Catanzaro

Friday we had a nice outing to Catanzaro, a provincial capital just over half an hour from Lamezia. It is a beautiful city, built in several segments separated by hills and ravines. We left here just after 9am and headed over, going first to the Military Museum (MUSMI) there. It was really quite fascinating, with a huge collection of military clothing and apparati from various eras: Napoleonic, Italian unification (Risorgimento, around 1860+), WWI, and WWII. Many of the uniforms were original, and built for small men. They also had some figurines with amazing detail, and a few battle scenes with hundreds of small soldiers. They also had a display of WWI political cartoons, which Dee loved looking at. My wife and I both really enjoyed it. Here are some photos, just to give you a flavor:

Waterloo detail

Look at the meticulous work on this figure!

Poster for political cartoon display, called "At the Strike of a Pencil"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Youth indoctrination group WWII

Guillotine from 1860s

 

There was also an amazing nativity scene in a building next door. It was the size of a huge room, with sound effects (including baby Jesus crying), running water, lights, and moving characters, all running in a cycle of about two minutes. There was a star that went across the sky, and at one point the lights came on and various workmen in the scene started moving and plying their trades. Amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that, we met the two Catanzaro Anziani (Hansen and Cooney)  at a pizzeria they chose, down near the beach. Catanzaro goes from high hills (where it was windy and cold) down to the beach (where it was sunny and fairly warm), with breathtaking views on the drive down. We had a nice lunch together and gave them some pastries to take home and enjoy.

After lunch we headed over to a nearby mall, where my wife found some boots. It has been chilly and she has only flats, so her feet were freezing. She got a lovely pair of low boots that are very comfortable and warm. In our business, comfort trumps looks every time, but I think she found a winner on both counts today.

 

While my wife was checking out, the clerk asked if she had a store (Bata) loyalty card which would entitle her to a 30% discount on the boots, and she responded no. The clerk then replied, "I'll give you the discount anyway, because you (plural) have always been nice to others." He seemed to be referring to the missionaries, so they have done a good job setting an example in the area. We were touched to hear what a good impression they have made. She was delighted to get the discount too!

We then drove through rain and dark clouds to the Lamezia airport, where we dropped off the rental car and took the bus back to our hotel. No dinner tonight, just some bread and cheese, after a big lunch. Dee went out to the costume jewelry place across the street (I'm blessed with a wife who doesn't like expensive things!), run by an immigrant from India who has a very fun personality. She bought two beautiful necklaces that she really likes:

 

I got word today that my new Dell laptop arrived at the mission office, so we'll pick it up from the Balzottis when we arrive home Saturday afternoon. It will be nice to be home, but our trip has been wonderful. It was great to see Sergio and fun to show some TLC to a few dedicated missionaries. It seems that every few days I hear from somebody at home who mentions that they are reading this blog, which means so much to us. We know it will be a good memory of our mission life for us, and we're so happy to share our experiences with you, too.