Palazzo Madama

Today we went to Palazzo Madama, the large castle like palace in the middle of town. When. We arrived we went into the ticket office and paid to get in. Once we got our tickets, we went into a very large collection of medieval art, most of which was involving baby Jesus and Mary. One of my favorites was one of Jesus standing on Mary's lap looking like he was inviting the saints around him to a party. We then entered a small room full of stone things, most of which looked like they had been taken from buildings. There was also a large stone casket there. We then went to the stairwell to go up to the next floor. While going up the stairs we saw a plaque saying that the inside part of the two back towers were once part of an ancient Roman gate surrounding the city. It was built over in the Middle Ages, and then had the palace front put on a couple hundred years ago. On the top floor we saw some baroque art and then part of the treasure tower which had a picture of an ugly guy in it. We also went into some of the royal residence. We saw the queens bedroom, and some sitting rooms which had windows on two sides. these rooms were gorgeous, and i could have sat on the couch in there for a while. We also went into the large ballroom. It had an amazing floor and a frescoed ceiling. But the true standout part of this room was the sculpture perched on the walls, each was a pair of two women holding a different animal. We went up some more stairs to see the grand collection of dish ware. We saw all kinds of things, even jars and table centerpieces. We were very careful not to touch anything. The best part about this room though, was the views out the windows. you could look down some of the main shopping streets and see all the people and things, it was really cool. We then walked into a room displaying different clothes that might have been worn by the Savoys, whose palace it was. We left that room and went all the way downstairs to the archeological stuff. We saw some old mosaics and other things. We then went outside to the garden, which is where there was once a moat around the castle. The garden was nice, we watered some plants, ran around and got to see all the beautiful plant life in the garden. We left the garden after we finished messing around in one of the fountains. Then we headed back out of the museum and walked on the grand staircase which is free and open to the public. After that we headed out and after wandering in town for a while we went home, i'll post again soon.

Aosta and the Forte Di Bard

Today we decided to go north of Torino and check out the Aosta valley or Valle d'Aoste. We received recommendations from some of Dad's friends and colleagues, who all told us we should visit the Forte Di Bard before going to Aosta. So we got in the car and drove for about 45 minutes until we turned off the highway and onto a country road. The whole drive, even the part on the highway, had amazingly beautiful scenery. Once off the highway we saw some signs for the Forte and followed them. We had a little bit of confusion initially, but we figured it out, you could see the huge ominous castle from the ground easily. We drove into a parking garage where we managed to get the spot closest to the exit, we got lucky. We walked up some kinda musty smelling stairs and out into the sun. The weather was good so we had an amazing view of the valley and the mountains. We walked around a bit until we found an information office where the told us to go up the funiculars to get to the Forte. So we got onto one and went almost straight up, it was really cool and fun, we then took another further up, but after that we walked the rest of the way on the path, even though there was another funicular. By this point we were wondering where we would have to pay. We continued up, though, until we reached the castle itself.We walked in to find it empty. We walked into a courtyard where there was a small cafe. We went on and got ourselves some sandwiches for lunch. After Griffin grumped about being hungry while we waited, he only ate half his sandwich when it arrived. Dad and I ate the rest and we headed further into the Forte. We found that the only open room was one filled with TVs telling us about the the Valle d'Aoste. We read about its history for a while and then left the room because Griffin got bored. He really ought to learn to read. After we left we looked around for anything else. We had been told there was a kids alpine museum. We saw the outside but never figured out how to get in. We eventually gave up on getting in and went back out side to go back to the car. We went back town the path a bit and then went back down the funiculars (I really like them). We got back to the parking garage and drove out. We continued our drive in the direction of Aosta and after a little while we got there. As soon as we got into town we followed signs to the center and to parking. We found a parking lot with some spots and parked there. We walked to the Arch of Augustus, a Roman arch to (you guessed it) commemorate Caesar Augustus' victory over barbarians in the valley. We walked by and onto what looked like a street that led to the center of the town. We walked down it and looked in some shops. We continued until we found the tourism office, the man inside directed us to the roman theatre, which was right behind the tourist office. We looked around the theatre, and just hung out there for a while. One wall, a few arches, and some seats are all that remain. They still host events on a stage next to the ruins. Hailey and Mom said that they would want to hang a hammock between two of the arches. We left the theatre and Aosta behind and hit the road back to Torino. We had much difficulty finding a place to park and Dad eventually left us at our building and continued circling town looking for somewhere to park. Hailey and I waited for him at the door but eventually gave up and went inside and to bed. Little did we know that poor Dad had to circle until 11 at night. Sorry Dad!

Puddles and Reflections (more thoughts from the breakfast table)

So yesterday I gave my last talk/presentation/interview of my time here in Italy. The rest of the week I will just be doing informal consultations with people at the ITC-ILO / UN Systems Staff College and then enjoying one last Italian weekend with the family.

