Pisa, Italia

On Sunday, August 17th, my friends and I decided to take a detour and stop by Pisa before heading to Rome from Siena. I've been to Pisa a couple of times, so it wasn't anything to amazing to me - although I still find it shocking that it leans so much. I still haven’t been to the top (wasn’t enough time this trip), but one day maybe I will.
One interesting thing that happened though as we entered the Square of Miracles as it's called (area where the Leaning Tower, Church & Baptistery are) was that I ran into a tour director named Marco that was our tour director 4 years ago when my family & I did a guided tour in Italy. Marco was the best tour director and I've been meaning to write him ever since I moved to Rome, but kept forgetting. As I walked into the area amidst the crowd there he stood. So I went up to him and said 'Marco do you remember me?' He said of course - you were on my tour with your family...you have the hard last name and were here for your parents' 40th wedding anniversary. I was so surprised he remembered! I couldn't talk to him long because he was looking for 2 lost members of his tour, but I had enough time to tell him I was living in Rome. It was so nice to run into him!

For the rest of this week I'll be in Rome, so probably no more blogs about my adventures until my other friend comes and we do more traveling (I don’t want to tell you yet where all we will be going – you’ll have to come back and read my blog after I write about it to find out! :-p)

Here is a link to some pictures I took in Pisa: http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3871740&l=fa903&id=800405227

Siena & The Palio

One of the great things about living in Italy is being able to enjoy the vacation (or 'holiday' as they say here) time in August. On Friday (August 15th - which is actually an Italian holiday), I started my 3 week vacation. :-) The way the city is, it almost invites and encourages you to go, take off & enjoy yourself...since half the businesses, restaurants, shops etc. are closed for at least a couple weeks during the month. I believe there are more tourists here in Rome than Italian for sure!
For me, these 3 weeks will be filled with adventures with friends who will be visiting. Two friends from Houston (work with me at PwC Houston) arrived on August 15th and will be here until this Thursday morning. Then I have another friend arriving on Friday that will be here for 2 weeks. Since I will have many things going on during this time, so I figured I would try to blog about my adventures thus far before I forget!
When my friends arrived on the 15th, we took a 3 hour bus ride to Siena, Italy which is located in the Tuscany region north of Rome. The main reason I wanted to go to Siena during this time is because of an event held every July 2 and August 16th since at least August 16, 1310 called the Palio. I went to Siena about 4 years ago when I was doing an organized tour with my mom, dad & sister and found the place interesting & thought the Palio sounded like something I really wanted to experience. So when I moved to Italy and my friend & I were making my 'must do's when I'm in Italy' list, I put The Palio on the list.
To understand the Palio, first I must explain a little bit about the city. Siena is divided up into 17 Contradas (kind of like communities). The 17 Contradas are:
Aquila (Eagle), Bruco (Caterpillar), Chiocciola (Snail), Civetta (Owl), Drago (Dragon), Giraffa (Giraffe), Istrice (Porcupine), Leocorno (Unicorn), Lupa (She-wolf)
Nicchio (Shell), Oca (Goose), Onda (Wave), Pantera (Panther), Selva (Forest), Tartuca (Tortoise), Torre (Tower), & Valdimontone (Ram).
Each Contrada have their own colors, own flag, own chant, own bulletin board for events, own headquarters, own museum, etc. Every Contrada is ruled by its own governing body which is elected every 2 years. The life of the Sienese is closely linked to the Contrada they live in and much of their free time is even spent in organized functions of the Contrada. Winning the Palio is thought to bring good luck to the Contrada and so those that win the race on August 16th are thought very lucky because they will have good luck for almost a whole year.
It is easy to tell which Contrada you’re in because they proudly hang out their flags (those of you in Texas think of it like seeing the big UT or A&M flags proudly hanging outside people's houses to let them know Alumni live there! It's the closest thing I can think of!) For the Sienese - Palio is part of their life & not just a race or event. Talk about Palio for them goes on all year.
Only 10 Contradas participate in each Palio - the Contradas that do not participate in the previous Palio are then automatically included in the next & the remaining are chosen by lot about a month before the race. The jockeys are professionals and are typically not from Siena. The horses are chosen only days before (29th July & 13th August) & then there are 3 days of trials (1 trial in morning & 1 in the afternoon) for the horse and jockey to get familiar with the race track. The track is actually the main Piazza (Piazza del Campo), which is kind of a sea shell shaped piazza that has an incline to it and is transformed into a track for the race. In addition, the jockeys ride bareback, which means many times the jockeys fall off the horse.
Prior to the Palio there are many parades in the streets, each Contrada hosts a big dinner the night before etc. We caught several processions with flags, drummers, guys all dressed up in medieval type costumes etc. as we were just walking through the street on Saturday morning.
The race was to start at 7pm & we were told to go early to get a good spot. From pictures etc. I knew that there would be a lot a people & that it would be a big crowd...but I don't mind crowds and I figured I'd been in crowds like that before...but THIS was different!! When we got there around 2:30pm it was fine...we had room to sit and we were about 3 people away from the fence, so we figured we were good. What we didn't realize was that we ended up sitting by the 1 entrance/exist that was open from 3:30 until the race started, so hundreds and hundreds of people were coming in and of course didn't want to go to the center where they couldn't see, so they kept pushing us to try to get us to move. When I say 'us' I mean the crowd around me as we were about 6 or more people from where the crowds were coming in. From 5pm until after the race I don't think there was a minute where I did not have at least 1 limb being touched by at least one other person. Sometimes as the crowds came in there was no way to not be shoved and the whole crowd moved forward. Kids in the crowd around us were crying & some people were getting to hot and had to go out climbing over the barricade to do so. My friends decided they did not want to deal with it and so they left a little over an hour before the race started. I figured I came to the Palio...it's been on my 'must do list'...I came all the way to experience it...I can just stay (although at times I was really questioning if that was a stupid decision!).
About an hour and a half before the face starts, they have various processions that come into the Piazza and around the track including a procession for each Contrada in the race that includes their flag bearers, drummers, etc. all dressed up in the traditional outfits.
When it was time for the race to begin, I ended up being on the opposite side of the start so I couldn't see much. There are typically tons of false starts because one horse will jump the line or get out etc., so it's actually hard to tell when the real race begins. The race happens so fast, it was over before I knew it! I saw a couple horses fly by and then I heard the shots go off to announce a winner and hear a lot of cheering! I had to ask around to see who won...Bruco I was told...Bruco I asked...yes you know the thing that turns into a butterfly...oh the Caterpillars!
Afterwards I left quickly (so I didn't get trampled) and went to go find my friends. Along the way I saw one of the losing Contradas walking back home with expressions as if someone just died...young, old, men, women many were in tears. Soon after they went through, the Caterpillar Contrada come through the streets waving their flags, singing their chant & the drummers going, carrying the winning jockey on their shoulders above the crowd in the streets and carrying the prized Palio banner. It definitely was a sight. Later that night, as tradition, the winning Contrada went to the Duomo (main Cathedral) to do prayers....and of course there is a big feast for the whole Contrada afterwards.
I am glad I had the chance to go and experience being at the race and being in Siena during the race to experience all the excitement and emotion....but I think next time I'll just watch it on TV or the internet! For me it's probably a once in a lifetime experience.
I actually had to go on to see the race...Here's a video of the race if you want to
see it: http://www.paliodisiena.unisi.it/live.asp

