Lots to catch up on!

Sorry it's been a while since I last updated the blog. With moving into the house, it's been a little busy, and I've not had instant access to the base since we now live about 25 minutes away. However, our computer is now up, so I should (emphasis on "should") be updating more frequently now. I've got tons of pictures to post, so this should be a good one. I went to Rome for Easter Mass, and we've got pictures from our trip to Pompeii.


Easter Mass:

This is what Saint Peter's Square looked like just before mass. Look at our picture below from last time we went to visit, and you'll see the difference. It was a serious throng of people - I'd guestimate about 30K.



This was how we saw the pope during mass. He was so far away that we couldn't even tell which guy he was except for his bright robe. Here, he was blessing the sacraments before communion.



This was after mass, when he made his speech. It would've been great at this point to understand Latin, but it was still pretty cool. Our translator was attempting to tell us everything he was saying, but glossed over the part he said about the injustice of the war in Iraq. I dunno, maybe she figured a bunch of Navy personnel and spouses really didn't want to hear that part. Either way, I miss Pope John Paul.


This picture was just for the viewpoint. Look at how teenie that camera-man is compared to the massive statues!



A lot of people carried flags of where they were from. We saw some from just about every country you could imagine. We even saw someone from Texas!



This is my girlfriend Mikelauren. She and her husband, Steve (right beside her), came to Gaeta at about the same time as us. They're awesome. Funny thing is, he's a Florida fan and she graduated from Georgia! Mikelauren says, "Love is blind, right?" But it's okay, we still love them (at least they're SEC)!


Easter Mass was fun. Mikelauren and I had a bit of an adventure before it started. We got there an hour before-hand and found our seats. Well, she and I decided that we were going to be smart and go to the bathroom before it started, so we wouldn't be in agony by the time it was over. Well, we waited in line for about 45 minutes, when the Italian carabinieri (Italy's military, they also act as security/police here - it's weird) shut down the bathrooms. Seriously, they were closed for the thirty thousand people there until mass was over (I shudder to think of the massive rush that must've gone that way afterward). So fifteen minutes before mass, we're left to fend for ourselves. Well, we managed to get to a caffe just outside of the Vatican and rush back about five minutes before mass, only to find ourselves blocked off from our seats and crushed in a throng of people up against a barricade. 45 minutes (and several elbows to the side, stepped-on feet, and rude Italians) later, they finally let us two girls through. We had told them we were part of a group, and that we already had seats (they kept telling us that there were no seats left), but they wouldn't let us in until our tourguide said she'd call security in Gaeta and have them tell her what to do about it. Miraculously, at this point, they said that it was okay. So after that, we were able to get back to our seats. We definitely didn't enjoy that 45 minutes, but it was an adventure, and we kept telling ourselves that we'd have a great story to tell about Easter Mass in Rome.

After mass, we went to a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant (most of them are), and had lunch. It was amazing!!! We had an entire four-course lunch, Italian-style! They had our antipasti waiting on us when we arrived, as well as water (they like "fizzy" water here in Italy, so you have to ask for "naturale," or spring water) and red wine. The antipasti was a couple pieces of salami (one was very spicy, but thank God I could tell that before-hand), pickled vegetables, a couple pieces of mozzarella, olives, and bread. I wasn't too excited about the pickled veggies, but the rest was very good! Then they brought out beef-stuffed canelloni and a small piece of lasagna. They were awesome! Our third course was a small piece of pork loin, and a couple pieces of lamb (not sure what cut, they were so tender they fell apart on your plate), along with rosemary potatoes, a favorite here. I cleaned that plate no problem! Last, we had a fruit cup that had various fruit soaked in white wine and topped with a small scoop of ice cream. The whole meal was amazing, and surprisingly, I wasn't stuffed afterward. The good thing here is that restaurants will give you all day to eat if you need it. You have to actually ask for each course and the check, as they leave you alone to leisurely enjoy your food. Lunch took about 2.5 hours, and it was a lot of fun. the group that went was a great group and we had fun just chatting and getting to know each other. Unfortunately, Neal had to work on Easter, but we are going to have to do this again next year so he can go too.


