Do Not Disturb

Harry Potter Marathon in Progress

Milan - Day 14 (and day 15, home again)

I had forgotten how awe-inspiring the duomo in Milan is. It is an amazing structure with such intricate detail on such a large scope. I think every other time I've been in Milan, the duomo has been under scaffolding in one part or another. Now it is completely uncovered and literally shines in the sun. We did some final souveneir shopping and got our last shot at gelatto.

We decided to spend the night in Milan so we wouldn't have to get up so early to catch a bus, train and another bus in order to get to the airport. It proved to be a very wise decision. We left Milan on a 10:20 a.m. flight and finally made it to Salt Lake at about midnight (6 a.m. Italy time), so almost 20 hours of travel. I was amazed we didn't get bumped a single time. (Actually, we ended up taking 10 flights on this trip and the only time we got bumped was from Houston to Newark on the way out. Fortunately, my mom had the forsight to have us leave a day early, so it didn't interfere with our plans.)

We're so tired (2:45 a.m.), but at the same time, it feels weird to sleep since it's 8:45 a.m. Italy time, plus our house is really hot. Tomorrow we have to face the reality of mowing the lawn, weeding, laundry, trying to resurrect our flower pots, fixing our bank accounts, etc.

IT'S GOOD TO BE HOME! (Baylie headed straight for her toys. She was so excited to be in a familiar place again.)

Bergamo - Day 13

Another great day as we travelled about 1 1/2 hours to Bergamo. Bergamo is divided into two sections: Citta alta (upper city, the ancient part) and Citta bassa (lower city, more modern). You can take a cable car up the mountain to the old city. It's actually a sweet deal because your bus pass will also work for the cable car. Both parts of the city are really beautiful, but we spent our day in the old city. Bergamo became a roman municipality in 49 BC. That just blows my mind. Bergamo is referred to in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Night Dream" and in Debussy's "Suite Bergamasque."

One of the main cathedrals, Santa Maria Maggiore, had a continuous tradition of music teaching and singing for more than 800 years, beginning in 1137. While we were inside the church, a man started playing the organ and it was an incredible experience to feel the music vibrate through that beautiful cathedral.

High above even the old city is another section called San Vigilio which can also be accessed by a cable car. That area is topped off by an ancient citadel built by the Viscontis beginning in 1331.

All in all it was an awesome day (with the exception of the VERY HOT train rides). Oh, and I should mention that Baylie had a little mishap. She was running on some uneven pavement, fell and hit her head on a curb. She got a little cut above her eye. We were so grateful that it wasn't more serious because we wouldn't have even known where to go for help. Plus, it's in her eyebrow, so even if it does scar, it won't show. She looks kind of pitiful running around with a big bandaid on her head though.

Tomorrow we're going to spend some time in Milan. It's not my favorite city in Italy, but the duomo there is amazing and not to be missed. We're also hoping to do some souvenier shopping since Pavia isn't exactly a tourist spot (although it should be). That will be our last day and then Sunday we head for home. I guess it's time to start worrying about getting bumped!

P.S. If you'd like a cold hard reality check regarding the U.S. economy, spend two weeks trying to live on the Euro where the dollar is worth only about half as much. Very painful.

My Mormon friends should appreciate this shot. (Moroni is a prophet in the Book of Mormon.)

Vigevano - Day 12

Vigevano is only 30 miles from Pavia, but takes about an hour to get there by bus. It's a beautiful little Renaissance town built around an ancient palace and one of the most beautiful piazzas in Italy. David was able to get away this morning, so he went with us. It was a fun day.

You can read more abut Vigevano here and about it's famous duchess Beatrice D'Este here (one story has her as the model for the Mona Lisa).

Random thoughts:

• Sandwiches in Europe rock! (i.e. Italian panini)
• After sweating in the heat and humidity every day, I can't help but think of how awful it must have been in earlier times when people didn't bathe.
• It is very hard to push an umbrella stroller over cobblestones. I'm shocked that ours hasn't broken yet.
• Gelato is so much better than ice cream.
• I wonder why the Western U.S. doesn't have a better rail/bus system.
• Netflix and Zulu.com do not work outside of the U.S. Bummer.
• It cost me $15.69 to do laundry yesterday, not incuding the 4 euros eaten by the machine (that would make it $21.40).
• I hope that all my walking will compensate for all my eating.
• I love that in Italy everyone gets a whole pizza to themself!
• The European concept of air conditioning is very different from the U.S. concept.
• I love traveling, but I also love coming back home.

