Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Homeward Bound

Sorry I didn't get last night's post up. I will have to finish it later.

We are up and ready to head to the airport. It is 4:34 am. We will be home in South Bend tonight!

-Terri, John, Paul, Elizabeth, and Grace

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Two Days Left in Rome

December 13, 2009

We have only two days left in Rome. What did we do today?

We stayed up late watching a movie last night and slept later than we wanted to this morning. Maybe we are just trying to adjust our body clocks to get ready for the trip home! After breakfast we headed for the flea market to pick up a few more souvenirs. It was cold and rainy today, so we didn't wander around looking for things - just headed for what we needed and got back on the bus. The 75 bus took us up near the train station so we could walk to Santa Susanna - the American Catholic church in Rome. Unfortunately, they closed early and we had to leave the books in the church with a note. We donated many of the books we've already read to the library. Hopefully they will make some other children happy.

We waited again for a bus - this time the 62. The bus service runs on Sundays, but not as frequently. This means more waiting at bus stops. Did I mention that it was cold and rainy? Oh well! We took the bus to St. Peter's to stop at a shop, but it was closed. We were able to mail our last postcard while we were out though! By this time, everyone was cold, wet, tired, and grumpy and so we headed home. We can do the rest of the errands tomorrow, right?

We came home and worked on the packing again. We packed the backpacks and cleaned out the kids' bedroom. Now everything is in piles in my room. I guess it will be incentive to finish putting everything into the suitcases so that I can go to bed tonight!

After dinner and showers, we headed back into the city for Mass at Santa Maria in Monterone. It's a tiny little church right near John's studio. John and the rest of the graduate students weren't back from Greece yet, so we went by ourselves.

We are home now, John is home now and all is well. John and I will finish packing tonight so that we can play tomorrow. Lots to do before we leave!

Only one more day!

-Terri

La Befana

We are going to be starting a new tradition in the Mellor family called "La Befana". La Befana is celebrated on Epiphany, January 6. The legend of La Befana is that when the three kings were taking their gifts to Jesus they invited everyone in the towns they passed through to accompany them. They passed through one town where a woman lived. She was the best housekeeper in town and when they asked her to accompany them, she said she had a lot of housework to finish. Later, she had a change of heart, but it was too late. The kings had already left. The legend says that on the eve of January 6, she flies around on her old broom bringing gifts to children. The good children receive books and other small toys and the bad children receive garlic, onions, and coal. She puts the things in the children's socks, similar to St. Nicholas Day.

We bought a Befana. She is an old woman sitting in a rocking chair with her broomstick. This is a neat Italian tradition that we thought we should celebrate!

See you soon!
-Elizabeth

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Sant'Ignazio - Is the dome there or not?

This is the church of Sant'Ignazio - St. Ignatius. The neat thing about this church are its frescos on the ceiling. In this first fresco, it appears that the ceiling is much taller than it actually is. Can you see the columns and windows along the sides of the photo? They are part of the painting!
These two photos are of the dome. When the church was built, they couldn't afford to build the dome. They hired the same artist, Andrea Pozzo. He painted a dome on a flat, round ceiling. He painted the dome in perspective so that when you stand in a certain place in the church, you cannot tell that the dome is fake. However, when you get right under the dome, it doesn't look right anymore. Unfortunately, I don't have a good photo of this. This is the same artist who painted the rooms of Saint Ignatius that I wrote about earlier.

Three Days Left in Rome

December 12, 2009

Three days left in Rome. What did we do today?

Well, we worked on packing again today. I am trying to pack the things we aren't using, but we brought so little, that packing leaves us very little to do.

One thing that we really enjoyed visiting a few months ago was Castel Sant'Angelo. We went back today. This castle was originally a mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian and his family, but was later a fortress and castle. There is even a fortified walkway that goes between the Vatican and the Castel Sant'Angelo so that when Rome was being attacked, the Pope could go hide out in the castle. The last time this happened was in the 1500's. Anyway, now it is a museum and it has one of the best views of the city.