Here are some of the pictures I took of Siena and the Palio:
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=146114&l=8cbae&id=800405227
http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3854882&l=2b7f3&id=800405227

How can lint cause over 6 months frustration?!?!

I have grown up with the great advances of modern technology where if something is broke it can typically be fixed in a couple days. We do things the quick way...the easy way...and enjoy this lifestyle right?!? Well what happens when that is all turned upside down - even just for one thing? Frustration....aggravation...and patience to the ultimate test....and then almost giving up! Or at least that has been my situation recently...and all caused by some lint.
So have you curious? Well let me share with you my recent trials and tribulations with my washing machine here in Italy…and let me remind you I ONLY have a washing machine and everything has to be air dried.

How it all started...
My washing machine stopped working sometimes back in December. It had been working okay and then one day I did a load, opened the door and water flooded out and the washer wouldn't drain at all. I had to use towels, the one bucket I have, and a mop to try to clean up the mess! I had emailed my landlady (which I have found the best way to communicate since I don't speak much Italian and she doesn't speak much , plus she's in Milan most of the time), but she did not respond to most of my emails other than saying she was contacting her agency about it. So then I contacted the agency that helped me find my apartment and they contacted my landlady and after a couple weeks arranged for a repairman to come over. This was around February I believe. Oh and of course this repairman only comes into the center on Tuesdays, so I had to meet him on the Tuesday after they called or wait another week.


