Packing again?

  Today will be a long working day because we are cleaning and packing to go to Pompeii. We are also packing up for leaving from Todi.

This morning we have been putting all the clothes we do not need for the last week in the suitcases and sorting out all of our schoolwork that we will need for Pompeii.

Later we will take the printer to the charity center and do a thorough clean in the bedrooms, living room, bathrooms, and kitchen. I cannot wait until we are done with all of our hard work!

 Vovo and Grandfather, the house will be clean and almost empty by the time you come tomorrow.

Love,

Ashley

Florence has been kindly working on the pantry. She has sorted almost everything between what we want to keep, what Benedetta will get, and what the trash can hold. Thank you Florence! Florence was grossed out by the paper on the shelves and she will be re-covering it today.

This is a pile of some of the laundry. We have lots to do today!

Packing? Yep, these are some of the things that will go into the suitcases.

Here is some of the food that Florence pulled out of the pantry and put onto the table.

Some more images of our darling town...

We have loved seeing spring emerge.  I have a few more shots to share...

Love,

Alexandra

Tonight's sunset

The bucket trucks are so cute here!

A shrine near our house

I don't care if it's invasive; wisteria is pretty!

Not sure of this tree...it's not a redbud I don't think...

A "soft" view of Montesanto (a humid day)

Montesanto, again

Lizards are starting to emerge!

A soft view -- it was a very misty day

Everything's in bloom!

If life hands you a lemon...(or two)

Cisterne Romane

We finally had the opportunity to see the Roman cisterns under Todi today.  They've been closed the entire time we've been here for "technical reasons."  Michael hypothesizes that they were retrieving the body.

They turned out to be these enormous caverns, twelve altogether, that were used to store rainwater, help prevent flooding (according to the brochure; I'm rather unclear on how the top of a hill floods, but anyway...), and generally make life good for the Romans.  These particular cisterns have a twin complex on the opposite side of the piazza.

It's actually rather an interesting story.  The other cisterns, which are not open for public viewing, have been known since 1262.  The ones we saw today were only discovered in 1996 during renovations to the tobacconist's above.  One of the tobacconists we frequent on a regular basis, as a matter of fact.

This equalizing port is big enough to walk through

You can see the next few of 12 chambers.

These rooms are HUGE.

Love,

Alexandra

A Beautiful Day!

Today was a very nice and quiet day. We did our schoolwork early and went out to enjoy Todi. Later, Benadetta, Margarita, Mummy and the other 5 Hooks went to get gelato. Then Eleanor, Florence, and I went over the Orietta’s shop.

Orietta was working on fixing a mug and painting two lamps for some woman who lives in Rome. Her assistant was also there and she was helping with putting some pictures on the computer. The pictures were of some of the things Orietta had painted. We watched the assistant put them into a folder and then Orietta started to paint the lamp stands.

It was very interesting to see how she mixed the paint into the perfect colors and spin the wheel to paint. Florence left after about an hour. Eleanor and I stayed for about another hour before we left.

We came back to the house and the boys and Mummy were happily playing Ticket to Ride on the table.

I have started cut the potatoes and put them into the pan to fry. Mummy is making truffle pasta and Eleanor is cutting the tomatoes. Dinner sounds great and I cannot wait!

Love,

Ashley

The Last Sad Week

This week is our last week in Todi and the time has gone so surprisingly quickly!

I can’t believe that it was only three months ago that I was frightened to come to a new part of the world. I remember how nervous I was when I knew I had to speak a different language that I didn’t really understand.

Now I have learned so much in so little time and I wish we could extend the trip to a longer amount of time. There are so many people I hate to say goodbye to and this week I have to do it.

We are going out today to see what we have seen before, but to take MANY pictures to remember. Some of people I hope to remember are the butchers, Massimo, Cinzia, Daniele, Benedetta, Margarita, Madalena, Cinzia’s father, the disapproving neighbor (who is not really disapproving), Vinca( the downstairs neighbor), Orietta (our friend who does the most beautiful painting), our church choir friends, and so many others! Sorry, that’s a mouth full of people!  

I also can’t wait to get back to Atlanta and see all of you as well as seeing what our Daddy has done to the bathroom. Thank you, Daddy!

 I don’t think I need to do any other explanations for how many wonderful experiences and how much I fun I have had in Todi!

Love,

Ashley

The Netherlands

Hi! Today has been bleak so I haven’t done much laundry. It has been an “I don’t want to go anywhere or do anything” kind of day. But I have napped, and read, and enjoyed a lazy day. The Netherlands were great. We saw Madurodam (the mini village), Keukenhof, and the Rijksmuseum!  Mummy was so excited about the flowers! We loved wandering among the tulips. We went on TWO boat rides, saw lots of churches, and Nightwatch. It was HUGE!!!!!  I would LOVE to go again! We didn’t get to see nearly enough. 

Love,

Florence

The Netherlands vs. Italy

During our visit to Holland, one of the best parts was comparing the country to Italy, trying to spot differences and similarities.
The architecture, for one, was very different from what we find in Italy. Here in Italy, stone is the primary building material. Originally the exterior walls were stuccoed and painted; though a few families continue to keep the tradition, most of the edifices are bare stone, with perhaps an old entryway or window filled in with brick. The roofs are kept simple: a slope on either side in typical gingerbread-house fashion. They are covered in clay tiles in every shade ranging from light brown to muddy red to dusky orange.
In the streets of Haarlem, Amsterdam, Leiden, and Den Haag, we were surrounded by brick buildings (understanding each brick was 1 1/2" x 6") with the shutters and doors cheerily painted with glossy finish. Above each house rose several turrets, covered with glazed ceramic or slate tile-- or thatch for those who can afford it. The buildings themselves are much further apart than in Italy, where there is literally no green space between buildings because everything is built into everything else. In Holland there were rows of attached houses, then a gap, followed by more edifices.
Another thing we saw that we don't really have in Italy are suburbs. The cities in Holland are much younger than those in Italy (Den Haag was founded in the 13th century AD, while Todi-- well, there's some dispute. It appears to have been first settled between the 7th century and the 15th century BC), so they don't have the Italian mindset of "City. Country. Nothing in between." There are modern parts of town and older parts. In some places, everything is squished together just like in Italy, whereas in other places everyone has a garden, which is rare in Italy.
The Dutch are upright law-abiders. If a rule is written, it must be followed (see "Openluchtmuseum" for an example, namely the train conductor). As our friend Leonardo puts it, in the Netherlands there are few laws but everyone respects them. In Italy there are many laws, so no one pays attention to them.
However, both countries have a lessened dependence on cars. In the Netherlands, the substitutes are bicycles and trams; in Italy they are feet and buses. There are also trains that run regularly between cities for those Dutch or Italian citizens who need to travel a longer distance.
This was a very interesting experience, and I believe that we can safely conclude that there is a good deal of variety in Europe!

Eleanor