Thursday,
March 15, 2012- Villaferrata, Italy
I feel very blessed having the opportunity I have had over the past
few days. I have always stated that I
don’t mind being a pauper in a small house so long as I always have the chance
to travel and experience new things.
It’s so important to expand our horizons beyond the life that we are
accustomed to and know too well.
Just so you have an idea of where I am right now. I am sitting in the shade of a very tall and
lush green hedge on this warm day. It is
4:15 pm. I can hear the sounds of the
wind blowing through the umbrella trees to my right. An owl is hooting and I can hear the laughter
of some of my tour mates as they sit on the terrace and enjoy a drink and some
fellowship. As I look at my hotel I see
many of my choir friends sitting on their balconies soaking up the sun while
reading a good book or talking with their significant others. The breeze is fresh and cool and all is right
in the world.
The last few days have been full- full but not hectic. The first full day in Sorrento was one of
great peace for me. With a morning of
free time given to us, I slipped away unnoticed after breakfast and spent a
morning in solitude with my camera as my trusty companion. Away from the hustle and bustle of my crazy,
busy life in North America, I found myself relaxing as I walked through the
tiny streets of Sorrento, poking my head in a few stores here and there and
watching the people and stray dogs go about their business. I stopped to stare at the orange and lemon
trees in awe…how wonderful to be in a city that was fragrant with the smell of
citrus- though on the larger streets the sweet smell was mingled with that of
Vespa exhaust. As I walked through the
main square, I found a map outlining the city and began to identify and find
the old churches in the Rustic town. In
quiet awe, I stopped in the Cathedral and revelled in the beauty of the
churches- truly the churches of the past were worship to God through art. While others may argue that the money spent
on the churches could have gone to other things, I argue that the beauty that I
witnessed is a true expression of glory and praise to the majesty of God that
no longer exists in our secular world.
Each church I visited was a feast to my eyes and a prayer through the
senses. The old Franciscan monastery
that I found had a true air of ancient reverence within it and a silence that I
was afraid to disturb with the clicking of my camera. As if to marry the old with the new, a
beautiful modern statue of my favourite saint, St. Francis, stood outside of
the monastery. His arms were
outstretched as if reaching to touch God in the heavens.
Behind the monastery was a place of great beauty- a lookout point
where I could see the island of Capri and the mighty Mount Vesuvius. The wind was strong- so strong to the point
that walking forward made me feel like I was pushing against a great force trying
to hold me back. I couldn’t seem to
leave that spot though. Even with the
wind stinging my eyes, I marvelled at the beauty of God’s creation.
The afternoon was spent on the Amalfi coast. As we wound through the mountainous region,
my heart skipped many a beat as the bus came slightly too close to the edge of
the cliffs more than once and I could see the long drop to the sea below
us. I tasted stomach acid numerous times
as we twisted and turned around hairpin turns.
As I willed myself not to throw up, I tried to place all my energy into
admiring the beautiful view. The Amalfi
coast was truly one of the most beautiful views I had ever seen in my lifetime. The blue of the water met the blue of the
sky. A few lofty clouds graced the sky and
small rocky islands peeked out through the azure water. Everywhere you looked, you could see the
cliffs peppered with clusters of white houses that seemed to grow out of the
rock. Even feeling ill, I still marvelled
at what a beautiful sight was before me.
Amalfi the city was quaint. I
only had a short time there so I opted to go to the Cathedral. On my own, I meandered through this old
sacred space. Deep in the church was the
grave of St. Andrew the apostle. I could
not believe that the remains of such a holy man were in front of me and I took
some quiet time to pray. Silence. Beautiful Silence. I had a few seconds where I was the only one in
the room with St. Andrew and I drank in those moments as I offered prayers for
my family at the altar. The short time
in Amalfi was ended with my first taste of true Italian Pizza and a Pistachio
Gelato. I could not have been happier!
Pompeii was the next stop on our way to Rome. I was amazed at how much of this city was
preserved under the tragedy of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Our tour guide was so enthusiastic- really
quite amazing considering that she does this tour day in and day out- and her
graphic and detailed descriptions of everything made it so easy to visualise
what life might have been like in those ancient days. I could vividly see it all in my mind- the
chariots that would have been in the city, the people in the togas, the altars
to the Roman Gods and I could even smell the waste that would have flowed on
the stony streets.
One of the most amazing things in Pompeii, was the chance to see the
preserved bodies of two people who were caught by surprise when the pyroclastic
flow of the volcanic eruption fell over the unsuspecting victims. I found myself wondering what their last
thoughts would have been as the hot mixture of ashes and volcanic matter engulfed
them. It was scary to see them in
positions with their arms out as if to try to stop to the volcanic matter that
would swallow them live and spit them out as virtual statues.
This tour of Pompeii really made me realise just how young our
country of Canada is and how much history other places hold. It was amazing to stand on the grounds that I
had so often heard about in history lessons of antiquity and really be able to
picture the ancient society. We are so
unaware of how rich history is and how much we have learnt and can continue to
learn from places such as Pompeii.
Okay…I have to stop right now.
I haven’t talked about the Vatican stuff yet, but really, I’m still
digesting. I promise to write more
tomorrow about the actual experience- there were so many things that could have
tainted the experience and for many people it did. For me, my moment was beautiful, but I’m
still digesting the whole experience and I need to think a little more before I
share... It actually has been a few hours since I started writing- we had a concert
to attend in between- and my eyes are getting heavy….
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