A couple visits

This week I was lucky enough to have been visited by a group of American Waldensians who have been traveling around Italy. It was fantastic to finally meet Brian Paulson who was a great help to me in getting to Italy in the first place. Along with Brain came about 14 Americans who were interested in the workings of the center. It was great to meet with all of them, I think I spoke more English in that afternoon than I have since I arrived. It was nice to finally speak without being conscious of the words I was using or having to try to think of the Italian equivilant. They were a lovely group of people and were kind enough to invite me to lunch with them in the village, which I happily accepted. At lunch I had the pleasure of speaking in depth with several members of the group, including some others who helped me get in contact with Agape and the Waldensian society both in the US and Italy. It was a wonderful visit and a nice little dose of America in my village, always helpful in getting adjusted to life in a foreign country.

After the American Waldensians left we were paid another visit here at the center...a really beautiful snow fall on the tops of the mountains. The snow should reach us here in the valley sometime this weekend but for now I'll leave you with the photo of the snow capped mountains and the news that all is well in Italy. I miss you all but am having the time of my life getting to meet and know everyone here and really settling into my home for the next year.

No foggy days in London town

Although I was anxious to get back to Italy I had quite an amazing time in London (Thank you Abbott family your generiosity, it's amazing. While I was there Nic and I decided to go have tea with the queen one afternoon.

Well I suppose in reality it was a bit more like us eating cream cakes outside of the palace while most likely the queen was taking tea inside, but it still proved to be a really good time. Lots of tourist watching and laughing at groups of school children on field trips, all the while trying to not make a mess of our incredibly smashed cream cakes. It was worth the trip.

After out cream cake adventure Nic and I followed up on a suggestion of her mom to make a visit to Hampton Court, one of the palaces of Henry VIII. Although not as popular attraction as one of the palaces currently inhabited by royalty and despite the cold weather that day it was a really beautiful trip. We walked through unbelievably furnished bed chambers and drawing rooms, though immaculate gardens, and learned quite a bit while we were at it as well. Not only a feast for our eyes but also one for our brains. A good dose of history for us while we were out having fun, a win win situation.


Learning about all this history of other family got me to thinking a bit about my own and ffter our successful outtings to Buckingham palace and Hampton Court I decided to make a trip to my own family castle. I would have happily flown all the way to England just to see the castle. As a kid my dad always used to tell me fantastic ghost stories of the family castle somewhere in England, of the curses placed on objects in the castle and the children who still haunt the towers. When I was about 14 decided that I would see the castle and it's been on my life to do list ever since. Well I can happily say that it is now crossed off and it was a wonderful experience. I took the train from London to Birmingham to meet my friend Don who taught English with me in Spain (thanks Don for going on this crazy trip with me, it wouldn't have been the same without you). After getting to Birmingham Don and I drove north a couple hours to the border with Wales to a little town called Whittington, in the province of Shropshire. And there in front of us as we drove into town was the caslte I had heard stories about for my entire childhood.

I have to admit I was a bit overwhelmed when we finally pulled up in front of it. How often do your childhood fairy tales come true? Here I was standing in the middle of mine, looking at the tower that the ghosts of children haunt, walking over the moat that held out centries of invaders from Wales, and laying my hands on the physical history of my family.

Don and I walked the grounds for a bit and then decided to find an inn to stay in for the night. In the morning we walked across the street to the castle and had a great meeting with the castle director. She filled me in on the actual history of the castle and I relayed stories of my family to her. lt was absolutely fantastic to hear how the stories that I thought were merely fairy tales actually aligned with what had happened at the castle hundreds of years ago. After a lenghty chat we had tea in the manor house and then walked to grounds a bit more before heading back to London. Words just can't do justice to what I felt or saw there that day. It seems a bit silly to be overwhelmed by the site of an old crumbling building but I absolutely was. It was just fantastic. I was the first person in at least 3 generations of my family to see the castle and now I get to be the person to hold the family history. I get to the be crazy cousin who tells the ghost stories to the children and to tell them of the actual place, of the town, of the people I met along the way, and of the true history of what happened there. I feel incredibly privledged in that resposibilty. It was a great experience and a big thank you to everyone who helped me get there. If you want to read more about the castle or see more photos than my slow internet connection will allow me to post you can visit the castle website at http://www.whittingtoncastle.co.uk/