We spent several hours at the Castel Sant'Angelo, exploring through the ramps, staircases and hidden rooms. We found a whole exhibit inside artwork that had been stolen and then recovered by the police here in Italy. Some things were missing for just a year or two, and some for more than twenty years! There were even a few artists we recognized - art by Renoir, Cezanne and VanGogh!

No visit to Castel Sant'Angelo is complete with a trip down into the former moat which is now a park and has a nice playground. There were lots of kids playing down there today and many people walking their dogs. Apparently people walking their dogs think that this park is a good place to let the dogs run around without a leash. It was interesting to watch dogs chase one another and owners chase their dogs!

The weather is chilly here now and we weren't dressed for an extended time outside. We were planning to go do a little souvenir shopping before dinner, but we were all too cold. We elected to jump on a warm bus and head home. Made a quick dinner and then? Yes, more packing! Now we are going to relax on the couch with some afghans and the movie "Cars".

Lots of things to finish up tomorrow! Only two days left!

-Terri

Four Days Left in Rome

Friday, December 11, 2009

Only four days left in Rome. What did we do today?
Aunt Kathy and Barb left early this morning. We were up late with them last night, so we slept in this morning. It is time to start packing. We spent most of the morning cleaning and organizing. We went through our "stuff" and figured out what needed to be thrown out, donated, and what will actually come home with us. I also started a list of everything we have purchased so that it will be easier to fill out the customs forms when we get to the US.
After lunch we headed down the hill to the playground in the piazza for some playtime. It was chilly, but the sun was shining and it was nice to just relax. We took the tram across the river to see three churches that have been on our list.

The first was Il Gesu which is the home of the Jesuits. We've been to the church before, but I had read about it again and realized that we hadn't looked carefully at the ceiling when we were there. The ceiling was painted to look like some of the figures are 3D and are coming down toward you. We also went next door to see the rooms of St. Ignatius - where he lived nearly 500 years ago. Amazing to see so much history in one place! There was also one fantastic room that was painted by the same artist as the ceiling in the church. The room has a barrel vault (half circle shaped ceiling), but is painted so that if you stand in one place in the room, it appears to be a flat ceiling. I don't think the photos really do it justice. I have a guide to the rooms that is easier to understand.
This is the ceiling in the church. It looks like some of the figures are coming down from the ceiling.


These photos were taken in one of the rooms of St. Ignatius. I don't know if you can see the scrolls that are between the ceiling and the side walls. They aren't actually there! They are painted on! The ceiling is actually rounded! Neat, huh?





After Il Gesu, we went to two other churches that John had recommended we visit. Both were quite beautiful and we enjoyed them. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store. We are getting close to our last grocery shopping trip. That will be a relief! Of course, we hit the grocery store about 5:30 in the evening which means it was very crowded. The lines were very, very long and we had to wait about 10 minutes for the check-out. We caught a bus up the hill and had a relaxing evening in the apartment. We have many blog entries to do.
Great day! Only three days left!
-Terri

Five Days Left in Rome

Thursday, December 10, 2009

We have five days left in Rome. What did we do today?

After a relaxing morning at home, we headed to the tram and into the city center for lunch. We went to Remo's again, but this time for calzones. John has been raving about the calzones which are cheap, large, and fantastic, but you have to get there before the high school kids get there if you want one. We got to Remo's shortly before noon and all had a prosciutto (ham) and cheese calzone. They are indeed terrific!

We headed over to the Corso for a little bit of souvenir shopping with Aunt Kathy and Barb. Today is their last day here. Caught a bus from the Corso over to the Vatican and stopped at a shop called Castroni where we picked up a few souvenirs and Christmas presents.

The Vatican Museums was next. We have been there once, but Aunt Kathy and Barb really wanted to see the Sistine Chapel. I was hesitant because the last time we were there was in mid September and the museum was packed! Instead of walking through the museum leisurely enjoying all the exhibits, we felt like we were a herd of cows moving from room to room! There were so many people in the Sistine Chapel that you could hardly move around and certainly couldn't relax and enjoy the beauty!

However, there are virtually no tourists here in Rome now! (Delightful!) We basically had the museum to ourselves. We saw a few things on our way to the Sistine Chapel, but spent most of our time in the Chapel itself. It is really too bad that you can't take photos in there, but I do have a really nice book about the Vatican and the museums, so it is fine. Michelangelo's ceiling is really something, let me tell you. I just cannot imagine having that much talent to be able to paint something so beautiful!

