Christmas in Caserta

This was my first green Christmas in memory. I mean, even when Calgary gets a really warm Chinook-like Christmas, it's more like a brown Christmas, right? This one was green in the true sense in that there is still green leaves on many trees (although some have lost their leaves too) and there is green grass. Oh and there's palm trees too. I mustn't forget the palm trees.   
     
In Italy, we could use a wet Christmas rather than a white Christmas because some rain would be welcome. It is unusually dry and a bit warmer than it should be for this time of year with not enough wind. Consequently the air quality is quite poor. We've had days when we couldn't, by law, drive our car during certain hours without risking heavy fines. One day, those with even number license plates can drive all day, and the next it's those with odd numbered licensed plates. I'm trying to pray for rain but I also want to be very specific (some rain but not too much, please) because I've seen the pictures in England of the floods. Not to mention I remember well the 2013 flood in Calgary.

But we had a very nice Christmas spending it in a city called Caserta which is a couple of hours south of Rome. It was a gathering for the senior missionary couples including President and Sister Waddoups. We were in a very empty hotel with few guests other than us. They even kept the restaurant closed over Christmas so consequently it didn't cost too much to stay there. Here's a picture of it here: 

And this is the picture of the main lobby:

In the center of the lobby was a very elaborate circular nativity scene. In fact, I'm happy to say that big beautiful nativity scenes are often prominent in business settings here. A pharmacy down the street from our apartment has a beautiful one in it's window. In Italy, nativity scenes are not just the manger scene, a few animals, shepherds and some wise men. They have the whole village working and doing things all around. Here's a couple of pictures here to give you an idea:

The trip gave us a chance to meet and get to know other senior couples serving in the mission. Most are doing MLS (Member and Leader Support) work such as helping run small branches of the Church. We have one couple here running the BYU Idaho Pathway program. Others are here to run programs for the young single adult members. On Christmas eve we did a potluck together, mainly because there was no restaurant open in the hotel, and little chance of finding much open in the city. Here's a shot of that here: 

Afterwards, Sister Waddoups brought out her nativity re-enactment clothes again and we did something similar to what happened at zone conference. Because I was recovering from a bad back, they let me keep my place on the couch so this time Hermes and I got to be Mary and Joseph. This is us trying to look angelically at each other:

You can tell we were having a hard time keeping a straight face. The group shot is here. Sister Waddoups is in the white sweater and camel ears in front and President Waddoups is the tall one in the dark suit on the other side.

On Christmas morning, we went together to see an aqua duct outside Caserta. It's not an ancient Roman one; it's more about 300 years old built about the same time as a Versailles-like royal palace that is in Caserta. It had a mysterious foggy look that morning as you can see from the picture here:

In the afternoon we had dinner at a Trattoria. Seafood is more the traditional Christmas fare in Italy and we had a lovely meal with lots of seafood. Here's another picture of that.

Afterwards we walked to the lit up tree in the city center:

The next day on our way back to Rome, we stopped at an ancient Roman amphitheater similar in shape to the Colosseum in Rome but far less touristy. Of all the Roman amphitheaters still in existence in Italy, this one has the best preserved underground part. Here's some pictures of that.It seems so peaceful and nice down there but if you get to thinking too much about the cruelty and awful things that used to happen there (gladiators, sending Christians to the lions etc.), it's not such a nice thing. But here's a picture to give you an idea of how it looked down there.

As we came out, this old Vespa was sitting there. In Hermes' youth, he drove one of these. This one is a beauty. I wish I could have one of these to use in Calgary in the summer but knowing me, I'd probably have an accident and be permanently maimed.

On Sunday, we had for us a rare treat. Elder Dallin H Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was in Rome and he and his wife spoke in the morning in a combined sacrament meeting of two wards. Elder Oaks seems to be the apostle of our mission since we had also heard him speak on Thanksgiving in the MTC. An interesting thing he said is that everywhere he goes in the world, everyone asks about the progress of the Rome temple. He says everyone in the church is excited that a temple is to be built here. Many ex-missionaries who served here have asked him if he could get them tickets to the dedication when it happens and he laughs and says he doesn't even think he can get a ticket. He made it clear that Temple Dedication tickets will only be for Italian members. I think that makes sense but it will make for a lot of disappointed people from outside the country.

In the afternoon, he and his wife did a devotional for the missionaries so we all got a chance to go up and shake his hand before it started. Anytime he spoke, it was always powerful as one would expect for someone in his position. After the devotional, he took a picture with us. We're second row from the back so you may have a hard time finding us.

So that was our first Mission Christmas. Not white. Not even wet but a lovely Christmas all the same. 

Happy New Year or as we say in Italy, Buon Anno!