a cream sauce and then ice cream for dessert. Service, as always, was on point! Excellent! Students are slowly learning that when you order un caffe (a coffee) that you get just that....a coffee. No milk. You didn't order it! So, I asked for some milk for them :o) Someone almost ordered a "latte" the other day, but I warned her that would be all she would get.....milk (latte). You have to combine things here :o)
Simone, our guide for the walk through Pavia, showed up at the restaurant and off we went! Pavia has a really interesting history. I know I've gone into it before, so I won't go on and on here. But, in case you're interested, here's the link to Pavia. We ended our tour with a visit to the main cathedral, where the Bishop presides. It is completely unimpressive...because apparently it's still a work in progress.
After the Turks took Constantinople in 1453 and turned the world's largest church into a mosque, Ludovico il Moro (duke of Milan) wanted to have built the largest, most impressive church in the world in Pavia. So it began. Until the French invaded northern Italy and took it over. Then, all money that was being used for the cathedral was put toward the war. The three people in charge of building this church were two local architects and Leonardo daVinci. It's actually a really ugly church. They have a lot of work to do to make it a nice place.
From there, we ended the tour and went on a mini-tour to find a Sicilian bakery and a Pavian bakery. Chelsey wanted a cannolo and Simone knew where a Sicilian bakery was. The Pavian bakery was on the way back to the bus and some of us tried the local cake, called "torta paradiso" (paradise cake).
At the shop was an absolutely gorgeous guy! Some of the girls went goo-goo over him. I can see why, hahaha!! I got a picture of him holding the GMU pennant and Maggie Moo. Then, it was all hell breaking loose with the girls getting out their cameras. At the very end, the guy went to stand next to his co-worker, a lovely middle aged woman, and Jordynn walked right up and just started snapping pictures, I was dying laughing! I went over after she stopped and I looked a the woman and I smiled and said, "Senza vergogna" (meaning in this case, she has no shame!). The woman laughed and agreed!! Oh wow, that was so funny!
We came home by bus and most everyone slept on the bus. Meg and I decided to eat in. For some reason, her feet and ankles are very, very swollen. She wanted just to hang out and stay in. We went to Penny Market and had a mozzarella salad with basil, oil, salt, balsamic vinegar and bread. Perfect!
Finally got internet again and I have been working on this blog! Trying to get everything posted. The photos from today haven't loaded from my phone to dropbox, so I'll need to add those later too. <sigh> What am I without technology? A sad, desperate woman!
Ciao and buona notte!
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