Warranty? Good question!
One of the reasons it took so long at first to schedule someone to come out was because they wanted to know if the washer was under warranty. And the answer is...that it SHOULD be since my landlady bought it and had it put in last year right before I moved in. (I asked if the place had a washer and they said no problem we will take out the dishwasher and put in a washer!) Now the problem is that my landlady told me she left me everything. So I went through all of the papers and found the manual, found all sorts of papers, found the warranty paper BUT it says you must have the receipt with it in order for it to be valid. (Also remember all these documents are in Italian, so just going through this is a struggle and also involved me bringing the papers to work and asking some of my coworkers to help me!) So I asked my landlady and she said she left it with me....I can not find it anywhere nor do I remember it. Then when I asked several times where it was purchased so I could go get a duplicate receipt, she finally told me that a friend of hers actually bought it and the place she bought it at is now closed so it's not possible to get a receipt. Then she told me that they should be able to tell that it is new, but of course they can't accept the warranty under that assumption. In the email I received today she said that with a witness (lady from the agency) she left everything with me and so if I don't have it is my problem and I have to pay. Oh well...it's like fighting an uphill battle I can't seem to ever win, so at some point you just have to waive the white flag and move on!


Repairman #1
So the repairman comes out (and mind you he doesn't speak English and I don't speak Italian well, so lots of pointing and hand gestures going on!), but all he did was clean the filter and said he couldn't get the washing machine out so if anything else was wrong he would have to come back with someone else to help me. I paid him the €40 (see warranty issue above on why I have to pay!) & he went on his way....and the washer worked for about 2 weeks and I was happy.
Then it started doing the same thing again and flooded my kitchen floor as soon as I opened it....so called the agency again to see if they could give me the number of the repairman so I could get him to come out again. After me following up for weeks...then months...they finally said the repairman said he won't come back until I fix the problem with him not being able to get the washing machine out so he could look at it (they put the washing machine where a dishwasher was under my kitchen cabinet so it's a tight fit). And the agency asked me if I fixed the problem. I emailed back asking HOW was I suppose to fix that?!? There is no way I could move the wall so it can't be changed!!


Repairman #2
So a couple of weeks ago...in desperation and realizing that going through the agency wasn’t getting me anywhere…I finally asked one of the secretaries at my office if she knew someone I could call myself to come fix it. Being the nice person she is, she called around and found out for me that it had to be the manufacturer of the washer. After getting some more information from me, she kindly called them to make a request for me.
Finally yesterday, when I was about to give up hope, they called and said someone could come this morning to fix it.
So the repairman come this morning and in about 30 minutes determined there was NOTHING wrong with the washing machine & it was just that the drain that was blocked. This guy was much more knowledgeable than the other guy...despite being about 30 years younger than the 1st! He too found the filter was blocked and cleaned it, but this time he took out this little plastic part that was in there that was causing it to clog up easier. So it was all that lint (or whatever that stuff is called) that has caused me so much grief for over 6 months now!!! Oh yeah and he charged €70 to do that...of which my landlady won't pay. BUT if it works from here on out it is worth it!! AND this time I watched how he took it off and cleaned it, so I need to buy a wrench so I can do it myself next time instead of waiting months for someone else to do it!
I washed a load of clothes this evening and was SO happy when they were done and I opened the door and no water came out! I wanted to go on my balcony and yell ' I just washed my clothes in my washing machine! It works!!!'...but refrained! I never thought I'd be so giddy about a working washing machine!! (I even took a picture of the moment…the one in this blog!)


So how have I lived without a washer for all this time you're asking?!?
It has NOT been easy! At first I thought it would only be a couple weeks, so I just went through my clothes wearing things in the back I don't wear that often, sticking to mostly dry cleaning clothes, and then hand washing my 'delicates' when needed (after wearing those ones you keep 'in case you really need'...yeah I know you have those too! The ones you don't want to throw out or get rid of, but don't really want to wear! Yeah I was on those!). Then after a while started hand washing more - I've even hand washed jeans, towels, bed sheets, you name it! And all in the sink since I don't have a bathtub! AND drying them is a whole other story! Since when you hand wash there is no spin cycle the clothes are soaking wet, so I couldn't just let them dry in my living room or my whole floor ended up soaking wet. Yes I learned a lot by trial and error! With my sister came to visit, she helped me figure out a way to set up the drying rack in my shower where the water would drip off into there...and although a very tight fit, it worked. Then when the weather got warmer and I got more and more desperate...I took the plunge and put the drying rack out on my balcony and even hung my 'delicates' out there! Now I must remind you my balcony faces a very busy street in Rome...so all passers-by and tourists on all the open air buses and horse drawn carriage rides could see all my undergarments hanging in the breeze...but desperate times call for desperate measures...and I was in desperate times by that point.
Why not a Laundromat you might ask? Well I guess the simple answer is laziness and being cheap! The only one I had found originally was one about 6 or more blocks away and was a very small one with small washers and dryers that cost around €7 -9 a load. I thought about going there many times, but could just not bring myself to drag all my stuff over there and sit in that tiny place for hours washing my clothes. Then about a month a coworker told me about this new Laundromat that opened next to her where you could drop them off and they do it for you. I figured I could pay €9 a load if they do it for me! So as soon as she told me about this I loaded up some of my clothes (a huge duffle bag and 2 big shopping bags to be exact!) and took them there on a Sat. The biggest problem is that to get to this place I have to take 2 buses and walk a ways. Let me tell you THAT was a workout!! After paying about €40 or so I returned several hours later to nicely washed, dried, and folded clothes! Thank goodness another co-worker went with me to pick them up though because it took BOTH of us to carry them to my apartment! I have gone to that place several times since and it was at least a little comforting to know that I could have clean clothes in a couple hours if I was willing to pay…and went there when they were opened.