We headed home for a bit while Aunt Kathy and Barb finished up some shopping. We met them down in Trastevere and went to dinner at a restaurant called Carlo Menta. Delicious pasta and fantastic pasta e fagioli soup. You have probably had pasta e fagioli soup at Olive Garden. Here it is much thicker and is made with wide, thin, flat noodles instead of macaroni. I will be making it this way from now on!



After dinner we headed for gelato because everyone must have gelato on their last day here. Our favorite place was closed, so we went to Della Palma where we could eat inside. This was good because it is pretty chilly once the sun goes down now. Tram and bus back to the apartment.

Great day! Only four days left!

-Terri

Friday, December 11, 2009

Six Days Left in Rome

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

We have six days left in Rome. What did we do today?

Well, today is Paul's 10th birthday so it was lots of fun and excitement! We started by heading over to St. Peter's with John, Aunt Kathy, and Barb. Yesterday was a national holiday in Italy, so many people made a 4 day weekend. There have been tons of people in Rome all weekend, but apparently they have all headed back to work. We had St. Peter's almost to ourselves today! Fantastic!

We started by climbing to the top of the dome. Aunt Kathy, Barb, and Grace took the elevator to the base of the dome, and then climbed the stairs, but we took the stairs the whole way. It was over 500 stairs! The view was spectacular! Look for a blog entry on this in the next few days. We descended the dome and toured the Basilica and then the crypt below. This is where Pope John Paul II is buried.

After St. Peter's, we headed into the city center for pizza for lunch from our favorite pizza place - Remo's. We ate pizza in the piazza in front of Santa Maria sopra Minerva and then went to get gelato. I think Paul got an extra big 2 scoops because he told our friend at the gelato place that it was his birthday.

We came home for naptime/downtime and then had dinner. Paul's favorite meal is penne with ham and asparagus. For dessert we didn't have cake because the oven here is too unpredictable. Instead I got a recipe from one of the secretaries in the ND program. Paul had a birthday pie - Nutella pie. (For anyone who doesn't know - Nutella is a chocolate spread that is the consistency of peanut butter. Europeans spread it on bread or toast for breakfast.) For birthday candles we used a candle that Paul got at St. Paul's Outside the Walls. It was a delicious pie.

What an exciting day! Only six days left!

-Terri

Seven Days Left in Rome

Tuesday, December 8



Well, we have seven days left in Rome. What did we do today?



Aunt Kathy and Barb are visiting this week, so we had to show them some of our favorite things. Today we had pizza for lunch with John. He is finally done with his major projects and had his big presentation yesterday afternoon. After lunch we took Aunt Kathy and Barb to the "Bone Church". (See Paul's blog entry on this.) They were fascinated. We also went to see another church that we really like - Sant'Ignazio. (St. Ignatius) This church has a trompe l'oeil ceiling and dome. This means that the ceiling is painted to look much taller than it actually is. It also means that the church doesn't actually have a dome, but the circle in the ceiling is painted to look like one. We will post photos of this in a different entry.



After those two churches, we had to do a little souvenir/Christmas shopping. We headed over to one of our favorite piazzas - Piazza Navona where there is a huge Christmas market. We picked up a gift for Grandma and a "La Bufana" for our family. Look for an entry on La Bufana as well.



Aunt Kathy and Barb went out for dinner and we came home for a quiet dinner of leftovers. We have to start cleaning out the fridge and cabinets! Only seven days left!



-Terri

Switching Teachers

We will have some big transitions when we get home, especially when it comes to teaching and learning.

Paul and Elizabeth have had one teacher for this whole semester - me! We've done reading, writing and math, but most of our learning has been "out in the field". We've learned about Roman and Italian history, emperors, churches, buildings...the list goes on and on. It has been fascinating to see how different churches are from one another. We have learned a lot about architecture and architects around the city, studying as many works as we could by Michelangelo, Bernini, and Borromini. Paul and Elizabeth even put together a PowerPoint presentation about Michelangelo that they are excited to share when they get home. Lots of our learning has been "living". We've learned enough Italian to get around, and how to shop for, cook, and eat Italian food. Paul and Elizabeth have learned how to navigate around the city on foot, as well as public transportation, and have become excellent photographers!

