It's super hot this afternoon and I thought I'd come & spend some time at the cool Internet Point. It's not really that "cool" (as in snazzy) but it is certainly cool (as in, not hot)!
Just before coming here, I had a wonderful encounter with a signora in a local shop, one of the few places open during the sieste. I overheard her speaking French to other customers, so I addressed her in French. When she found out I was Canadian, she was thrilled! Turns out she spent 13 years in Montreal when her girls were teenagers. We proceeded to chat in a mixture of French, English & Italian. It was delightful... She expressed great admiration for the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, especially the Library. When I told her I worked for the Library, she was overjoyed! By the time I left there, I felt like I'd made a new friend. She even blew me kisses as I left. Now, if only I'd thought to ask her her name. (Somehow, it doesn't really matter...)
Originally, when we chose Cortona as one of our stops, we thought we'd be able to do a day trip to Città di Castella (it was one of the suggestions in our Pilgrim's Italy book). It looked simple on the map, but it's not quite so simple logistically. So, we've decided to relax here for another day before heading to Siena early tomorrow (Thursday) morning. I am grateful for this turn of events. Otherwise, I would have missed out on a powerful spiritual experience this morning. Allow me to share...
There is a wonderful road that leads to the Santuario di Santa Margherita higher up the mountain. It is on a steep incline, but it is lined with the 14 Stations of the Cross. Now, I was raised a Catholic. The Stations of the Cross have been in every church I've been in, but I never really paid attention. I never did the Stations; that was only for very pious people (ie. not me! :-)). I had never taken the time to reflect on what relevance they could ever have for me. Until today, that is.
As we slowly ascended the mountain, embraced by the scent of pine and the songs of the cicada, I took the time to stop at each Station. The Stations are illustrated with beautiful mosaics, approximately 2' x 3' and they tell a story without using words. This was how the teachings were passed on to the illiterate masses of the faithful in the past. Today, hundreds of years after they were created, these simple images broke through my learned ego-mind and reached my heart. It quickly became clear to me that the individual Stations of the Via della Croce (Way of the Cross) represented incidents and learnings from my own life. It is the story of falling, and getting up... of falling, and getting up... of recognizing & accepting help from those along my path... of accepting life on life's terms... of seeking to be of comfort to others even in times of personal trial... of falling, and getting up... of absolute surrender... of trusting that dark place where Faith is called to live...
I experienced the Via della Croce as a cycle that tells the story of Life. I experienced the Via della Croce as a cycle that tells the story of MY life.
It's amazing the gifts I received when I remain open... If I haven't said it enough yet, my gratitude is overflowing!
Until next time...
Pace e bene,
Showing posts with label Cortona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cortona. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Meditalia - Capitolo Quattro
Ciao from Cortona!
Cortona is just over an hour train ride from Assisi. It cost a whopping 4 euros (= 6$ CAD); no wonder so many people travel by train here - it's so affordable! We arrived in Camucia where we were to take a local bus up the mountain to Cortona. Only problem is, we arrived during sieste! Nothing was open except for a little bar, where we were told the Tabacchi would open at 3pm. You have to buy bus tickets in advance here; they don't sell them on the bus. It was 2:45 pm, so we found a bench in the shade and waited. And waited. And waited. By about 3:25, I called our B&B in Cortona to let him know we had arrived, but were still waiting. Turns out he had to come pick up his son at daycamp and he could pick us up himself at the stazione de treni. So it all worked out perfetto!
We were both pretty tired when we arrived at our B&B... The heat is quite draining, but who cares - I'm in Italy!! The heat drains me in Ottawa too... :-) We strolled around a bit, had dinner (a delicious locally made pasta called "pici" in a sauce of tomato, cream, bacon & rosemary - ymu!) and went to bed quite early. I slept for 10 hours and woke up refreshed and ready to go. Or I should say, ready to climb. Cortona is on a mountain and there is only one street in the whole town that is not on an incline. Not surprisingly, that's where most of the shops are.
Although there are some similarities, Cortona is very different than Assisi. It's more rustic and a bit darker. The "streets" are less refined (stones are bigger and rougher) and many of the buildings are taller. And it's obvious that people live here... This morning, we saw people tending their teeny-tiny gardens, sawing wood in front of their homes, running errands... We climbed up to the Sanctuary of St. Margaret and to the medieval fort for some stunning views. We'll likely go back tomorrow (Wednesday) morning in order to have more time to meditate in the Basilica. We had to leave today because they close from noon 'til 3pm.
Cortona is not very big and it won't take us 3 days to visit the whole town. We'll either enquire about day trips to neighbouring towns, or we'll simply take it easy and relax in the piazza with cappucino e gelato!
A presto amici...
Pace e bene,
Cortona is just over an hour train ride from Assisi. It cost a whopping 4 euros (= 6$ CAD); no wonder so many people travel by train here - it's so affordable! We arrived in Camucia where we were to take a local bus up the mountain to Cortona. Only problem is, we arrived during sieste! Nothing was open except for a little bar, where we were told the Tabacchi would open at 3pm. You have to buy bus tickets in advance here; they don't sell them on the bus. It was 2:45 pm, so we found a bench in the shade and waited. And waited. And waited. By about 3:25, I called our B&B in Cortona to let him know we had arrived, but were still waiting. Turns out he had to come pick up his son at daycamp and he could pick us up himself at the stazione de treni. So it all worked out perfetto!
We were both pretty tired when we arrived at our B&B... The heat is quite draining, but who cares - I'm in Italy!! The heat drains me in Ottawa too... :-) We strolled around a bit, had dinner (a delicious locally made pasta called "pici" in a sauce of tomato, cream, bacon & rosemary - ymu!) and went to bed quite early. I slept for 10 hours and woke up refreshed and ready to go. Or I should say, ready to climb. Cortona is on a mountain and there is only one street in the whole town that is not on an incline. Not surprisingly, that's where most of the shops are.
Although there are some similarities, Cortona is very different than Assisi. It's more rustic and a bit darker. The "streets" are less refined (stones are bigger and rougher) and many of the buildings are taller. And it's obvious that people live here... This morning, we saw people tending their teeny-tiny gardens, sawing wood in front of their homes, running errands... We climbed up to the Sanctuary of St. Margaret and to the medieval fort for some stunning views. We'll likely go back tomorrow (Wednesday) morning in order to have more time to meditate in the Basilica. We had to leave today because they close from noon 'til 3pm.
Cortona is not very big and it won't take us 3 days to visit the whole town. We'll either enquire about day trips to neighbouring towns, or we'll simply take it easy and relax in the piazza with cappucino e gelato!
A presto amici...
Pace e bene,
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