Lessons Learned
BUT I did survive and now am even more appreciative of a working washer and don't even mind the fact that I don't have a dryer! And now at least I can dry my clothes inside without having streams of water everywhere.

So what lessons have I learned from this:
1) Appreciate your working washer (and dryer when you have one) because it's a pain in the butt when you don't have one…especially for months and months!!
2) Don't underestimate the power of lint!

Now this couldn't ever happen back home...

So sometimes living here in Rome I just have moments in which I just end up saying to myself...now this couldn't/wouldn't ever happen back home...and it makes me appreciate the experiences I am able to have here (the good, the bad & the ugly!). There are so many examples for this statement, but I want to blog about the most recent one.
This past Monday evening I was in my apartment with the balcony doors open making dinner (pasta...as usual). I found it strange that there were 2 police directing traffic at the intersection near my apartment even though the lights were working, but just went about my business. Then I heard many sirens, which typically in the city I've noticed they don't use unless they really need to. I went out on my balcony to see what was going on & I saw a motorcade with a police escort coming down the street. So being curious, I stayed out to see who it was...thinking it was probably an actor or something like that. In the middle of the motorcade there was a black Mercedes with the Vatican flags mounted on the front...and as it quickly passed I looked in the back seat and the guy in the back was wearing all white. Now I didn't see his face, but I am 99.9% sure it was Pope Benedict!! I mean he does live about a 10 minute walk from me and they were going in the direction of his apartment, so I'm pretty sure it was him....and I will continue to say it was the Pope who went past my apartment. I caught myself saying outloud several times after that...wow the Pope went passed my apartment! That would never happen back in Houston!!

Right after that I sat watching an Italian soccer game, eating the pasta I made & drinking a glass of red wine. Now you can't get too much more Italian than that can you! :-)

(hmmm...I wonder if I get any special blessings just by being on the Pope's route?!? ;-) ).

Springtime in Roma

Well it finally feels like spring in Rome to me now! The weather has warmed up a bit this weekend and it has been beautiful! Every season here is new & exciting for me because I don't know what to expect - what the weather will be like, what types of activities will be going on, if more & more tourist will be here, etc. I have always liked spring...and spring here in Roma is so nice! Yesterday I took several hours to just walk around the city to enjoy it & to test out my new camera (sounded like a good excuse). Walking around this city is one of my favorite things to do - I can go see the same places over & over again & never get bored of them.
I also saw on-line that there was suppose to be some festivities today to celebrate Rome's birthday that were taking place kind of near my apartment, so I went to see what that was all about too.
Here are links to my pictures from this weekend & some video. I plan to take some night pictures with my camera sometimes too - so expect that in the future.
Pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=108214&l=80816&id=800405227
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=108220&l=d6627&id=800405227
Video: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=32706715

Oh and since I'm way behind in blogging, just a quick update:
1) I was able to make it back to Texas for Easter (the day before) & stayed for several weeks. It was SOOO good to be able to spend time with my family & some of my friends. It was a bit weird being home at first (and driving for the 1st time in about 8 months), but quickly that went away and I had to keep reminding myself I had to return back to Rome soon. And I guess I'm getting use to life here in Rome a bit more too because this time it wasn't was bad to come back & I was able to get into the swing of things a lot easier than before.
I also think I'm becoming more "Texan" by being away. I don't remember when I have ever been so excited about seeing bluebonnets...but on my trip home I was so excited to see them in bloom (even have a picture of one up now in my office).
2) Work has picked up in the last couple of months and keeps me VERY busy! The types of clients I have here in Rome is completely different from Houston and is still a challenge to learn about the client, get to know my colleagues, figure out how stuff is suppose to be done here, and deal with the language difference. But I figure if I can make it through all of this here, I should be able to do even more once I return to the US.

