ITALY EXPEDITION!

DISCLAIMER:  I want to apologize in advance for the poor quality of the photos in this blog.  The main reason I am writing it, is to have a digitized, online record of a trip I took when I was a teenager, that was a major contributor to my lifelong enjoyment of traveling, collecting shells, taking pictures, and writing about my experiences.   

 

I grew up in a small town, where my parents owned a retail business, called Home School Supply.  The store sold a myriad of products (just about everything except food), including typewriters and adding machines (this was decades before the advent of computers for routine office use).  They started out being the regional distributor for Underwood typewriters and adding machines.  The Underwood Company was bought out by an Italian office machine company called Olivetti (www.storiaolivetti.it)  To help get the new Italian name in front of the American public, the Olivetti company

  sponsored a six-month sales promotion contest for their distributors.  The prize for meeting the Olivetti sales goals, was an all-expense-paid, two week trip for two, to Italy.  My father enjoyed traveling, so he put extra effort to selling as many of the Olivetti products as possible, and he met their goals!  My mother did not like to travel, so they got the necessary approval for me to go in her place.  I was going to have to miss two weeks of school, but the school administration agreed this was too good of an opportunity to miss, so I had an excused absence.   When we flew out of the airport in Harrison, a photographer from the local newspaper was there to snap our photo, and put the announcement in their daily newspaper!

 

My father received a custom-made glass mug, that had this imprint on the bottom:  "Hand made in Italy for the winner".  The map above it, shows how the Italian peninsula juts out into the Mediterranean Sea, in the shape of a boot.

 

For our charter flight on Alitalia Airlines, we were given specially-made travel bags, that showed the major cities we would visit, in the order we visited them:  Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Naples.  When I was clearing out items from my parents house after they died, I opened up this bag, and saw that the little Alitalia footlets the airline gave us for the overnight flight, were still inside the bag!

 

My mother had kept all of the items from our trip together in a special box, so I also found the fancy menus the airline gave us on board.  For several years from that time forward, I collected menus from my travels, had them framed, and they covered one whole wall of our home! 

Before we left, we received a 20 page, "book" detailing our itinerary, along with the addresses of the hotels where we would be staying in each city.  Fortunately, we also received a pocket-sized guide to keep us on track!(shown below)

 

While in Milan, we toured the famous theater, La Scala, and its accompanying museum containing art pieces from many famous artists.  My mom had saved the postcards I mailed her from Italy, and this particular postcard is telling her about getting to see the painting of The Last Supper, by Leonardo DaVinci.  I knew this was an art piece she could appreciate, because we had a small reproduction of the famous painting in our home.  The one in Milan was much larger, as it was a full size mural, on the wall of a chapel in Milan.  

While we were in the Milan area, we toured an Olivetti manufacturing plant, and were given an overview of the company's headquarter's building. Its modern architecture was in sharp contrast to the ancient architecture we saw in the remaining iconic sites in Italy.

 

Our next stop was Florence, where we learned about the Medici Family, and their importance in fostering artists in Florence.  We saw the famous dome of the Cathedral there, that identifies the Florence skyline.  That is also where we saw the marble sculpture of David, carved by Leonardo da Vinci.  I am using this photo of that statue as the visual aid for one of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses that says, "God testified concerning him:  I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do."  Acts 13:22

The next stop was Venice, where a water taxi took us from the airport area, to our hotel located directly on one of the canals.  My father was feeling a little under the weather, and did not want to take a gondola ride.  In a rare instance of my questioning his decisions, I said, "I am not going to travel all these thousands of miles and miss taking one of the famous Venice gondola rides!"  So we took the gondola ride, and had a very handsome young man as our paddler!  Whatever the illness was that had my father feeling bad, hit me the following day.  My father contacted the trip leader, who arranged for a physician to COME TO OUR HOTEL ROOM!  The physician examined me, and gave me the appropriate medicine.  My parents had saved these little medicine bottles for decades!  The medicine must have helped, because my father and I both were up and about by the next day!

Our trip leader took us to a glass factory, explaining that Venice was famous for its glass art (Much like Seattle/Tacoma is famous for Chihuly art glass).   I got to watch one of the artists make the little glass deer shown in this photo.  My father purchased them for me, and somehow I managed to get them home without breakage, and still have them to this day!