Now they are heading back to Holy Cross School where there are lots of kids in their classes and they have to switch between several teachers. They will have homework and a much stricter schedule of working. They will have to get up and go to bed early and wear a uniform again! Finally, they will be back with all of their friends and the people they have missed so much!

My teaching is going to change too. I have only had three students this fall. (Grace gets out her workbooks each day and works on her "schoolwork".) I just received the exciting news this week that I am going back to teach 4th and 5th grade at Elm Road School in January! I am thrilled! I just cannot wait to share all the exciting stories of experiences we have had here. I have books that are in Italian, as well as many travel books about the places we have visited. Not to mention all the photographs we have! Oh, there is so much to share with those 4th and 5th graders!

Now, they will have to be patient with me too, because I might get a little mixed up! I might call them "ragazzi" instead of "young people" and when we are trying to go somewhere, I might say, "Andiamo!" I might also answer "Si" instead of "yes" or say, "attenzione!" when I need them to watch out for something! I am sure that they will either catch on quickly or help get me on the right track!

Yes, it will be an interesting transition, but I think everyone will do fine. We are packing in as much "Rome" as we can into these final days and looking forward to sharing our experiences with everyone.

-Terri

Scala Sancta

This is one of those experiences that you just never forget. The "Scala Sancta" is the "Sacred Stairs". This is a set of stairs inside a building across the street from St. John Lateran in Rome. It is the set of stairs that led up to Pontius Pilate's palace which makes it the set of stairs Jesus climbed to meet Pontius Pilate.

The stairs are marble, but for several hundred years have been covered on the top with walnut wood. There are places in the walnut covering where you can see through to the marble.

People come from all over the world to see and climb these stairs. Do you notice that everyone is one their knees on the stairs? Yes, they are praying, but you are required to climb them on your knees and you cannot walk up them. Some people pray for a long time on each step, and some for just a short time.

Paul, Elizabeth, Grace, and I climbed the Sancta Scala about two weeks ago. We said a short prayer on each step. Even Grace! It was definitely a memorable experience both because of the significance of the staircase and because my knees were sore for the rest of the day!

-Terri

Buses and Trams

We ride lots of buses and trams because we don't have a car. Also, sometimes it is too far to walk to the playground. This is the settanta-cinque (75). We take the 75 up the hill to our house, or to the playground with the teeter-totter. Sometimes we also take it to go to Santa Susanna. It has books. (That is where the English lending library is. -Terri)









The 44 bus always takes us up the hill too. This one is going to Piazza Venezia. That is where the Campodoglio is and the building that looks like a wedding cake.











This is a tram. We get the tram at the bottom of the Glorioso stairs and we take it to Largo Argentina. Because that's where Dad's studio is. The TIM store is there too. It is also by the Pantheon. I like the Pantheon because we go to our favorite gelato place. But now when it is dark, the gelato place is closed. When it is closed, we have to go to another one.













This is a "skinny" tram. The one below this is a "fatty". Paul named them this because of the way they look in the front. I like the "skinnys" better because I just like them. (Paul likes "skinnys" because they are newer, they look more aerodynamic, and they have some seats up a set of stairs. John likes "fattys" because they seat more people and he doesn't like to be crowded on the tram.)

I like the trams the best and buses too because I just like to ride them!
-Grace

















Thursday, December 10, 2009

Hey! Where Did My Bones Go?

Hey! Where did my bones go? If you were buried in the indoor cemetery at Santa Maria della Concezione, that would be your question. Do you know why? When they used up all the space in the cemetery, they dug up all the bones. And do you know what they did with them? They decorated with them! From walls to chandeliers, from beds to clocks. And guess what? There was a Barbarini princess (it was just her skeleton of course) holding a sickle and a scale.

The message at the end of the cemetery was this: "We were what you are, and what we are you will be."








So, why did we go there? It was the day before Halloween and we thought it would be kind of creepy. It wasn't really creepy, it was cool. I was really surprised at how many different ways they decorated with the bones.