Well that's it for now - I have to go run some errands & take care of my laundry that's drying out on my balcony (yes I have become one of those that put their clothes out to dry for all to see...simply because my washer is broken and when I hand wash my clothes and hang them to dry inside water goes EVERYWHERE! I hope none of the tourists walking by are taking pics of my undies! :-o)
Take care and drop me a line whenever you can - I love hearing from people back home! Ciao for now!

Trip to Napoli (Naples)

Originally written on January 30, 2008

On 27 December Francie & I decided to make a day trip to Napoli (Naples) since we heard that it is known as a place to buy handmade nativity sets during Christmas. It is only about a 2 hour train ride South from Rome, so we figured it would be interesting since neither of us had been to Napoli.
So when we arrived we went straight to the street with the nativities, which was packed with people and indeed there were nativities and things for nativities in all the shops and we even saw some people making some. As I mentioned, in Italy they sell the pieces to that nativities separately so there were all kinds of different things you could buy for the nativity. And the managers and scenes ranged from small ones to ones so big at least 2 people would have to carry them. Some shops also had statues of famous people they put in the nativities etc. It was very interesting, but in the end I only bought this inexpensive one that was one piece that later I accidentally left at the restaurant we went to for lunch. That was okay, because after I bought it realized it wasn’t handmade and it didn’t cost me all that much (although I did go back to the restaurant to try to find it, but it was no longer there).
Other than looking at nativities, Francie & I just looked around the town. Naples is known for it’s pizza as well (they make theirs different vs. Rome – Neapolitan pizza has thicker crust), so of course we had to go to a pizzeria and have some pizza. It was VERY good! Mmmm!

Observations about Napoli
I thought Roman traffic was crazy until I went to Napoli! After that Roman traffic seems calm and orderly! I’ve never been so scared that I would get hit walking as I was there. And scooters just go on the sidewalk without any notice and you have to watch out! Yes the drivers there are just insane!

And there are WAY more street vendors in Napoli compared to any where else I’ve been. Rome as quite a few, but in Napoli you couldn’t go down any street without finding someone trying to sell fake purses, some little toys you have no idea what they are, DVDs, etc.

We didn’t stray too far off the main streets because we read that some areas of town could be scary, so we just stuck to the main streets and went to some of the shops there. At first I got excited because the prices seemed so much cheaper compared to Rome, but after I started looking I realize most of them were cheap because they weren’t as good of quality. So all we ended up buying were tights (and the nativity set I lost!).

I did get to see the sea from there – even though it took me a bit to find a place where I could see it! They have a port, but when I tried to go close to the water I got stopped because they said it was a customs area. So I made Francie go all around just so I could take a picture by the sea! He! He!

One of my favorite memories from Napoli that I will always laugh about (and my sister will probably always get made at me for bringing up) is the ‘friend’ my sister found in Napoli. When we were shopping this golden lab came by my sister, started licking her hand, and then started following her. My sister doesn’t really like dogs that much, so she kept telling it ‘Go away! Get away from me!’ and instead of going away it just followed her more and then she would get more aggravated at it. Then we would go into a store and she would say ‘Good it’s finally gone!’ and as soon as we went back out there was the dog waiting for her and would follow her to the next store. This went on for about 10 minutes at least. I made her take a picture with it and then after that it went away.

So that was our quick trip to Napoli!

Here’s a link to some pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87395&l=fd6cb&id=800405227

Christmas in Rome 2007

Christmas in Rome
Originally written 30 January 2008
I’m writing this blog as I am in flight to New York, where I will work for a couple days for a client of mine (yes it’s a bit odd that I move to Rome and then have work in NY, but that’s what happened!). Since I have several more hours left in my fight I figured it is the perfect opportunity to catch up on writing some blogs that I’ve been wanting to write for a long time, but haven’t had time to sit and write them. So here is the first of a couple…since some time has passed, hopefully I can remember everything! (For those of you who don’t like reading long blogs, you’re probably happy if I DON’T remember everything! ).

This year was the first year that I have spent Christmas and New Year’s away from home! I had decided before even moving that I would not go home for Christmas this year because 1) I knew I would need to go home around the end of March for a family event and it’s too expensive to keep flying back and forth & 2) Since I’m in Italy I want to be able to experience Italy and Europe including the holidays. The good part about it was that my sister wanted to come join me, so at least that way I was with SOME family….which was nice.

My sister arrived on 21 December and we stayed in Rome until 30 December and then flew to Paris (only a 2 or so hour flight) to spend New Year’s there. On 3 January my sister flew from Paris to Houston and I flew back to Rome. This blog is about our Christmas in Rome. I will also write in other blogs about our trip to Napoli and spending New Year's in Paris.