Pavia - Day 11

I almost feel guilty because today was such a lazy day. We decided to let Baylie sleep in as long as she wanted and she didn't get up until after 10 a.m. Then at about 12:30 she took a 2-hour nap. I think we all needed the break. When she woke up we went for a walk along the river until we went to hear one of David's pieces performed.

This piece was written about a poem by an Italian poet. All the composers at the festival wrote a piece about the same poem. I know I'm biased and have no musical knowledge, but I thought David's piece was the best (of course, I'm his wife, so that's my job). Seriously though, it was very different from all the other pieces. I thought it was original and emotional. He got lots of compliments about it, so it wasn't just me that liked it. I think he's very talented and can't wait for him to make us rich (just kidding...sort of).

Baylie continues to be a big hit. People we don't know ask permission to take her picture and everyone stops to talk to her and ask about her. She is getting to be more and more outgoing and flirtatious. She's also becoming more and more headstrong. On the trip she's been held so much and had her pacifier 24-7, that I'm sure we'll be in for some hard adjustments once we come home.

On another note, we have been having major stress with our home in Houston. We had hired a management company to look after the home, collecting rent, overseeing repairs, etc. They have been really good in some ways and just awful in others. Their communication skills are the worst. I get e-mails from them with bolded text, exclamation points and basically chewing me out on a regular basis. (Hello! They work for me, not the other way around!) They'll give me advice and when I take it, they'll ask why I've done what they've advised me to do. Well, while we've been in Italy, our water heater broke. We tried to have them find a plumber who would take a credit card so we could get it repaired. But no, they want us to overnight them money so it can be paid in cash. Like there is no plumber in the city of Houston who can take a credit card. Give me a break! Our renters went a week without hot water until our management company finally said we were in breach of contract and they would no longer work with us. HALLELUJAH! We were finally able to reach the renters directly and get everything resolved. Of course, now the management company has sent us a final invoice with all these charges for the past two years that we have never heard of. I think I'll just pay them if only to get rid of these people. Nothing like a nightmare to make our vacation complete. I truly love our little home in Houston, but sure wish we could sell it. It's hard to continue to pay for a place where we don't live anymore.

Anyway, other than that fiasco, things continue to be good. We're looking forward to coming home, but are also enjoying our last few days in Italy. I didn't take any pictures today, so I'll post some from earlier days in the trip.

Certosa di Pavia - Day 10

Today we slept in, which was lovely. When we finally got up and going, we went back to the Basilica di San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro to see St. Augustine's tomb. It was quite impressive.

Then in the afternoon, we went to Certosa di Pavia which is a large monastary complex built in the late 1300's and taking about 100 years to complete. It has changed hands from Carthusians to Cistercians to Carmelites back to the Carthusians and then Benedictines. The monks who currently reside there are Cistercians admitted in the 1960's.

I wish I could have taken more pictures, but they ask you not to. And even though there were still lots of people taking pictures, it seemed disrespectful to do so. I just took one picture from the outside before I realized we weren't supposed to take any.

Tonight David premiered two of his songs. He sang one and a soprano sang another. It was an awesome experience for him to sing in Italy, in Italian!

And now some photos of my parents since my mom said I didn't have any pictures of them on this travel log. If it weren't for my parents, none of this would be possible. I'd just be sitting in my dorm room in Pavia feeling sorry for myself. So ... THANKS MOM AND DAD!!

Pavia - Day 9

Visconti Palace

Today we had originally planned to go to Monaco and Nice, but decided we didn't really have time to make it there. It would have been 10 hours on a train to get there and back to Pavia and only two hours in Nice. So we headed back to Pavia instead.

Pavia used to be a very influential city and is mentioned in works of literature by writers such as Dante. It's not a big tourist destination and we have heard very little English here. There are great examples of Romanesque architecture throughout the city as well as a gothic church. St. Augustine is buried here. The city used to be filled with tall towers which gave it the name "The City of 100 Towers." You can still see some of these towers today. The clock at the top of this one still tells the correct time.

Pavia is where David is spending all of his time except for the weekend that he had free to go to Cinque Terre with us. The university here was originally started in 900 something AD and the current structure was built in the 1300s (see below). Incredible!