Pompeii:

We went to Pompeii last Saturday, and it was fun! Unfortunately, it started sprinkling as soon as we got there, but most of it stayed back until about the last hour we were there. Pompeii is much bigger than one would imagine, with an estimated 20 thousand people living there at the time that Mount Vesuvius erupted. Though we had about four hours there, we have decided to go back, because you could spend days walking around and seeing the different sites. Unfortunately, not all of the homes are open that once were. Due to the effects of tons of people walking through each day, some of the homes have had some serious damage, and have been closed off to the public. However, it was definitely worth going just to see the town itself and how it was laid out, and of course to see some of the frescoes and art.

This was the right side of the entrance to Pompeii. At one point, it was a fortified city, so this was it's front wall. (Later it was conquered by the Romans, and this wall became a border of the city only.)



This is the left side of the city. From what the tour said, Pompeii was once a coastal town, and the four posts on the lower left side of the picture would've been at the water side.



This is the basilica. During this time, a basilica was where civil business was taken care of (not a church). Christians apparently adopted the name later when they designed their churches in this similar pillared style. It would've once had pillars all around the rectangular area, with some of it covered.



This is from the "House of the Faun," given that name because of this statue of a dancing faun. Unfortunately, our camera was running out of battery at that point, so we didn't get many other pictures of this massive home.



This mosaic was also from the same home. This is a reproduction of the tiles that were found underneath. Very detailed, and amazing to see in person!



This was an open forum area, where youth were able to play sports. One of the Caesars (can't remember which, sorry) also began holding youth Olympics here, training them for battle later in life.



This house was one of the largest in Pompeii. As best you can tell, it looks like a governor or similar person must have lived here. If you turn the corner to your right (there at the sawhorse), there is a depiction of Venus in a frescoe on the wall. It was beautiful, but for the sake of any young ones who see this, we're going to leave that (nude) picture out.



This was some of the original marble that would've served as a counter in a shop. It covered the top of the counter, except where there were three holes, where we assumed the shop-keeper kept his wares. From the picture, you can tell it is gorgeous, but even the picture can't do it justice. It is amazing how beautiful it has remained.



This was one of the large homes. Unfortunately, as you can tell, we couldn't go in because the roof was being held up with scaffolding. But as you can tell from the flooring, there were some amazing mosaics and artwork that Pompeiians lived among.



This was one of the shops. There were many like it, and we assumed that the shop-keeper lived here too (there's a small doorway to a back room in most of them, as you can see here on the left). The counter is the same here as the marble one above, only without the marble left.



This was a home in Pompeii. You can see the doors that replaced the ones lost in the eruption. This was one of the most lived-in looking homes in the whole city. You sort of expect someone to walk out of one of the doors at any minute.



This was the smaller theatre, mostly used for plays and musical performances where the crowd would need to be close-by. The marble tiled flooring is still there, amazingly preserved given how many visit Pompeii each year.


This was another forum for sports. It was the original place where the gladiators fought, before the main colosseum was built. The porticoed area covered shops (think concession stands), and further behind that was the area that the gladiators prepared in.


This was the larger theatre. This served for larger crowds, and had boxed seating for politicians and those of higher status (they even had sky boxes in Roman times!). It is grown over now, but the seating area used to be all stone.



This was a frescoe in one of the homes. We were never able to figure out what home it was, or what the picture was of, but it was beautiful, and the largest one we found on one wall.



This was inside one of the homes. The square in the ground would've been a fountain in the foyer area. Often, several generations of the same family would live in one residence, and this would've been a common area. There were also usually skylights above the fountain, but the rest was covered. However, roofing is left on very few homes in Pompeii.



Another home. This one didn't fare so well, but you can still see the fountain area, as well as the walls to the different rooms.



This was the backside of the city. Obviously, it is relatively well-manicured now, but we just thought it was beautiful on the rolling hill there. Pompeii was built on lava beds, which were very uneven, but extremely fertile. Some of the architecture here is studied for the unusual ways they made up for the geography, compared to the typical building styles of the day.



One of the famous Pompeii bodies. There are several of these on-site, but these are the only two displayed where you can look up-close and really study them. The others are kept in the main town square area, in a locked-up shop with other archeological finds.