Christmas time in Rome
One thing I absolutely love about Christmas time in Italy is that it is more aligned with the Christmas calendar in the Catholic Church rather than being so commercial! The decorations typically aren’t put up until 8 December (feast of the Immaculate Conception) and stay up until 6 January (Epiphany). In fact, when I went to St. Peter’s this past week the Nativity was still up in the Square (it wasn’t revealed until Christmas Eve).
Another thing is that you definitely see more nativity sets compared to any other decorations. There were several large Nativity sets throughout Rome (in Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps, and of course St. Peter’s) and they even had an exhibit that Francie & I went to that had 100 Nativities (100 presepe) made from different materials and from around the world. We both really liked that exhibit because it was interesting on how the nativities were so different. Typically when I have seen nativities it is just focused on the manager and that’s it, but most of these (including the ones around the city) included more and showed life that was going on around the manager. Also at this exhibit they had nativities made from everything from wood and ceramic (with moving parts) to soap, pasta, crayons, CDs, etc. I also noticed when I went to the stores that in the Christmas section there were more nativities and nativity parts compared to the other decorations. And when you buy nativities here you buy them in parts and then build on them – so you buy a manager or whatever scenery you want, then you buy each piece separate. So I guess it’s like a family tradition to buy pieces to the nativity every year to add to your nativity at home. It was all a very nice change from the VERY commercialized Christmas in the United States.
I must speak some on the Nativity in St. Peter’s – although my description and/or picture still won’t do it justice! I noticed at the beginning of December that they had started to put up scaffolding around the obelisk in center of the piazza and were doing work on it and then added some cloth hanging in front of it so you couldn’t see what they were doing. I thought they were going to have it uncovered before Christmas since they started so early, but after I saw the finished result I understood why it took so long! This by far is the largest nativity I have ever seen and probably would fill at least half of my apartment! The scene for the nativity this year was focused on Joseph’s hometown on Nazareth. The were three sections to the nativity – the center was the manager scene, the right side was a carpentry shop, and the left side was a kitchen set-up with the woman cooking and people eating. All the statues in the nativity are life size, so you can just imagine how big it all was! On Christmas Eve when Francie and I went to go see it for the first time we were walking down the street and we could see that it was uncovered, but I though they were still working on it because I thought there were people moving around in it. When we got closer I realized that what I saw were the statues and since they are dressed in real clothes (made of cloth) it was moving in the wind. I took many pictures and some video that I will post that will give you an idea, but it is still something even more amazing in real life! Also after the Epiphany I went back to see the nativity and they actually changed set-up a bit. They moved the 3 wise men to center in the manager and instead of the baby Jesus being in the crib he is sitting on Mary’s lap. I have pictures of that as well.
Some other things that went on during Christmas time in Rome were some markets – the biggest and probably most well known is the one in Piazza Navona. From 8 December to 6 January the piazza changes from being filled with artists and musicians to being filled with booths of candy, toys, jewelry, some handcrafts including nativities, and carnival type games. They also have stands were you can buy little Befane, which look like a witch. I was very confused when I first saw this, so I had to look it up! The day of the Befana is celebrated in Italy on 6 January and that is actually when traditionally the kids would get their stockings and if they were good they get a stocking of candy and if not they get a stocking filled with this black candy that looks like coal and they even have sticks you can buy to put in there too. Here is a link where you can find out more about la Befana: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Befana. So to me, this Christmas market looked more like a combination of a Christmas market and Halloween carnival!
One thing I was really surprised about was how many tourists there are in Rome during Christmas! I guess since in my family we always spent the holidays at home and that’s what I associate with Christmas vs. going on a vacation for Christmas. So I just didn’t think there would be as many people…but there were tourists EVERYWHERE!
Also the official holidays during the Christmas time are 8 December (feast of the Immaculate Conception), 25 December (Christmas Day), 26 December (St. Stephen’s Day), & 6 January (Epiphany & celebration of Befana).

