quick and Grammatically incorrect, but here it is:)–Grey

yeah

starting in sioux falls south dakota.

First of all, the trip. I got up early, though Barbara wasn’t to meet me until one, I wanted to be a little tired so that I would sleep on the plane. I got up and washed up, ate a little breakfast, and waited. Apparently we were a little late, because the moment she, Barbara, arrived we flew out the door.

barabara

We met up with Sarah at the air port, and after a few preliminaries, we were off. The flight was short, around two hours, so Sarah and I took the chance to get know each other in the duration. We had a rather streamlined trip, the layover in Cincinnati was just a walk from one plane to the next.

Upon arriving in Rome, I was rather excited. I could tell we were still on earth, but everything else was a little toned down and more compact. The cars and lanes were tiny and cute compared to the massive amount of space used in the states, I liked it. There was a feeling of sensible style and use of the environment, a sense that I rarely find in America(where things feel as bogus and outrageous as a circus). I felt a sense of peace from my surroundings, or at least I later identified the feeling as peace, even though the whole airport, like any other, was a whirlwind of activity.

After we got off our plane we met Augusto, an engineer working at the deep lab, who had been waiting to take us to our hotel in L’Aquila.

grey

L'Auila

The town we are staying in, L’Aquila, is a beautiful place of rich and vibrant history. Surrounded be softly rising high mountains, the town sits upon a hill. The streets and avenues are closed in be two or three story houses and apartment buildings, many of which have been there for several hundred years. As if to make this clear to me I saw a little bulletin on a board, while walking around the above ground research facility, that advertised an apartment with bathroom, living room, kitchen, and 13^th century frescoes in the bedroom. I got a kick out of that.

want ads italy

When we got to the hotel the three of us, Barbara, Sarah, and I all took a moment to relax and freshen up. Then we went for a walk around L’Aquila, exploring the streets and avenues. The houses do indeed have a central court yard that faces the street (a bit of information for my father), and there are a lot of olive trees along the hill sides. The walk took us all over the town, though we didn’t get to se the castle. We did see a whole bunch of little, and not so little, churches and an specially beautiful basilica at the end of a long tree lined avenue. The rest of the town was all cobble stone lanes, old houses, beautifully designed and built buildings.

After our walk we found our selves back at the hotel, Hungry. So a shower and a short jaunt later, we turned on to a back street and into a doorway that held no particular meaning or significance other than a sign that seemed to say restaurant and pizzeria(though, non of us understands Italian, so we were taking a chance). The place that seemed a little hole in the wall, turned out to be a beautiful example of a restaurant. The doorway led into a small antechamber, which led into a bar/cashiers station. Off to the right of the entry way, there was a set of doors and windows that looked out into an open court yard. If one walked straight, instead of right, another set of doors opened into a large dining area with large columns and beautiful frescoes. Probably styled after 17^th century Italian renaissance ideals, I was surprised by the room. Seeing as it was where it was, I had not expected the magnificence nor the style.

We ate in the open courtyard, under the soft light of the late afternoon sun. The quiet murmur of humanity out on the avenue was a backdrop to our meal. The pizza was delicious, three kinds for three people. The ordering, an adventure. And the conversation, a delight. A rather memorable evening altogether.

That night we all slept deeply, a long flight followed by a long walk will do that to a person.

The next day we went to the actual laboratory, the above ground offices anyway. The trip to the lab was interesting, we saw huge mountains, and low valleys, little villages, and “ugly” hotels. There is a hotel, near the lab, that sits unfinished on the mountain side. Apparently, during construction, the region was turned into a protected site, stopping all development. Rather funny actually, all the Italians we met in the lab thought the thing was a hideous example of human building and design. Augusto seemed rather ticked by this, I laughed (quietly of course, as not to offend).

At the lab we met researchers and engineers. Then, quite suddenly, I hear a that one of my classmates from school had arrived. I was not surprised, as I had heard of her coming before, but I was shocked by the unexpected oddness of seeing a familiar face among all the new.

Veronica Watters was, and is, a very nice, though argumentative, young lady. She happens to be one of the most intelligent and driven people I know, unlike myself. We graduated together from Red Cloud High School last may, a date that probably won’t live in infamy.

Along with Veronica came a man of outstanding worth, one Frank Calaprice. Head of the physics program at Princeton, Frank had two projects running at the lab. Both studying neutrons, trying to figure them out as it were. Outside of that, He proved to be a real gentleman, guiding us through the often confusing customs of the Italian peoples (confusing for me, being half United States American).

After the introductions, we three students then attended a lecture on the deep lab and the different experiments being conducted there. A rather long list, though I know the people there would wish it longer.

That night , we all went back to our hotel (frank and veronica were and are staying at the same hotel as my group). And proceeded on to a nice dinner and a restful night.

The next day we arrived at the lab and took in a lecture by frank on the sun, among other things. We also met a few of the Italian students and went on a tour of the underground facilities. Basic day it seems.

That night was a little less boring.

Few Friday nights in my life stand out as being truly above the average, this night…was one of the few.

A few days before, Wednesday I think, we were told that a dinner with the governor was in the works. At first I didn’t worry about this, but as the day wore on, I considered the up coming meeting more and more. Then it dawned on me that I was without proper attire, acceptable clothes, as it were. This worried me, and led to my first real purchase in an Italian clothing store (turned out being a department store). Though, I don’t think I will relate that particular experience at his point in time, just because it was rather mundane.

On Friday evening, around eight thirty, we met a man, the director of the GranSasso lab, a mister Eugenio Coccia. We, the students, were then carted off to a little restaurant just out side of L’Aquila. I later learned that this particular restaurant was rather expensive and rather nice.