We hope you enjoyed the few pictures here. We took tons of them, but these are some of the best, and they give you an idea of what Pompeii is like. For those of you that are considering a visit to Italy, we would definitely suggest stopping here. It is amazing to be here in an area that was originally developed about eight thousand years ago!

Corrections

The Arch below is actually Constantine's Arch, my fingers were going faster than my brain.
Also, Piazza di Spagna is the correct Italian spelling for the Spanish Square.
Sorry!

Rome Pictures

This is the Piazza di Spagna (the Spanish Square, most people call it the Spanish steps). I'm not exactly sure what that is at the top. Unfortunately, due to the fact that we only had a day there, we didn't look into a whole lot, but mostly hit the highlights.

Obviously, me on the Spanish steps.

This is the Rome McDonald's, supposedly the most unique, right there in the square.

This is the inside. Don't mind the horrid look on my face, someone didn't tell me he was putting me in the picture.

Saint Peter's Basilica. I took this one of the statues on top. I think they're close to lifesize, but I know they're huge!.

The statues close-up.

Saint Peter's Square - Vatican City

We saw this couple taking their wedding pictures at one of the fountains - no telling that they're native Italians (heavy sarcasm).

We found the Pope-mobile!!!

The Rodeo drive of Rome, where all of the designer shops are....

This is on one side....

This is on the other! (Story about this store to come later.)

If you have to ask....

The Trevi Fountain. We hit it at dusk, so the lighting wasn't great, but it was beautiful!

This is the view you get right out of the subway station. Smack! Right there in your face!

This is looking up at the Colosseum from the bottom. I'm not kidding, the thing is huge!

This is Constantine's Arch. It's right beside the Colloseum, and is amazing in itself! You gotta love the night pictures that Neal took, the lighting is so cool!

This is how they serve wine in Italy - decanted. We had dinner at this little cafe that was literally right across the street from the Colosseum! It was wonderful!

This is the cafe. This picture was taken right in front of the Colosseum, that's how close it is.

More about Kristen

For those of you interested, there is a lady that writes for a New Orleans newspaper (where Kristen is from) that wrote about her. The link to the article is listed below. It is the best way of describing Kris that anyone could've come close to attempting.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/columnists/patientperson/6526292.html?index=1&c=y

Pictures

This is our new house, on the day we went to see it. The floor you enter on is the main floor, and it also has a daylight basement, as well as a lofted second story guest suite.

This is the basement area. There's a fireplace to the right of me in the picture. That's the dining area. In the forefront is the living area. What we are looking at, on the left, is the kitchen. Past the kitchen, further back on the left, is an office area. The door right in front of me leads to the downstairs bathroom, with stall shower, bath tub, and utility area.

This is my new play-place!!! Believe it or not, this is a huge kitchen for Italians. There is usually only a counter about the size/length of the one that the sink is in. And all that pantry space is usually not even there.

This is the view from the lofted guest suite. The house right across the street is still under construction, but we still have a pretty awesome view of the ocean from here. Neal and I considered taking this as our suite, but it would be an awkward area for us, and unfortunately, there is only a half bathroom up here. But it will make an awesome guest suite!

This is the view from the back of the house, looking to the right. Those mountains are actually way off in the distance. There are more to the left that are huge and you look right up into. You can see them a little bit in the next picture.

This is Janie's new garden area! Actually, the landlords told us we could do whatever we want to any of the landscaping, so this will be my other new playground. Nobody puts plants out here until mid- to late-April anyway, so I'll still be in good shape to put out some tomatoes and herbs, as well as lots and lots of flowers!

I'll post more pictures in the next couple of days. I have tons that we took in Rome, as well as some around Gaeta. Please be patient, I promise I will get most all of them up eventually.