We spent the afternoon walking the entire city for about four hours and saw most of the sites. Tomorrow we plan to visit a monastery that is four miles to the north.

Cinque Terre - Days 7 & 8

What can I say? This is without a doubt one of the coolest places I have ever been. It is beautiful and quaint and small and relaxing and would have been terribly romantic if we had not been accompanied by my parents and Baylie. (Actually, it was my parent's 43rd anniversary, so they're the ones that deserved some romance.)

Cinque Terre means "5 lands" and there are five little villages hugging the Italian Riviera coast. They are built right up from the rocks. We stayed in Monterosso al Mare in an apartment right across from the beach and it was great (our apartment is in the green building shown in the middle of the picture below). After visiting a couple of the other places, we realized we had picked the best one for accommodations. We just strolled up and down the boardwalk, visited a couple of the other villages (Manarola, pictured above, and Vernazza), swam in the Mediterranean and basically relaxed.

Baylie loved swimming in the ocean and eating gelato.

Catacombs - Day 6

Tired little traveler...

Another early start as we got up at 3 a.m. to get to the airport for our flight to Rome. After arriving at the airport, we learned that we could have slept another hour since there weren't even employees there to check us in! We flew Austrian Airlines from Salzburg to Vienna. It was a little propeller plane that was pretty bumpy going over the Alps , but once again I was awed by the Alps and the view from above was even more impressive than from the train. We continued on a bigger plane to Rome. One fun thing was that on both of the Austrian Airlines flights, they gave Baylie little toys to keep. Pretty cool.

We got to Rome around 9 a.m. and took a taxi to the catacombs. This was my fourth time to Rome, but my first to the catacombs. It was definitely worth the special trip. I was glad since I think my mom was tempted to stay in Vienna or take a side trip to Prague, but she was equally impressed by the catacombs. Just the drive to the catacombs is noteworthy as it goes down the Appian Way which was the principle road in Rome and one that used to be flanked by crucified Christians (think Spartacus). The catacombs are such a maze of ancient hallways lined with openings where Christians were buried. It would be so easy to get lost there. We were only able to see a very small portion of it and yet it seemed like so much. It was fascinating to see the remnants of marble facades and frescoes. Carrying Baylie up and down the steep stairs and through the narrow passageways was an adventure. I think she was a little disconcerted by how dark and dank it was.

I really liked our guide because he kept reminding us to think of these early Christians who gave their lives for their religion. He was a priest from Manila and was captivated by Baylie. At the end of the tour he wiped his hand across her forehead and gave her a blessing.

We weren't able to take pictures, but here is a link that resembles the postcard I purchased.

We took a taxi back to the airport to catch our Alitalia flight back to Milan. That portion of the trip was a bit frustrating and we spent a great deal of time waiting in lines and then the flight was delayed, but I can't complain because we didn't get bumped a single time. Plus, the Alitalia plane was the nicest one we flew in and had real air conditioning. I think it was the first time I've gone an hour without sweating to death since we got here.

Interesting side note is that at Malpensa I had my second brush with disapproval of our adoption when a black woman (I think she was from the U.S.) looked at me and vehemently shook her head. I chose to focus on all the other people oohing and ahhing over Baylie.

We took the hour-long bus ride from Malpensa Airport to Milan Central Station and then the 30 minute train ride to Pavia. David met us at the station where I learned that it was so late, the busses were no longer running. My parent's hotel is right by the station, but our dorm is across town. David said it was a 15-20 minute walk, so I figured what the heck. 30 minutes later the dorm was finally in site and I was exhausted. It's been a very busy few days. I think David was glad to have time to focus on his composing and he even declined to push our twin beds together since he sleeps better without me and Baylie. Hmm, maybe I'll let HIM sleep with Baylie and I'LL sleep better...

Well, It's now 5:53 a.m., so officially, Day 7 and I am a dork for still being up. I was going to let myself "sleep in" until 8. Tomorrow we're jut hanging around here in Pavia and then heading for the Italian Riviera in the early evening. We have an apartment with a private beach booked in Moterosso al Mare in Cinque Terra (this is what happens when the hotel is full and your husband speaks Italian - how awesome is that?!). We hope to also make side trips to Monaco and Nice.

Update - 6:11 a.m. and now I have to recharge David's laptop because I've used all the battery. I can't leave it charging because the converter will burn up the plug - so it looks like I'm an even bigger dork!!