I called the talk "Walk in the Puddles". A lot of my colleagues mused over if it was me reflecting on our unusually wet spring here in Italy (or on the climate of our home in the Pacific Northwest). While that may have been interesting, they were all wrong. Instead, in preparing for this talk and discussing conceptually what it should do with the Director of Learning and Communication at the International Training Centre where I've been spending my sabbatical, I realized it should be more about life lessons blended with my professional experience. For some reason, it sparked a memory in me about when I was doing fieldwork in New Guinea. Stay with me here--minor diversion--How many of you were reprimanded as children to avoid puddles? I'm sure many of you are imagining the words of your own mother right now. Those of you who are parents probably are thinking the same words and saying them to your children (unless they are properly attired Pacific Northwest children in rain pants and boots of course).

At any rate, the Kamoro, the people among whom I spent time during my research, spent a lot of time traveling around in canoes, going in and out of them in swampy areas that are the landings in much of the eastern part of that region. I could't help but notice every time we got out of the canoes, the Kamoro splashed through the puddles. As a snarfy 20-something, I remember asking "Are you TRYING to step in the puddles?"

The response was astonishment. The guy looks at me as if to say "Well duh". He pointed out that everyone knows that the presence of a puddle suggests a firm foundation beneath it, you should ALWAYS walk in the puddles. The actual lesson stuck with me (in the sense that when I am riding in a cyclocross race, I make sure to aim for the puddles rather than the mud).

The metaphorical lesson only happened over time. Ultimately I built up to it in the talk, but the gist is that we are often faced with challenging situations (puddles). At a superficial glance, they look scary and as trained, we avoid them. However, when I look at some of the things I've faced and overcome, I've discovered there is firm footing at the bottom, you just need to build up the courage to find it.

Many people might ask why I chose to work and accept invitations to talk during a sabbatical--I can only assume many of my work colleagues would rather die of blistering sunburn on a beach somewhere. For me, these talks have fit into the broader framework of what I think a sabbatical should be--a time to step away from your daily routine, dislocate yourself in a way that forces you to see a different perspective. These last 10-12 weeks have done exactly that. 

This time allowed me to enable my family to live in and experience another country--actually, my older son Sean might point out that more correctly we visited two countries (Italy and France), passed through another enroute (Germany), and two sovereign city-states (Vatican City and the Principality of Monaco), and the semi-automous region of Val d'Osta. To even understand this is pretty amazing. Griffin demonstrated that play is cross-cultural. Hailey seems to be finding new inspiration.

To have my children now understanding first hand the power of culture, faith, religion, politics, art and wealth as seen from Venice to Rome, Florence to Torino is something that I hope they will always remember and I hope the experience helps to shape them into better human beings (not just realize that when you put 13 and 5 year old boys in close quarters that they will pick, fight, nag, and torment)! For my daughter, I hope that she's inspired to continue her artistic expression and the she has confidence that comes with finding her way in a world that may be often outside her comfort zone.

Griffin has now come down to join me for our daily breakfast. That's all for now, more later.

Ciao!

Griffin Faces

Really? Do I even want to know what he's thinking??

Lucca & Siena

We began our Tuscan weekend in Lucca. We had been told that this was a cute town when we had visited Florence, but hadn't been able to fit it in. So this was a perfect spot to stop for a little lunch and some yummy pastries. There was a cute church in the main piazza that Todd said looked like it was pre-instagrammed! The heavy rain clouds overhead helped that illusion. This was a great town for beat up pastel-ish bikes too - I added some to my past BIKES! post - they were all over the place. After our quick stop, it was off to Siena.
Which was also a quickie stop. We wound our way to the piazza where they hold the famous Palio (saddle-less horse race, in full renaissance style). And we were wowed by it. It is completely different from any other piazza we've seen. Firstly, it's shaped kinda like a scallop shell. Next, it's gently sloped toward the town hall, almost like an auditorium. Also, there are no grand entrances into it - more like small tunnels that lead in then open up onto the grand square. It has an intimacy to it - like the town's own living room. There were lots of people lounging around, standing, sitting, eating or drinking, chatting, even dancing! And of course, in Griffin's case, chasing pigeons ;) It's fun to watch him flap about, skipping, thinking THIS time I'm gonna catch one! Some college students decided to join in his fun and did great imitations of 5 yr old running and 'flying'.
Then came the adventure of finding our hotel. Whooo boy. Wasn't sure we were gonna have a place to sleep that nite! After muuuuch driving, up and down very windy roads (yes, I DO get carsick - especially in the mountains) and through several villages, he found it! Whew!

This Week in Torino

This week I did a little shopping. There's one store in particular, it's Danish. I'm a little weak when it comes to Danish design - even the cheap stuff.

Griffin got to play 'this little piggy' with Ramses II.

There was a lunch at Eataly - yum. Portland reeeeeeally needs an Eataly.

Oh, and SOMEone got ink on my crosstitch. Erg.

Cappucine Crypt

Remember the creepy crypt I told you about that we visited in Rome? Well, I snapped photos of the postcards that the kids picked out. Told ya' it was, um, different!