24 April 2016

This was an interesting week, in some respects.  We got back from our trip to Venice and were still pretty tired from all the walking.  We need to do more.  But 25 miles in one weekend isn't just around the block. On Wednesday we took the metro into downtown Milan (total of 4 hours start to finish) for Myrna to see a specialist dentist found for us by David  The endodontist teaches at the dental school and the first thing he said was your son called and spoke me and told me take good care of his beloved mother.  We had gone to another dentist in Milano (an English guy the mission always uses, probably because he speaks English, but the new Italian dentist speaks good English.) The first one wanted to drill through a crown to get rid of infection, but said it may not work and he would need to open up her jaw. The new one, who if he operated would use an operating microscope, took two x-rays, although without digital equipment.  Anyway, he said it is a wait-and-see thing, he would not drill/operate at this time, so we think that is a tender mercy.  We pray that it will just get better, and he did not want her to take another round of antibiotics.

Yesterday, Saturday, our P-day, we drove down to Pavia (in the light rain) yesterday knowing we could go to a large mall and Myrna could find some almond extract to make goodies (muffins, cinnamon rolls) for the missionaries. We have an office meeting at 9 am. Interestingly, Italy produces a lot of almonds and almond things, but they do not sell large bottles of almond extract, or almond milk reasonably priced, for that matter.  On the way down to Pavia we stopped another little country church, so I could see the organ.





Little pipe organ in the back, no one there to ask if it plays, but I suspect not because behind the main altar (other end of the church) was a small electric organ in the choir area.  There are really very few old organs in Italy that work we are finding. and instead of getting them restored, they buy electronic organs.







Today, Sunday, after church and lunch, we went back to Abbizia di Ciaravalle, the abbey where St. Bernard (who wrote the words to "Jesus, the very thought of Thee" in the 1100s) founded.  It took about an hour. Last time we went there most of it wasn't open and I didn't have my camera. It is a remarkable place, a little smaller than the one north of Pavia, but still quite remarkable.  They didn't have any problem with my taking pix either.  At the one in Pavia a monk yelled at me for just taking out my camera.






Choir seats in the very large church at Ciaravalle, compare this with the few choir seats at the little church on the way to Pavia that we saw yesterday.










The old pipe organ in the abbey is high above the main floor and probably sounded wonderful as the music floated around the massive church.  However, sadly, it probably does not work, because they have a fairly large electronic organ on the floor near the choir.  (This form of pipe organ above is found in nearly all of the ancient churches we have seen and is the same type I play on Hauptwerk).






Choir seats, beautiful woodwork but they don't look very comfortable.  I suspect you sit on the little half moon (catch the irony there) and sing your heart out.














One of about 10 side chapels in the large church, these are little chapels where mass can be said for a few people a a time.  I like to remember the term "a capella" which literally means in the chapel, has come to mean without accompaniment, because the big organ cannot be heard in the little capellas,








It was fairly dark in the church itself, so the pix of the large fresco paintings on the walls didn't turn out very well, and they even had the lights on today.  They were painted between 1100 and 1500 AD by various painters, some famous and some not so famous.  They are all pretty dim, and perhaps will be restored some day.







The front of the abbey church from the entryway.  It is really a large building, and there were hundreds of Italians out for their Sunday afternoon strolls, some eating gelato, which the monks sell a their store.  We didn't see any American or other foreign tourists, this place is apparently off the tourist trap. There aren't any entry fees, but there were several beggars with their hands out and baskets for donations to restore the church.







This is the road we drove on to get home, Myrna took it while I was driving.  Traffic can go both ways, and Italians drive fairly fast, but the tunnels under the bridges are only wide enough for one car, so they have a stop light so you don't run into someone coming the other way.  The plants in the fields are up about a inch now.