A few pictures

I haven't been online very much lately, and thus unable to update as much as I'd like. The past two weeks have been busy busy, but we've gotten alot accomplished. Neal has bought a scooter (motorino, as they're known here in Italy) from someone going back to the US, and has been taking a motorcycle safety class to be able to drive it. We've found a house - YEAH!!! We're moving in on the 30th of this month. Neal says it is my birthday present. Boy he's getting out easy this year: a flight to Italy on Valentine's Day and our new house on my birthday. But it's okay. It will be nice to be able to stretch out some and enjoy it. This will not only be our first real home together, but also our first house. We're both really excited! I'm sure we're going to have to keep ourselves in check, as I've already got tons of garden ideas, and Neal's already talking about cutting grass, having dinner parties (the house has a massive outdoor patio for entertaining), and the like. Our landlords, though only the wife speaks very broken Engligh, seem extremely nice and very accomodating. The house was immaculate compared to some we've seen, but they still want to paint some areas, and have a lady come in to clean it once before we move in. The housing office said they've always been great people to work with, so thank God for that! The best part of all of this means we are this much closer to being settled, with a computer that I can post pictures with, and with a webcam to talk to our families on.

Anyway, I don't have a whole lot of time today, so I'm just going to post some pictures, and I'll update more in the next few days. We love you!!!

Update on Kristen

I was hoping to come in on this beautiful morning to update everyone on our trip to Rome on Saturday, but it doesn't seem quite as important now. I checked in this morning on Kristen, and I found that she passed away on Friday afternoon. Please keep her family in your prayers. God was gracious enough to allow her to be awake and aware several times during her ordeal to spend time with her family, but she will be greatly missed. Please pray for comfort and peace for them. Thankfully, this was not extremely sudden, but it would never have been easy to let such a wonderful person go.

I think of what Neal's mom told me on Saturday when she told me that she was praying for Kristen, that sometimes the physical healing that God promises doesn't necessarily mean life on this earth, but going home to Heaven in our perfect heavenly bodies. I suppose that's what God had in mind for Kristen. Her attitude was always gracious, wanting God's will above all others, and I know that He is pleased to accept her into eternal glory.

We love you and miss you all.

March 1st

Happy March Day! Again, we're sorry we didn't get time to say goodbye to everyone, as it was a crazy schedule leaving sooner than what we originally were prepared for. But we will definitely keep in touch!

Well, life has been busy lately. The command has kept us busy with "Welcome to Gaeta" classes, checking in, and our first housing trip this past Tuesday. Little by little, we're learning a few words in Italian, and mostly learning how to pronounce the words we read. Our cultural relations lady said that even if we don't know what they mean, Italians will appreciate our attempts and especially if we can pronounce them correctly. We can now get around a little better, and we've learned enough hand gestures to take care of most of the rest, but it is so different being in a culture that you have no idea what is being said around you. It's very interesting, but at the end of the day can be very taxing as well.

I took my first trip with "the spouses club" today. They do little tourist trips once a month to places you can't go unless you have a large group, mostly around the Gaeta area. We went to The Golden Chapel here in Gaeta, which originally was a hospital, then a hospice, and is now a retirement home for those without family, with a chapel and a larger church attached (the Church of the Enunciation - not sure about the spelling, but it's when Mary was told she'd be carrying Christ). It was amazing! There was so much handmade woodwork, gold-leafing, and gorgeous painting everywhere! Apparently, Pope John Paul II visited there in 1989, and several others. Stephen would've loved the paintings, as they were all done in the 1600's by local students from an art school here in Gaeta. And there were depictions of Jesus birth, circumcision and dedication at the temple, the turning of the water to wine, and the loaves and fishes - amazing! The chapel is rarely open, so we were definitely fortunate to get to see it. I know Neal's going to whine because he had to work today and couldn't go see it too. But they're having a special mass later this month, so we may just have to go then. I took tons of pictures, and I'll post them as soon as I can find a way to upload them.

Yesterday, I took a trip to the Gaeta open-air market. It's a weekly thing on Wednesdays. They have clothing, bags, linens, and of course fruits and veggies available for sale. It was so much fun just to roam about and browse. I didn't buy anything, but am still in my scoping things out mode until I get better acquainted with the area and prices. It's hard to get used to using the Euro and keeping the exchange rate in mind while shopping. But some stuff is about the same, electronics are much more expensive, and food seems to be much cheaper here, especially if you get it at the market. My next excursion planned is next Thursday at the Formia market (the next town over, about a 5-minute drive without traffic). I also walked down Via Independenzia (Independence Street, known as Picollo Alley) yesterday to browse in the shops. It was a good little walk, and I had so much fun! I always get a few odd looks, but Italians tend to stare since it's so easy to spot Americans and newcomers in such a small town.