Unfortunately, like a lot of other places, we weren't allowed to take pictures, so we bought some postcards. That place is really quite something, isn't it?

-Paul

Friday, December 4, 2009

I Am Also Thankful

Dear Grace, Elizabeth, Paul, and Terri,

It has occurred to me that I have not contributed in any meaningful way to the entries on the blog. You all have done a great job with it, and everyone back home must enjoy sharing your adventures with you. I'm sorry that I have not been around much these past few weeks - it is hard for me to be away from you all for so much time. I wish that I could have been a part of these grand explorations of yours, and hope someday to have the chance. After reading all of your Thanksgiving blog entries, I decided to contribute one of my own, so here is what I am thankful for - Grace, Elizabeth, Paul, and Terri.

Grace, you are my sweet little peanut, and you are getting to be so big! You have grown so much here in Rome that nobody will recognize you when we get home. You have been so curious, brave, and cheerful these past months, and I hope that you will remember your time here in Rome with us.

Elizabeth, you are my big girl, and I am so proud of who you are, and who you are becoming. You have an amazing talent with words that is really developing in your blog posts, and your mom is doing a great job encouraging your gift. You are also a pretty, confident, independent young girl that has proved to me that even when you are homesick or scared, you still try and make the best of things. I am so glad that you could come to Rome with me.

Paul, you are my son, and you are very much like me in many ways. Your awareness of the world around you astounds me, and your ability to draw and describe the things you have seen is a great gift that I hope to continue to nurture. If I sometimes seem too critical of you, it is because you have so much potential, and will someday do great things. I hope that you have found Rome to be fascinating and inspiring.

Terri, you are the love of my life, and it hurts me most of all that we have been apart so much these past weeks, particularly on our anniversary. I am thankful for your patience, your support, and your willingness to allow me to become better than I am. I hope to be able someday to repay the great gift you have given me. I also hope that you will always treasure your time in Rome, and keep it always in your heart.

I miss you all, and will be with you guys again very soon (three more days!). Of all the things I have in the world, you four are the things I am thankful for the most.

-John

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

St. Paul's Outside the Walls

This is my favorite church in Rome - St. Paul's Outside the Walls. It is one of the four pilgrimage basilicas in Rome. When you first get to St. Paul's Outside the Walls, you enter a large cloister with a statue of St. Paul (notice the sword) in the very center. Here is a photo of Paul with the statue of St. Paul so you can get an idea of just how large everything is.





Here are some photos of the inside of the basilica. Notice just how long the nave is. Here is a photo of Grace on the altar so you can tell how tall the baldacchino really is. Unfortunately, the angle isn't quite right, so it is still a little hard to tell.
The mosaics above the altar are just amazing.

There are two really special things about this church. The first is that it is the burial place for St. Paul. His sarcophagus is right under the baldacchino. You can go down a set of stairs from the altar to see the tomb. Right above the tomb is a glass case that contains the chain of nine links that chained St. Paul.
The second thing is that there are mosaic portraits of all the popes around the upper part of the basilica. They start just to the right of the altar with St. Peter and wind their way around the transept and the side aisles. The portrait of the current pope is always lit up. Here is a photo of Pope Benedict XVI's mosaic.





Now, I admit that I am a little partial to St. Paul, but I feel this is truly the most peaceful and beautiful places in Rome.
-Terri

Monet's Water Lilies in Paris


I have been to Paris several times in my life, and on this trip, I wanted to make sure I saw something new that I had not seen before. One of the new things I saw was the Orangerie Museum that holds Monet's Water Lilies. Absolutely amazing!

The museum has two eliptical shaped rooms that hold the paintings. I wish I had taken a photo of the rooms to make it easier to describe it to everyone. The doorways to the rooms are on the diagonal and the paintings are inbetween. There are eight paintings, one on each of the walls.
The paintings are only about six feet tall, but are as long as 55 feet! What we see in books and on notecards of his paintings are really just close-ups, similar to these two pictures I took.
I have always enjoyed Monet's work, and especially love the Water Lilies series. In person, it is so much more beautiful than what I have seen in books. There are benches in the center of the room, and it is nice and quiet. I really could have sat and relaxed in the gallery for a very long time, just soaking in the beauty.