Midnight Mass at St. Peter’s
One of the highlights of our Christmas was attending midnight mass at St. Peter’s with Pope Benedict XVI celebrating. My sister and I use to watch it on TV back home, but never did I think I would actually be there in person! I had reserved tickets was back in August or even before to make sure we would be able to attend. The mass of course begins at midnight on Christmas Eve (or I guess it’s Christmas day at that point!), so they started letting people in at 10 I think it was. When I picked up the tickets, they told me that it probably would be a good idea to get there around 7pm to get in line if we wanted to make sure we got in. It was a long time to wait, but we figured this is one of those once in a lifetime things that is worth it.
As a side note I find it a bit funny how at masses with the Pope it’s the only time that people WANT to really sit in the front row and will come hours & hours ahead vs. normal Sunday services were most people are late and prefer the back seats!
So my sister and I get ready and head to St. Peter’s around 7pm, thinking we would be near the front of the line. MAN were we wrong!! When we got to the piazza, the line was already half way into the piazza and was already wrapping like a snake to that point– and let me tell you the piazza is big, so that’s a lot of people! By the time the doors opened, the line went all the way along the outside of the piazza and then wrapped around that whole length in the middle of the piazza. It was incredible! Once we saw were we were in line, we were just hoping to get inside and get seats! Of course we were doing okay BUT when we got to the security lines of course something was wrong with the one we were in line for and by the time we realized the line wasn’t going to move soon and got in another line probably another 50-75 people or more had gone through. We did get a seat towards the back, but mostly because we decided we wanted to get as close to the aisle as possible so we could see everybody coming in & out. The mass was amazing (even though I didn’t understand most of it since it was in Latin & some Italian). I still can’t believe that I actually attended Midnight mass in St. Peter’s – that’s something I won’t forget. And I was so happy I could experience that with my sister because it was very special to her too!
(Here is a link to the Pope’s homily in English if you are interested: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20071224_christmas_en.html)

Christmas Day
The next day before noon we went to St. Peter’s again for a special greeting and blessing the Pope does on Christmas day called URBI ET ORBI. I thought it was going to be more like what he does every Sunday where you can show up about 15 minutes before and the crowd isn’t all that bad until right before he comes out. I was SO wrong! When we got there the piazza was SO full! But I’ve increased my skills of making my way through crowds since I’ve been here and was able to get us close to the front. One of the most impressive things to me was when the Pope went through and did a Christmas greeting in various languages. Now typically on Sundays he does a greeting in about 4 or 5 languages which is impressive enough to me, but for this he did greetings for about 10 minutes straight in languages I didn’t even know existed! I have a link to video of this below just for you to get an idea. It was unbelievable!
(Here is a link to the Pope’s message if you are interested: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/urbi/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20071225_urbi_en.html )

Francie and I decided that for Christmas we were going to try to make our version of an Italian meal…and I think we did a pretty good job! Not that I have experience a traditional Italian Christmas meal to compare it to! The weekend before we went to the Campo del Fiori open market to buy fresh vegetables and herbs, the meat market (my first time there actually!), and the grocery store. We also stopped by a bookstore and bought a Roman cookbook…in English of course. So our meal consisted of white wine, ravioli, lemon veal, potatoes, eggplant, and we topped it off with the traditional Christmas cake (bought, not homemade) called panatone. It all turned out really well and was different from our Christmas meals back home. It also took us from around 2pm until 4pm to cook and eat it all (we would make one course and eat it while the next was cooking). Overall we were happy with our Christmas meal and had an enjoyable Christmas! J

Here are some links to related pictures and video:
Christmas in Rome 2007 pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87387&l=7b9ac&id=800405227

Nativity sets in Rome pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=87390&l=6db92&id=800405227

Nativity sets in Rome video: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=30044047

Midnight Mass video: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=30046702

Urbi et orbi video of Pope Benedict: http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=28040433

So it's been FOREVER since I've written a blog!

As a sign that things have been a bit busy for me, it's been a VERY long time since I've written a blog. In fact I couldn't even remember the last time I blogged and had to look and couldn't believe it has been so long! What is even worse is that over a month ago on a flight to New York for work I wrote several blogs and only needed to proof them and and some link and never got around to doing that!

So hopefully I can get up to speed shortly...or at least I hope! I will post them as a series of blogs and hope to get at least some posted this week.

Love to you all!

Lynette

In memory of my Grandpa Minks

My Grandpa Minks (mom's dad) past away last Thursday night at the age of 97 and his funeral was today. It's been a bit hard at a time like this to be away from family & not be able to attend my Grandpa's funeral. I did write the passage below on Saturday and my sister read it at the wake service Sunday night...so even though I wasn't physically there, I was able to kind of take part in some way. I just wanted to share this all with you...(BTW this picture of my family with my Grandpa was taken the last weekend I was in Wallis before I moved to Rome. He was 96 in that picture!)

