Stories

Tita Moretti's recollections

We came here to Calco from Milan when the American's were bombing and destroying the houses; there were fires in the town.  I was 6 years old, I remember the fires and how we went undergrown when we heard the alarms at night.  Our whole family came here during those years, aunts, uncles, cousins.

During the war, it was hard to get food, everything was going to soldiers. We made our own butter from our cow, there was pork, we had fruit trees, and a garden.  Difficult to find was butter and milk.  

Then arrived the Americans in 1945 the tanks the 27 of April arrived in the town.  They were handing out  chocolate and caramel candy. Everyone was happy, a liberation from Fascism. I remember they handed out cans of beans that were good.  

Before they arrived, we had many problems for the partisans because the Germans were here.  Mussolini was the king of Italy, the former king left Rome.  The Italian army was without order; some went with Mussolini, some with the partisans to reach freedom from regime of Mussolini.   There was fighting  from partisans and the republic, fighting from the English against the Germans.  The English landed in Sicily and moved north.  They pushed the Germans out.  It was a period of travail.  

I was 9 years old. I remember the aircraft with the guns shooting. We were going to school by bike, and we had to dive in the snow, because the planes were arriving and shooting at the station and at German cars.  But you didn't know where they were shooting so you had to get down. I was the oldest of the group of kids, I was afraid, but interested in the aircraft flying.  In the snow, I looked up at the planes.

Once a bomb fell about 100 meters from us, we heard it in Calco at 8:30 in the morning, we were going to school. I was out looking at the plane, it fell in a field and there was a lot of smoke and noise.  I went back in and everyone was under the table, all the glass was broken, and a lamp fell on my dad’s head when he was shaving.  

Summer 2013

I caught the vision of abundance during my last stay in Italy; why do I have to have "once in a lifetime" experiences only?  I am coming back next summer I pronounced to the world. Why limit myself? 

So I went back. (I am writing this entry a year later).  I pushed the limits even further by going on a side trip all by myself. 

I went to Lake Guarda, the largest lake in Italy.  I stayed 3 days. 

I saw castles, Roman ruins...

I pondered life in an olive grove

 I borrowed a bike and rode around the lake, stopping to swim, eat, take pictures, enjoy

 

On the way back I stopped in Brescia and found a castle!

 

 and gorgeous streets like this one. Of course...I am in Italy!

 

 

 

The Italian wantabe returns to the blog.  Sitting poolside to Tuscany, I see a landscape of fields and hilltop cities.

Not sure if I like this app for Blogger, I can't resize my photos.  Test run#1.

The big tree of liberty, love and peace

July 30, 2012 - Under the big tree at the big yellow house with blues the dog and Teresa the artist. 
I am ready to return home, go back to my life and stop living out of a suitcase. I don't know why I couldn't return next summer. I have confidence that I could make it, and I have great friends to stay with. 
This first trip of mine to Italy makes me smile and tear up. Was it what I expected? I have travelled many places and have learned about Italian history and culture. I lived in the moment, soaked in everything. I explored the streets here and the "streets of my life". I got to stay with many different families, to see how they live, how families work here. I had time to try the food, all the things they enjoy eating. Time to understand what my body likes and doesn't like. I broke through fears my body had and worked on fears I had about my body. I have felt very close to God and felt guided and growth here. I practiced letting people know me. I have had time to ponder and relax, just to think about life.  I have enjoyed taking pictures, reading, learning, studying history, asking questions about everything. I love what others have shared with me. I have taken time to enjoy the bells tolling, the architecture, people watching, nature, churches. The free time has been enjoyed. Having my own agenda was great- being able to wander and do what I want, just me!  I have made the best out of tough times. Had fun being frivolous, shopping and spending money, eating loads of gelatto!  I have come to learn the importance of the church I belong to. That it offers a fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is his church restored in these days with the saving power and ordinances that gives us access to God.

Dreaming

I wrote in my journal once - dreaming is hard to come by such a practical person. 
June 6, 2012, 9:30 pm journal entry as I was entertained by the view of Borgio Vareze. 

How do I describe how lucky I feel to be here.  I am in this completely gorgeous place.  It is an evening with the Ligurian sea breezing through the ivy colored arches, bringing with it the cool blue of the water, the flirty green texture of the hills. Orange, pink, yellow buildings are beginning to glow with the night lights. The clouds sit relaxing in the sky overhead.