-Terri




Eiffel Tower

Bonjour! For Thanksgiving this year, we went to Paris, France. On Friday morning, the day after Thanksgiving, we went to climb the Eiffel Tower. We waited in line for about a half hour and we finally got into a really big elevator. It went to the second level of the tower. At that level, we would have taken a second elevator to go all the way to the top, but the top was closed, unfortunately, due to the wind. Even so, we got an amazing view. Here is a picture of my mom and my Aunt Shelly and Uncle Garett on the second level.
Also from this level, I took a picture looking up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Do you see all the steel that was used to put this thing together? The Eiffel Tower was built for the World's Fair in 1889 and was designed by Gustave Eiffel. It is nearly 1000 feet tall! At the time it was built, it was the tallest structure in the world. Originally, it was supposed to be knocked down after the World's Fair, but enough people liked it that it was not demolished. Unfortunately, some people didn't like it. One of those people was a writer, who ate lunch in it so that he wouldn't have to look at it!

Here is a silly picture of us with my cousin, Ryan.

At night, the Eiffel Tower is all lit up. Beautiful, isn't it?











At the top of each hour, the Eiffel Tower has a light show that lasts five minutes. My mom took a video of it. While she was taking the video, someone came up to us to try to get us to buy small models of the Eiffel Tower. In the video, you can hear my mom say, "Non. Merci." This means, "No, thank you", in French.

What an impressive landmark, huh?
-Paul

Yes, I am thankful

I asked Paul and Elizabeth to sit down and write essays about being thankful. I figured that I had a lot to be thankful for as well, and I should model good behavior, right? Well, yes, I am thankful!

This Thanksgiving, I have so much to be thankful for, but I've narrowed it down to three things: pasta, pastries, and pizza. Now, you are really probably thinking that I am crazy, or just hungry, but read on.

I am thankful for pasta because it represents opportunity. When you boil a pot of water to cook pasta, you have endless opportunities. Lots of different pasta shapes and sizes and tons of different sauces and things to add to the sauce. You could have pasta every night for months (and we have!) and never have the same meal. Pasta represents all the opportunities to learn that I have had in the last few months. I've learned a lot of Italian and though I cannot speak fluently, I can get around just fine here in Rome. I have had the opportunity to navigate all over the city and I've mastered the buses. I've learned that I like anchovies, and how to survive without peanut butter. I've had the opportunity to home-school my children and have learned that teaching my own children is much harder than I thought it would be! I'm thankful for all these opportunities and am thankful for pasta!

I am thankful for pastries because they are beautiful and make me happy. Making pastries in Italy is considered an art and pastry makers are artists. The pastries are small, delicious works of art that are to be savored. This represents all the beauty in this city. I've had time these last few months to sit and look, really look, at beautiful things. Now I know that we have complained that Rome is so very dirty, which it really is. However, that is only on the outside. On the inside, Romans are proud of and take very good care of the beautiful works of art around them. The churches, courtyards, and museums are immaculate. I've sat in churches, in museums, and in piazzas and absorbed these beautiful things. I've been able to admire the love that artists had that inspired their work. With over 300 churches here in Rome, I've even had a few times to soak in the light, stillness, and quiet of a church. I've had time to admire the beautiful art as well as enjoy the delicious pastries.

Finally, I'm thankful for pizza because you can always count on it. No matter where you are, you can almost always find a pizza place. This represents family and friends, who I know I can always count on. Without everyone at home supporting us with encouraging e-mails, reading our blog entries, and taking care of business, we would never have been able to take advantage of this time overseas as a family. I'm thankful for Paul, Elizabeth, and Grace who have enthusiastically (most of the time) agreed to my adventurous daily itineraries and who have managed to learn a lot along the way. I'm thankful for John who gave us this opportunity and who struggles daily to make time for everything and everyone without ever lowering his standards. I'm thankful that we've become closer as a family and that we know that we can always count on one another. Everyone needs something they can always count on - even if it is just pizza.

Grazie a tutti!
-Terri