On Saturday, our p-day, we wanted to go to Pordenone and stay for church on Sunday, to see the beautiful new chapel there, but we didn't have a functioning GPS. (This was the first city in which I served in 1965.)
On Saturday morning we went to the open market here in Opera. And then on Saturday afternoon we drove to nearby Binasco, which is only about 20 minutes south of Opera. On the way we went to a large Simply grocery store, where we witnessed a protracted shouting match between an older male customer and a female checkout clerk, for which they called a policeman.
We have never been to Binasco to see the castle, which is in the middle of town.
As reads this sign, the castle was built by the Visconti, and is mentioned as early as 1329. In 1418 Filippo Maria Visconti decapitated his wife, Beatrice Cane, also known as Beatrice of Tenda. The castle was burned by Napoleon's troops on the 24 and 25 of May 1796. It is now restored, on the inside (the outside apparently didn't burn), as city offices.
The offices inside the castle, from the courtyard (they were closed on Saturday evening) looked quite nice and modern.
This is the entrance to the castle--now office complex, after walking over what used to be the drawbridge.
There was a group of anziani sitting around near the side of the castle, probably waiting for mass to end, although there is one wife who apparently also skipped Saturday evening mass.
The statue honors those sons who gave their all in the wars (common in Italian towns). We were going to see inside the church, which is in the piazza with the castle, in the middle to town, but mass had started at 5:30 pm, and walking past the front door, we could see the priest up at the altar giving his sermon, so we didn't go in. The church actually looked pretty full.
This is the front of the church, where a wedding had taken place earlier in the day, by the flowers and rice thrown as the couple exited, which custom apparently began in Italy.
Looking the other way, from the church, in the piazza, there were shops and restaurants (always restaurants, including pizza), and folks strolling with their dogs.
On the way back to where we parked the car, I snapped this of a guy wearing red pants--I am still remembering what Anziano Santoro said, that Italians would never wear red pants. However, but by now Luca may even have some. We're waiting to see when he and Sorella Garcia will get married. We also learned this week that Anziano Barragon may be getting married to Sorella Lau, in Utah, perhaps. Hope we will learn more.
On Saturday evening we went to the restaurant recommended by Mariella some time ago, but we've never actually been to. In fact, we liked it better than any we have eaten at, anywhere in Italy. It is near the train station in Locate. They even make pizza to go--I counted 14 boxes going out at once, with 3 guys cranking them out from the wood fired oven as quickly as they could. I had their spaghetti carbonara, because I am still trying to perfect my recipe and want to try them from different restaurants. This one was wonderful, lots of pancetta (smoked bacon, actually, pork cheek meat) in an eggy-cheesy sauce. Myrna had a pizza, of which I ate some, it was pretty good too.
This past week Sorella Michela LoRusso had surgery (2 screws and a plate) in her ankle, at the nearby Humanitas hospital. She was an inpatient from Wed until Friday morning, taken care of by a nurse who is Mariella's (in our ward, who told us about the restaurant) daughter. Sorella LoRusso returned to the mission home, with her companion, to wait until the next group of missionaries go home, so she can go with them (She would normally go home in Sept.) Her father, who is Italian, from Napoli, was there on business (he owns Italian restaurants in the Salt Lake area) and visiting family, and came to see her when she had the surgery. The name of their restaurant in Utah is Terra Mia. They have a new one in Draper, where she worked before her mission. We picked him up and returned him to the train station at Rogoredo, and, on the 20 minute ride, he told me how he makes spaghetti Carbonara and proscuito sugo, Interestingly, Anziano Larsen Brooks' family (his father served a mission in Italy and comes here to buy ingredients) also owns 9 Italian restaurants, including some in the Salt Lake area, called Sette Bello. We would like to try them both when we return.
On Monday morning we had our usual office meeting, for which Sorella Hoopes made muffins, and the anziani wore their "work" clothes (T shirts and shorts), because that morning we cleaned out the basement garage storage area. The anziani are, left to right, Hogan, Wilson, Brooks, and DaPonte. (Neither President Allen nor I wore a tie, but neither did we wear T shirts and shorts.)
After work, for lunch we barbecued hamburgers at the Mission Home, although there was a downpour of rain right as we said the blessing.
So we all moved off the lawn area to the narrow sidewalk alongside the house.
In the evening the Copia Steven Clark (from Saratoga Springs, UT, originally from Idaho) and John Ferrara (from Wisconsin), who are senior couples, arrived from Treviso and Arezzo, completing their missions, to depart early the next morning. We spent time and then had dinner with them at the Mission Home. It was fun listening to their mission experiences, including the disasters they both experienced when they first arrived, e.g., finding their apartments, getting lost in Italy, etc. We had a great salad, Myrna's sesame chicken with mushroom sauce, crescent rolls (which Anziano Wilson, from Canada, called buns), mashed potatoes, zucchini and carrots with honey, We fed the sorelle (LoRusso and her companions) in the president's office, while we had this wonderful dinner together in the formal dining area.
Every morning, well almost, I take my constitutional walk around the park, which has this rice field on one side. As you can see, the rice is up and fields are now being flooded. We figured out they let the rice get up about an inch before they start flooding the fields. Apparently, rice needs a lot of water and likes to grow in water. I wish I could be here in the fall to see the harvest again.
Ciao for now.
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