August 15th, 2009

Saturday

Aug. 15, 2009

Since today was Ferreagosto (which I found out is the holiday liked to the Assumption of Mary), the Italians remaining at the convent wanted to travel. On Ferreagosto, all Italians go on holiday – much like Christmas. Some cafes and museums are open for tourists, but locals go to the beach or something. Since we couldn’t find a way to get 12 of us to Bolsena Lake, we went to Chiusi (kyEW-see). The train ride took half an hour, (after a couple trips with one care to the “stazione”). The long part was the walk up to the city. A 30 degree hill all the way up (about a mile or two), it involved lots of hill and a ton of stairs. I quickly began to regret my decision to come along. Once we got to Chiusi, though, it was fine. We got some info at the town center, got some ice cream and a soda, and sat in the shade for a while. By the way, “gelato” just means “ice” here, so “gelato” can be anything from a Popsicle to a sundae. You have to be more specific when ordering, or you’ll get an expectant look while they wait for you to elaborate.

After our break, we went to the civic museum, which housed a bunch of Etruscan stuff (urns, pottery, etc). The cool part about that one was that it went down into some catacombs with lots of funerary urns and tablets. The urns were almost always ornately carved rectangular boxes with a representation of the deceased on the lid and some scene of conquering from mythology on the box itself. The tour was guided in Italian, but I got a Cliff’s Notes translation as we walked. The tour ended with a view of a cistern which still had water in it. The water level was at least 100 feet below us, and the surface another 50 feet above.

We ended the day at another Etruscan museum, followed by dinner. The last meal we’d eaten was the American brunch (prepared by the other 3 Americans). Some was improvised, but it was all good, especially after so much pasta. There were eggs with tomatoes, rosemary potatoes, pancakes, and bacon. For dinner we had gnocci (nyOH-kee) with pesto.

When we got back (much later than I had expected), I finished hanging and folding my laundry, took a shower, and am going to bed. Tomorrow I really will go to Lago di Bolsena.