We've made a couple of friends at the local pizza shop down the street from our hotel. We've gone there about 4-5 times now, and they have begun to loudly greet us as we walk in now. They're very patient and help us to pronounce the ingredients correctly. And the pizza is to die for! I've now started branching out and had a calzone too. Fairly different from the American calzones, even New York style, and so much better!!! We just went to a tavern last night with another new couple that's staying in the hotel, and it was great. It was really the first time I've had beef since we got here. It was weird to realize that, especially given how much of a carnivore I tend to be. We ordered a ribeye, and is was sooo good! The meat over here is cut much leaner, so there was very little fat on it, and they cooked it to perfection! It was so juicy and moist, I thought it might have been the best steak I've ever had! And here I was, worried that the beef over here might not be great quality. I think I'm going to be in gastronomic heaven while we're here, I may be spoiled when it's time to come back to the U.S.

Lastly, but so much more importantly, I'd like to ask you all for some prayer. Right after we left Knoxville, I found out that a college girlfriend of mine is in the hospital. Her name is Kristen. She's struggled with Cystic Fibrosis and Juvenile Diabetes for years. Since I've known her (about 3 years), she's had a couple of flare ups that have put her in the hospital for a day or so. However, this time, she's been in for about a month. It's been quite a roller coaster ride, and the doctors have said it's going to be a major uphill battle. She's a very small person to begin with, and being on ventilators and in bed for a month are wreaking havoc with her body. Please pray for her parents who are at her side 24/7, that they are getting the rest and peace that they need. Also, she's had a fever the whole time and they've found that it's a difficult-to-treat infection, and the doctors need wisdom and guidance with how to take care of her infection, her therapy to begin walking again (they just recently put a trach in so she could get out of bed here and there, among other things), and how to go from here. Shortly after I first met Kristen, when she was telling me the details of her condition, she said that God had given her a burden to pray for complete healing from both, and not just less flare-ups. Please pray for this now. She's such an amazing woman of God and continues to be an example to those around her. She's a super person and very loved.

P.S. If you'd like to keep up with her progress, you can follow the blog her parents are keeping at: www.etch.com. Once there, click on the CarePages icon, the "Visit a CarePage." You then need to register, which only takes a second and is free. Once you've registered, then type in "KristenFischer" into the blank for where you want to go, and you're into her CarePage. Just be sure you type it with no space between names and the first letter of each name in caps. You can even leave her a note there. Also, her parents have asked for as much prayer as they can get. Please feel free to share this information with your prayer list/group.

Thanks so much everyone! We love you all!

Major update: WE'RE IN ITALY!!!!

So Uncle Sam decided to push things up a bit and flew us out on Valentine's Day (Neal's going to have a hard time beating that for next year, lol). After a jam-packed 30 days packing up the apartment, visiting Janie's family in Florida, and spending time with our parents, we flew out from Memphis on Feb 9th to San Diego only to find that we were going straight to Italy. So it was back to the East Coast to Norfolk on the 13th, then to Naples on the 14th. We arrived in Naples 6am local timeon Feb 15th.

Gaeta is awesome! We're loving the food, the views, and the people. The language barrier is a bit frustrating, but luckily it's fairly easy to get around and everyone is super sweet. We've even had a few people that asked us how to say something in English after we asked in Italian. S

So we've been here about five full days and couldn't be happier. Neal is checking into the command (a three-week process), and we start house-hunting on the 27th. We're going to Rome on Thursday (22nd), and we'll start branching out once we get settled. Unfortunately, we won't be able to do a whole lot of updates, and won't be able to post any pictures until we get settled into a house and get our computer up and running. Until then, we'll be updating from a computer on base. But as soon as is humanly possible, we'll have lots and lots of pictures up for everyone to see.

We love you all and miss you! If you're thinking about a visit, let us know!!!