Buona Pasqua - Happy Easter

April 26, 2011

This past weekend has been filled with many traditions in Lanciano.  On Thursday evening, there was a holy procession through the town marking the night of Jesus’ Last Supper and his arrest by the authorities. This was a procession of men wearing black medieval hooded gowns carrying candles.  The penitent man in bare feet carried the cross recreating the passion of Christ. Along the route through the old section of town, the streetlights were turned off. Light was provided by oil lamps installed on the walls.

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday

Good Friday afternoon the school went on a hike near Bocca Di Valle.  Near the end of the walk after a long climb there was a beautiful waterfall.  We took Toby with us. He enjoyed running back and forth all the way and stopping to enjoy the spring water for a drink.  

Toby on the nature walk

Waterfall

In the evening there was a second procession.  This procession was a group of individuals dressed in black carrying a platform with Christ on it.

Good Friday

Good Friday

Saturday, Christine, George and I headed up to Prescara for the afternoon.  We sat in a local cafe by the beach and had a glass of wine, then moved to sit on the beach.  

Saturday at the beach

What we like to do best

Christine - what we like to do best

Easter Sunday was full of pagentry and joyous celebration.  In the main square there was a scene of the meeting of Mary, St. John and Christ.  Statues representing them were carried to the piazza and during the procession Mary learned of Her Son's Resurrection. 

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday - carrying Mary

We had an Easter dinner at the school. The owner of the school asked some of us to make desserts.  So I made pavlova to take along.  One of the main traditional desserts is a cake called Colomba cake which is shaped like a dove representing a symbol of peace.

Istanbul, Turkey

April 18, 2011

Hello everyone,

We just arrived back to Lanciano after spending the weekend in Istanbul, Turkey.  We were attending the Heads Conference for European International Schools.  

When we arrived at the airport we took a shuttle to our hotel.  The security was very tight.  All cars have to go through a security check when entering the hotel.  The guard walks around the car with a rod that shows the underneath of each car looking for car bombs. 

Tulip Festival

Tulips

The population in Turkey is 80 million people, Istanbul alone has 18 million, 95% of which are Muslim.   Getting around the city takes a lot of patience.  You do not want to drive there.  The view of Istanbul is beautiful with the array of Mosques surrounding the city.   Inside the mosques many of the walls are covered in ceramic tiles.  On the outside of the Mosques are minarets which stand at the corners of the mosque.  The purpose of these minarets are to announce the call to prayer.  Today a public address system is used and you can hear the call all over the city from all of the mosques five times a day.

A Mosque

Inside a Mosque

Many Mosques

We visited the Grand Bazaar which is one of largest covered markets in the world with 60 streets and over 5,000 shops.  The shops consist of carpets, ceramics, jewellery, clothing, etc.  

Entrance to the Grand Bazaar

Inside the Grand Bazaar

 I took in a spouses tour which consisted of going to the Spice Market, a smaller version of the Grand Bazaar.  I ended up bying some saffron, pomegrant tea and turkish candy.  After the market we went to a culinary school for a cooking class.  We made three dishes, a beef stew with an eggplant puree, a dish called Borek with Grated Zucchini and Lor Cheese which essentially is a mixture of zucchini, dill and parsley and ricotta cheese in a phyllo pastry.  Dessert we made a dish in which we took dried apricots and cooked them in a water and sugar syrup.  After letting them cool we filled each one with whip cream and then rolled in pistachios.  After we had our cooking lesson we were able to enjoy it with a glass of wine.

At the Spice Market

Nougat

Turkish Cooking Class

Dried apricots with whipped cream and pistachio nuts - Yum

Time to enjoy our finished product

We are back in Lanciano.  Next weekend being Easter we will be having a fairly quiet weekend.  It will be unusual this year for George and I as we will not see any of our immediate and extended family.   Thank goodness for Skype, phones and email.

I wish you all a Happy Easter and to my few Jewish friends as they begin Passover.

Debbie

Day Trips

On April 2 George, Christine, Diane and myself did a day trip.  We first went to Atri.  It is a pretty small hill-town in Abruzzo.  The highlight aside from the alleys and streets was the 13th century Duomo which occupies the site of a Roman bath; the crypt was once a swimming pool, and fragments of the original mosaic floor are visible in the apse.  The Duomo also housed many fresco on the walls.

One of the many fresco's

Wandering through Atri

Driving towards L'Aquila

From there we drove through beautiful countryside and went up to L’Aquila, Abruzzo’s capital.  As you may recall L’Aquila had a devastating earthquake two years ago on April 6th where just over 300 people died.  Many of the buildings in the old town are reinforced with exterior braces and scaffolding.  Along some of the fences were keys to doors of empty homes and businesses.  On one fence were ribbons in L’Aquila’s colours of all the people who lost their lives.

In L'Aquila

People who lost their lives

Walking down one of the main streets

This past Friday we went on a day trip with the school to Urbino which is famous as the hometown of the artist Rapheal and architect Donata Bramante. Yet the town owes much of its fame to the Duke of Montefeltro who became a duke by killing his half brother and the rightful heir.  The Duke of Montefeltro was a mercenary general turned Urbino into a Renaissance centre, attracting artists such as Piero della Francesca, Paolo Uccello and Giovanni Santi.  

Urbino is a small university town. The streets are full of students and little cafes.  We did a self guided tour of Ducal Palace, the home of the Duke.

Entering the Palace

Frescos on the walls in the one of the rooms

The view

Enjoying the sunshine and having our bag lunches

Following Urbino we were off to the beach as Italy has been basking in temperatures around 27 degrees.  

A glorious day

Upon arrival back in Lanciano, Diane’s boyfriend Kory arrived to visit for a few days.

Today, Saturday, George and Kory took off early in the morning to the one golf course nearby in Pescara.  Christine, Diane and myself thought we would attempt taking the bus to the Mall in Chieti.  After about three hours of travelling and taking the wrong bus at times and still had a way to go, we decided to pay 25 euros and take a cab back to Pescara to do some shopping.  We then wandered down to the beach and then to a local cafe for lunch and then took the train back to Lanciano.