Salzburg - Day 5

The train ride from Munich to Salzburg is breathtaking. It goes through the Alps and much as I love the Rocky Mountains, they just can't compare to the majesty of the Alps. They are massive and powerful, pocked with crystal blue lakes surrounded by little villages.

Salzburg has officially been added to one of my favorite places to visit. What a beautiful place. The city is small so you can walk everywhere and there is so much to see. There are palaces, gardens, a hillside castle, scenes from "The Sound of Music," and Mozart's influence is evidenced everywhere. My friend who served a mission in Austria told me I had to eat Wienerschnitzel (essentially pork milanesa) and Mozart Kugel (yummy chocolate). I managed to eat both.

One thing I learned was that the Bayles/Batchelor family will never move fast enough for Austrians. It seemed like we were always being told to hurry. We took a classical tour in the morning. The sights and information were great, but there wasn't time to see anything and our guide got frustrated with us at one point because we were five minutes late (okay, I HAD to go to the bathroom...). It was also a little offsetting to be answered with "of course" and "obviously" to most of our questions. We figured it was just a language/culture issue and tried not to let it bother us.

After that, we decided to cancel our afternoon tour and just explore the city for ourselves. That was the best decision! We were able to wander and meander through the cobblestone streets, walk across the River Saltz (Salt) and ride the funicula to the top of the mountain to see the fortress there. It was a very relaxing and full day. I could have easily spent more time in Salzburg. I think I'll have to take David back so he can feel the spirit of Mozart that permeates the city.

Baylie update - despite being drug to and fro by train, bus and plane, Baylie had a great time. She was always the center of attention (she's adorable and was the only person with cornrows for miles around). She has now realized that she is the center of attention and consequently has started to flirt and perform. Unfortunately, she got attacked by mosquitos in Pavia and her face, neck, hands and legs are filled with bites. It's really sad.

One interesting note is that we have seen a lot of Muslims in Salzburg. Far more than anywhere else we've traveled (except for maybe London). A lot of them wear burqas. I always smile at the women and am pleased they smile back. I think before I knew Sania I would have avoided making eye contact because I wouldn't have realized that basically they are just women like me. One man did make me uncomfortable though because he asked a couple of times what Baylie's name was and where my husband was. My mom and dad were right there, but he seemed very interested in the fact that my husband wasn't with me. I made sure he knew that I was married, but that my husband was in Italy. I'm not sure if he thought I was a single mother or if it was a race issue or if he was just being friendly and it came across oddly. It was an interesting interaction.

Germany/Austria - Day 4

Okay, so really it's Day 6 and I'm back in Italy, but I'm trying to go in order...

On Wednesday morning, my parents, Baylie and I got up at about 4 a.m. and headed back to the airport. (David helped us as far as the train station since I was worried about taking the bus by myself.) We flew on Lufthansa from Milan to Munich, Germany. Flying standby can be very stressful since you only get a seat if the flight isn't full, but we have been lucky with all of our flights so far. We got our seat assignments right away. The European carriers have a little seat belt that hooks onto the parent's seat belt and then wraps around the lap child. Why don't we use those in the U.S.? It seems like such a smart idea.

I don't know what I expected from Germany, but I was pleasantly surprised. Even just flying over, it was so orderly and beautiful. the fields were all plowed and lined out in straight rows. I have never been in such a clean country. The train station was spotless! The homes reminded me a lot of Switzerland. I loved the steep roofs and the window boxes.

We took a train just across from the airport and headed to the Dachau concentration camp. To be honest, I felt guilty that the only thing I was doing in this beautiful country was visiting the very worst part of its history. It seemed unfair. I wish I had more time to see additional sights, but our time in Germany was short and I had always wanted to visit a concentration camp.

Just prior to the trip, I had read Night by Elie Wiesel (thanks Erin) and seen the movie "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," both of which I highly recommend. I don't think any amount of study could make the horrors of a concentration camp come to life like actually walking the paths those prisoners walked. Even doing that, it was impossible to comprehend. I drove up to the camp in a comfortable bus and had a milkshake and sandwiches at the cafe afterwards. I couldn't hep but think of the irony of there being a cafe on the grounds of the camp.