My Grandpa – Mr. Ivan Minks, Sr.
By Lynette Uhyrek

When I think about my grandpa, Mr. Ivan Minks Sr., there are many things that automatically come to my mind and that I will always remember about him.
The first is how he loved to tell stories about when he was a kid and his many jobs throughout his life. I loved just sitting around and listening to him tell stories. He would tell them with such great animation and really get into them. I could hear the same story many, many times and still love it just the same every time. It was like learning a part of history first hand..and a lot more interesting to me than any history book. And usually when all of us kids were around and he would be telling a story, he would stop and say 'I'm sure you kids don't want to hear all my old stories…they aren't that interesting.' And we would tell him of course we did, and then he would continue and would have about an hours worth of stories to tell. I think the last time that most of us grandkids (and some great grandkids) were around and all got the chance to listen to his stories was for his 95th birthday when we got together at my parents' house. I still remember that day and will cherish it forever. That was my grandpa….the story teller.
Although he never received any music lessons or formal training, my grandpa was fantastic at playing the harmonica. At family gatherings, in addition to listening to his stories, we would also gather to listen to him play his harmonica. That was my grandpa…the harmonica player.
Another thing I will always remember about my grandpa was how hard of a worker he was. He might have not been a big man in stature, but he was a strong man indeed. Just to think about how many fields he plowed, cotton he picked, stacks of feed and sugar and various things he carried, how many houses he help build, how many times he moved the yard…by a push mower of course, and how many kids he carried makes me tired. I remember when Uncle Ronnie was building his house years ago and I saw someone up on the roof and asked who it was…and found out it none other than my grandpa of course. Up there on a 2 story house, not a young lad at that point to say the least, and he was up there working away! That was my grandpa…the hard worker.
My grandpa was a sharp man too! He had a memory like you wouldn't believe (which is why he told stories so well I guess). And he never ceased to surprise me! Like speaking Spanish to someone…and none of us knew he could even speak Spanish. Later we found out he picked some Spanish up from some of the Mexican people that worked in the grocery store with him when he was much, much younger….and after not speaking it for over 30 years or more, he still could have a conversation in Spanish. Also he LOVED doing word finds and those types of things. Even in these last few months he would do word finds with Mrs. Elenora. I think I'll be lucky if I could even see the words at 97! That was my grandpa – the intelligent man.
Any of you who visited my grandpa and grandma's house before my grandma got really sick must remember their garden! They seemed to be able to grow anything and took pride in doing so. Their garden was always so full of fruits and vegetables – my favorites were always the cantaloupe and icebox watermelons! I think the best cantaloupe I've tasted to this day are the ones that came from my grandpa's garden. Maybe it was the love he poured into them…I don't know, but they were always good. And who could forget the poppy seed plants he grew….nothing like tasting poppy seed kolaches made from homegrown poppy seed! Any Czech (and non-Czechs too) know that! That was my grandpa…the gardener.
Two other things that I admired about my grandpa, that to me I think go hand & hand, was his strong faith and he and my grandma celebrating their 70 th wedding anniversary before my grandma passed away. When I was younger and they were both well, I remember seeing Grandpa and Grandma in church together-usually holding hands all through the mass. And daily they would pray together and especially pray the rosary together. There was no doubt my grandpa was a praying man and his faith was important. My mom said even up until the end he prayed the rosary and even the day he died he made the sign of the cross. And to known a couple that was married 70 years, in this day and age where it's amazing if people seem to stay together long enough to celebrate their 10 th year anniversary …to me that's amazing! I've heard a saying that goes 'Those who pray together stay together', and to me my grandparents were a testament to that. So that was my grandpa…the devout husband and devout Catholic.
There are other things I will remember about him too…like how feisty and stubborn he could be, which is probably where I get it from, and how set in his ways he could be on a subject …and I would never want to have been on the opposing side of an argument with him because I think he would always win.
And to be able to live until 97 and not have had to be hospitalized much and up until recently was still pretty independent! To me that's amazing. And Just to think of what he saw in his lifetime…the changes to society, the changes in the way we live, as well as how many grandchildren and great grandchildren he has held and kissed, the number of weddings he's attend, and the number of funerals he's been to – including those of his wife, children, & grandchildren. That was my grandpa – the man who saw a lot in his time.
All these things were what made my grandpa who he was….the grandpa I knew and will always remember. That's my grandpa!
Right now there is really no where else I would rather be than with all of you, there, celebrating my grandpa's life and praying that he's in the place he's been longing for…in heaven, looking down on us all, away from all the pains of aging. Unfortunately I can't be there physically, but please know I am with you all there spiritually and my thoughts are there with you. Living in Italy, I am starting to learn some of their customs. And one that is related to funerals that at first I found a bit odd, but now I think it quite interesting is that at funerals, the Italians break out in applause in celebration of the life of that person. Although if my grandpa was still alive he might not approve since he was very much into being traditional, despite that I still think it is fitting at this time that we take a minute to celebrate his life and all that he was and celebrate his being now with the Lord by applause…for my Grandpa…Mr. Ivan Minks, Sr.