So I could hang my shingle here, do therapy.  My name could spread through the region here and people would come.  I could live in a year-round Mediterranean climate, by the seaside. I could have an office in Tuscany that I worked in one week of the month.  (the music right now is telling me to get up and boogie).  I could teach a yoga class on the beach. I could have a place to rent out a couple bedrooms to tourists. I could own a stand where I sold gelatto snow cones.
 I can do anything!

Inspiration Point

These pictures were taken at the beginning and the end of my trip at Inspiration point on the vineyard at the big yellow house.  What is different?  Besides a few extra pounds...

May

August

This is what I wrote on the plane ride home:

Pondering over the experiences I have had over the last 3 months, I am comfortable in my skin, in my life, in my beliefs, in my dedication and determination to stick with God.  I am happy here and grateful for it. I can let that flow freely from me - sit where I am and gather and share. I love the view of my great life- what is new what is past and what is ahead. It feels wide open, and that great things are out there. There is no restraint. I need to bottle this for times I may not feel this way.

I watched the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in my reclined, massaging 1st class chair, on the ride home and found myself writing as fast as I could the thoughts from the movie. 
"Everything will be all right in the end and if its not all right, its not the end".
"Things haven't worked out like I expected, most things don't but sometimes what happens instead is the good stuff".
"The person that risks nothing, does nothing-  has nothing". 

Milan Cemetery

8/3/12  Carola asked why I would go to the cemetery.  Has she been? 
This place was like a museum.  I was so touched by seeing the emotion of death expressed in stone. I thought about how we as mortals have to confront what happens to us when life leaves our fragile bodies. How interesting to see how people deal with the fear, sadness, longing, grief.  When they visit these monuments, what do they think about? How do they feel? We humans tend to forget the big plan - we get busy with life. The world spins around us, until death stops it and makes us confront it.

I tried to capture all these thoughts in the pictures I took. 

Home

After a first class trip and one flight delay, I arrived on American Soil at 10:45 pm.  Thankfully, my luggage arrived ahead of me - didn't need this face.  

I finally got to hold lil' Thomas, my very own nephew.  I have been trying to hold him as much as possible.   My first few days I would wake up at 3:00 am and go to bed at 9:00 pm. I have been eating as many veggies from the garden as I can.

Goodbye Italian soil

I had to make one last post while here in Italy, then I will have to catch up on the story of my trip at home.  I do this at Tita and Millie Moretti s house in Calco, just outside Milan. The Italian keyboard is a bit different, I cant find the apostrophe and the shift key is in a different place.

I have been filled with gratitude and joy the last few days as I think back on my time here.  I have loved the whole package of the trip. It has ingrained in me a desire to do this more, to spend my money and time on these experiences. I have been drawn to the scripture in Doctrine & Covenants that talks about learning all you can, about cultures, places, history etc. I feel so inspired to have studied here in all forms.  I love the people I have come to know.  They are instant friends and have been so generous. I pray for them to have all the happiness and blessings they deserve for taking good care of me.  I love all my friends and family back home who have been so supportive of me and who have kept in touch with me while I was here.  It was a very important part of my trip to be able to talk with you.  I thank my Heavenly Father for caring about me personally, and letting me know it. For allowing me all that I have experienced here. 

Carola told me that I cant end this chapter...it is just the beginning.  sigh....

Romantic

Fun times in the romantic cities of Verona and Venice. Jackie, Terry and I are the adventurers; three women staying in Italy for some time, driven to live out their dreams.  Verona received us for a quick tour around the city and the opera Aida in the evening at the Arena.  The opera started at 9:30 pm and went until 1:30 am.  It was perfect, the atmosphere, the summer night, the music, being in Verona...

1:30 am- wow!  totally moist and exhausted after the evening stroll around Venice. Loved it this evening, being in the cool night air, seeing the night city, rubbing shoulders with people from all over the world. Finding our way back to the bus station with two minutes to spare.  So glad I came just for tonight. 





I ordered cuddle fish - local to Venice. It came tentacles and all.  Yeah I was a little nervous, not gonna lie. I took a bite and it was good, not slimy or rubbery like I expected. And I ate the whole thing (with a little help from Terry). 

Memories have the power to roll over you and give you the full bodied experience. I think about the stash I have from this trip. Riding a train from Venice to Milan (the same route that I took when I arrived in Italy, Venice was just a mystery then).  Listening to "let the good times roll" by B.B. King, glancing at the scenes on either side of me- fields of corn and grapevine, hill cities in the distance, green, gold, blue, purple.  Me on a train in Italy, where I have been for 3 months!