I am often struck by two things 1) man's ability to be so cruel to his fellow human beings and 2) man's unbelievable desire to survive even in the worst of circumstances. Some of the things that hit me the most at the camp were the railroad tracks that led up to the door, the open grounds where they would hold roll call, the showers/gas chamber and the crematorium. The pictures and stories that were told throughout the museum on the grounds were so sickening. It's hard to imagine how some people can still believe that the holocaust never happened. This experience is something that I am still absorbing. It was something that I was unable to process completely at the time of the visit.

Showers/Gas chamber

Crematorium

Work will make you free.

After our visit to Dachau, we headed to the main train station and took the train to Salzburg. We arrived at our hotel - a Marriott Residence - where we crashed in soft, comfortable beds after taking deliciously warm showers. It was so nice to be in such a comfortable hotel.

Italy - Day 3

We're finally here! We left Provo at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning. My parents, Baylie and I caught a flight from Salt Lake to Houston at 6:35. (David was on a confirmed ticket to leave Monday and didn't have to worry about getting bumped off the flight. We left a day early since Monday's flights were full.) My parents got first class and I was alone with Baylie in economy (as a pass rider, she can't fly first until she's 7 years old). Fortunately, she slept the whole way. Movie: "Escape to Witch Mountain," cute, but I'm glad I didn't pay to see it.

Once in Houston, we got bumped off two flights before making the third. We were all in economy class, but my mom and I got to sit together. It was a good thing because Baylie was super active - good, but active. We got to Newark around 8 p.m. We were actually glad we were spending a night in Newark instead of continuing on to Italy the same day. That would have been hard on Baylie. It was nice to get a good night's sleep. Movie: "17 Again," okay, but not that great.

David joined us Monday night for our flight to Italy. He said the flight from Houston had been so full they had to compensate customers so they would wait and take a later flight, so it was good we had left the day before. My parents flew BusinessFirst (Continental's front cabin on international flights) and the rest of us were in economy. We got to sit in the bulkhead row and it had a bassinet, so once Baylie finally fell asleep we were able to lay her down. It was a nice break for my tired arms. The flight was just over 8 hours, but it didn't seem that long. I didn't actually make it through a single movie.

Once we got to Malpensa airport it was an eternal, very hot, very expensive, bus ride to the Milan central train station where we caught a train to Pavia. The train was only about 25 minutes. My parents checked into their hotel and the rest of us headed to the dorm. It's definitely a dorm with two twin beds, but it's got a little kitchen and private bathroom, so it's all good. We were going to take a quick nap, but it turned into several hours. By then we had missed dinner and ended up dining on saltines...not what I had envisioned for my first dinner in Italy. Worst of all is the swarms of mosquitos. Italian mosquitos are vicious!

But we're safe, sound, clean, cooled off and all is well. Tomorrow Baylie, my parents and I head for Munich, Germany, to see the Dachau concentration camp and then on to Salzburg, Austria. After that we're going to see the catacombs in Rome (we've already seen the other sights there) and then we head back to Pavia. Hopefully we make all our flights! That's the hardest part about flying standby.

Baylie's been a real trooper, but her clock is still on U.S. time which is proving very interesting. Best of all, she got her first stamp in her passport!

Tri and Tri Again

So once again my brothers and dad were absolutely amazing at a triathlon. This one was the Echo tri up by Park City. It was a beautiful day for a race and the guys were fantastic. They all placed in the top 20 for their age groups.

And most awesome of all - my dad took first place for his group! Once again I have to point out he's 64 and has a titanium knee.

As for me, it was pretty strenuous walking back up the hill to our car...

Are you kidding me??

I love the Fail Blog, especially since I realized I could set it to only show the G-rated fails. But this one just makes me mad.

Martin's Cove

I am a descendant of Ephraim Knowlton Hanks. He was a rather colorful character and a true mountain man. He was an original owner of the Park City silver mine and there is a small town in Utah named after him - Hanksville. He was one of the rescuers of the Martin Handcart company.

I have always wanted to visit Martin's Cove and learn more about this company and their rescue. This year we decided to go as a family. It was a wonderful experience. I was suprised and honored at the reaction we got whenever the missionaries who serve there learned we were descended from Eph. He is held in great regard there and they tell many stories of his life. Mostly I was humbled as I learned more about the sacrifices made by these early members of my religion and how they gave up everything, even their lives, to follow a prophet of God. It was a very spiritual experience.

Mostly I just loved being with my family, and I loved Baylie being able to play with her cousins.