It was not until I started working on this blog post, that I gained a full appreciation, for getting to make the trip to Pisa, to see the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.  When reading through the itinerary book, I saw that the side trip to Pisa was not included in the all-expense-paid trip to Italy, so those who chose to take the trip, did so at their own expense.  Considering how frugal my father was, the fact that he paid extra for us to visit Pisa, makes him even more endearing to me!  It was a beautiful day, and the two of us climbed the hundreds of stairs to get to the top tier.  The photo of us at the top is below.  I have since learned that visitors can no longer climb to the top, due to safety concerns. 

Our visit to Rome was spectacular, and the most memorable meal I had on the entire trip.  It was in a cafe called, Da meo pataca (www.meopatacca.it) .  Upon arrival, each of us was given a souvenir tambourine with the name Da Meo Pataca on it, as well as a cloth bib, with Da Meo Pataca actually woven into the fabric.  I framed my cloth bib, and had it hanging on my downstairs wall, along with several other framed menus.  My father and I were seated on the second floor balcony and had a delightful time, singing along with the live musicians, as we tapped our tambourines in time with their songs.  Decades later, I was dining at a local Italian restaurant in Mountain Home, Arkansas, and observed that they had a large poster menu from Da Meo Pataca---framed, and hanging on their wall.  So I am not the only ones that used menus as wall decor!

While in Rome, we got to tour Vatican City, and I snapped a photo of the Swiss guards, because their uniforms were so colorful.  The photo below that shows me enjoying one of the sidewalk cafes in Rome.  This was my first time to see sidewalk cafes, as they had not yet caught on in the rural area where I lived.

Visitors were not allowed to take photographs inside the Sistine Chapel, so I took extensive notes.  Something I did not know until I read a letter my father sent to my mom back home, was that one of the other trip participants saw the extensive notes I took on the trip, and told my father he would allow my father to use his 8 mm movie camera, in exchange for letting him copy down my writing about the tour!  Some of my original notes, along with my childish handwriting, are shown below:

Page 2 of my notes goes into detail about the famous painting, some of which were reiterated in the movie where Charlton Heston played Michelangelo. Likewise, a popular traveling immersive art exhibit about the Sisteen Chapel painting included all these details, and more, in their placards.  Visit www.sistinechapelexhibit.com for more information on where this exhibit can be seen. 

It is interesting to me that I was enjoying writing about my travels when I was a teenager, and still continue to do so in my old age, through this blog!  In fact, my father wrote home in one of his letters, that "Patricia is having the time of her life".  That was an accurate statement!

My notes from our visit to the Vatican included information on the architecture, saying that the curved "wings" to the domed center cathedral were not included in the original building design. However, the builders determined they were needed, to provide the proper "line of sight" to the magnificent St. Peter's Basilica.   The small Italian-made leather purse has the imprint of the Vatican design on the gold medallion.

An indigent-looking lady holding a small baby, approached my father on the streets of Rome, and asked if he would please buy the cloisonne music box, made to look like a mandolin.  As he looked at what she was selling, I was off to one side, and I observed her pinch the little baby to make it cry, so my father would hurry up and make the purchase, because the crying baby would make him have sympathy for her situation.  The incident made me realize the lengths a salesperson will go to in order to "close the deal".  And I am thankful she was so convincing, because the little souvenir my father purchased,  has brought me a lifetime of pleasant memories!  The floral item the mandolin is photographed on, is also a souvenir from Italy.  My father bought Italian scarves and aprons for all the ladies in his family, back in Arkansas. 

Because my mother had the addresses of all the hotels we would be visiting in Italy, she sent letters via airmail, that my father and I received, when we checked into our hotels.  (Remember this was long before the days of instant communication via email!)  I read the letters this week, and saw how my mother would give updates on how their school supply business was doing, and also updates on various family members.  Sadly, my father's father had died shortly before we were scheduled to leave for Italy, and there were family discussions (not involving me) of whether or not we should proceed with the overseas travel as planned.  I think my father had some feelings of guilt regarding the situation, but apparently my mom reassured my father that she would look after his newly-widowed mother, and that we should not miss this opportunity.  I am VERY THANKFUL for their decision!