When we arrived at the restaurant we were seated by the pool side, bathed in candle light, in a table under the beautiful open sky, the moon hung like a curved blade of ivory overhead. The few patrons that were there were quiet and provided a pleasant background noise to our dinner. The table was large and round, able to fit seven comfortably. A grove of trees interspaced with lights glowed softly behind the pool. A warm night with little breeze, the smells of the kitchen and food wafted slowly around us, causing a small growth in appetite.

As we were being seated the director was greeted by a woman, middle age and friendly. I was surprised to later learn that she was the governors aid, come to help translate through the evening. Unexpected though she was, a place was set immediately to accommodate the change. As we all sat in waiting, now for frank and Barbara along with the governor, chatting ensued.

The governor ten minutes later arrived. When he walked through the door, I would not have guessed him to be anyone else. A man of simple elegance, the governor seemed to be around sixty years in age, he wore a light colored summer suit, and he walk in a quick and quiet manner. He spoke only Italian, or at least not English, which proved to hinder nothing in the conversation. He greeted every one around the table, and a new round of talking began.

around ten minutes later, Frank and Barbara walked in the door, and the evening started.

The entire night was filled with pleasant smells, and new foods. The food was a little different from what I was used to, being mostly fish. The girls had a particularly hard time with some of the more fresh, that is raw, dishes. Prawns and seaweed, oysters of the sea variety (not the mountain), and other interestingly prepared dishes. The fruit was fresh off the vine, as it were. Along with the food, the conversation around the table was as varied and as exciting as any I have ever had the pleasure to sit in on. I suppose that if one thought about it before hand, the discussions could have been predicted, seeing as there were politicians and scientists all around the table. All in all, the evening proved quite enjoyable.

We headed back to the hotel about twelve o’clock, after thanking the governor and director for their time and company. It was a Friday night, and we all were tired. So, a soft bed and warm blankets were in store.

Saturday dawned a beautiful blue, to bad I went back to sleep. The group was to congregate in the breakfast hall at around nine, so we started to trickle in about nine thirty. I personally had slept in because of a lack of planning, we didn’t have a plan I mean. Originally, there was a bit of support for going to Rome for a day. But, that had dissipated as the amount of traveling and walking that would be going on was discussed. In the end we decided to drive through the country side, letting Frank tour us in his little car. By the way, all the cars here are tiny in comparison, though I probably mentioned that earlier.

First we went through a few little towns, and then up to another little town, this one on the mountain side. The little town on the mountain side had two attractions, a great little restaurant (Maria’s, some of the best food I’ve ever had), and a lift up the mountain. So, we ate a huge meal, and took a ride up the mountain. On the top of this particular range is a little bar and hotel, and a really cool guy that makes stuff out of brass from his little shop/rv type thing.

So, the view was rather beautiful. The fun thing about being up the mountain happened to be when frank wanted to walk up a “hill”, a rather high hill. This was fun because I had an old pair of sandals on, so they were rather thin, and I ended up walking up it bare foot. Got a lot of weird looks from the local peeps. So the moral of this story is….bring good solid shoes where ever you may roam.

mountain

So, around five we went back down the mountain, the lift was a little “wobbly” this time, but fun. It didn’t help that frank kept going on about the cable car that he had seen last time he was there, the one that had fallen the sixty feet to he mountain side. Yeah, that helped the nervous rocking feeling.

I thought we would go home, to the hotel, at this point, but yet again…..I was wrong.

The decision was made to go to the beach. Though none of us had suits, and we were a little tired it turned into a great time. We drove around the mountain, taking the scenic route, and got to the beach around six thirty. The drive was spectacular, we went along side mountains and up through passes, down beep tree lined valleys, where the tops of the mountains stretched to the heavens around us. Finally, we came out in an area full of houses and rolling hills. The trees and buildings were all set up to complement each other, as though houses grew among trees and grass.

We finally arrived at the beach, found a swim shop, and swam in the Adriatic sea. The water was so warm, a hot bath never felt as good. A little salty, but that was fine. It was actually Sarah’s first time swimming in a sea. I only wish there had been a few more large waves, just for the sake of fun times.

After we were done swimming, we all took turns changing in the one changing room. I think I will always remember the moments I had laying on a beach chair, watching the sun set over the land, listening to the waves lap at the shore. There was a warm breeze and a sense of eternal rest, I finally understand why the Christians would want a place where they just sat around enjoying themselves. The only real sense of paradise I have ever had…

We went to eat, but the shops were all full, I guess the sea side is rather popular for a reason. So, we just went home, planning to eat when we got back. Though, I think we just crashed out.

Sunday was great, I slept till ten thirty, and just missed going to mass with the girls. The whole day was exactly as that old book says, a day of rest.

The next few days were basically the average, eating, sleeping, going out with engineers. That is except Tuesday, which turned into a fun thing. We went to a little village that had been really kept up, since the 13^th century, and we had a great ol’time! Then we went to a castle on a mountain. A really impressive place actually. A really fun day, and we got to hang out with the guys from the lab, who took the day off to bum around and show us their home.

castle veiws

castles in italy

a veiw

The next day, Wednesday, we got the news that we were required to write a few pages on each tour and lecture we were having. Which isn’t hard, but I guess our laying around for hours came to end there.

The lectures are really interesting, we learn about the different experiments that go on in the lab. How they work, and what they work on, and why they are actually being run. I only wish I had taken more physics classes, so I could understand more. But, I’m getting along fine.

Anyhow, that’s basically it, fun stuff.