I was amused at the way my father addressed the post card to my mom, simply as "Dear Wife", and mentioned I was acquiring more sea shells, a hobby I had been enjoying since I was 12 years old. 

All the photos my father and I took, were on Kodak Ektachrome Transparencies---not prints.  One reason for this was that my father had previously committed to give a program about the trip to his local civic chapter of The Lions Club.  He knew he would need slides, a slide projector, and a screen for this program--hence the use of slide film.  As it turned out, it was me who gave the program to the Lion's Club, and was probably one of my first public speaking "gigs"!  I was happy to do so, because of my enjoyment of sharing the stories about the amazing sites we saw!

I recently looked through all those slides, and made prints from a few of them.  The photo below shows me with the blue wide-collared raincoat, standing in front of a Lake Como fountain.  Apparently, a pigeon was impressed with that wide collar, because one afternoon when I was sitting outside beneath a statue of some famous person, a pigeon literally DUMPED a load of excrement on that collar!  I was horrified!  Some of the older ladies on the trip saw what happened, and immediately came to my assistance to get me cleaned up!  Since then, I tend not to sit under statues!

Just as I only recently discovered my father had to pay extra for the trip to Pisa, I read in the 1963 instructions, that he had to pay extra for the trip to the Isle of Capri.  The photo below shows us at the highest point on the island.  We took a ferry to get to the island from the mainland, then boarded a small tourist bus upon disembarking.  I distinctly remember that the bus ride up the narrow, one lane, twisting road to the summit, was the scariest thing I experienced in my life, up to that point!  However, the views from the summit made the scary ride soon forgotten!  We also were able to get into small boats, to visit the famous Blue Grotto, that the Isle of Capri is famous for. 

Back in the sixties, "charm bracelets" were THE thing for teen girls to wear.  So, of course, I wanted some souvenir charms of my trip.  The goat is the symbol for the Isle of Capri, and of course, the leaning tower of Pisa silver charm, is a reminder that my father and I climbed to the top of the famous tower.  (We also climbed together to the top of the Washington Monument on a different trip!)  The red thing that looks like a pepper, is actually a piece of coral from the Isle of Capri, and the medallion from Milan, has a depiction of its famous cathedral. 

Our group had their farewell dinner, at a luxury hotel in Naples, and of course, I kept a copy of the menu, because it was glued onto a souvenir tambourine!  The name of the dessert is a reference to Mount Vesuvius, that we were able to see and photograph from a distance.  Vesuvius is the famous volcano that instantly destroyed the thriving city of Pompeii.  My father and I toured the mummified remains of the city, and we were both touched by what we saw.  In fact, I noticed this week, that my father had written to my mom that it was important for all of us to enjoy the days that we had, because none of us know when our end will come.  The people of Pompeii were certainly taken by surprise, as seen by the remains of their suddenly-taken  lives visible to visitors in Pompeii.  Just as a goat is the symbol of The Isle of Capri, these days when we see "G.O.A.T.", it means "Greatest of all time".   For me, this trip to Italy with my father was the GOAT, and gave me "MILES OF ITALIAN SMILES!"  Tricia

ADDENDUM:  I am including this vintage photo of the business my parents were running at the time of our 1963 trip to Italy.  It was located at 301 South Pine Street, (Also called Highway 7 South), in Harrison, Arkansas.  The location was just one block from the banks of Crooked Creek, so the devastating 1961 flood in Harrison, completely flooded the first floor, and all its contents.

The 1960's was when a federal program called Urban Renewal was taking over private ownership of various properties, using the government's power of "Eminent Domain".  The payment they offered for my parents' property, was far below its market value.  Therefore, my father took the federal agency to court, to protest their actions, and insist on a fair market price.  It was my first time to ever be in a courtroom, and I recall it was a very troubling time for our family.  A compromise was agreed to, and my parents ended up building (in a different, and higher elevation!), at the corner of Central Avenue, and Cherry Street, in Harrison.  At the time, the location was across the street from the Harrison Junior High School, and just one block from Central Elementary School.  As a result, my parents became more intimately acquainted with many of the students, faculty, and parents of those involved with the elementary and junior high schools, and their new business location thrived.   It was just one more example of how God can make all things work out for good, for those who love the Lord!