Gelato in Genova

Years ago when we were on vacation in Florence, we were passing by a McDonalds and in front of it were some American tourists eating McDonalds soft-serve ice cream. Mere steps away was an Italian gelateria which is, of course, where we went. As I happily enjoyed my gelato, I looked at those tourists, and all I could think was, "Are you crazy!!!! Why would you settle for McDonalds ice cream when this is right here???" I still can't figure that out, but since then, I've decided that in the next life, people in the Telestial Kingdom will eat McDonald's ice cream, while those in the Celestial kingdom will be eating Italian gelato. I don't know what those in the Terrestial Kingdom will eat. Baskin & Robbins perhaps?*

There is nothing in the world like Italian Gelato. It is one of the things I most looked forward to having when we returned to Italy.

Coming back to Italy was like coming home for me. Yes, the traffic is crazy and I know the country has economic and political problems, but for me Italy makes me feel young. Heck, I even had an acne breakout the other day - that's how young I've become. And don't say I broke out because of the gelato. Heaven forbid, it's not that.

Our flight itinerary into Italy from Salt Lake City changed at the last minute and we ended up flying to Milan via Detroit and Rome. What a great feeling it was going through the Rome airport. I was thinking, " I know this place. I know this airport. This is familiar. This is home."

We were welcomed in Milano by our Mission President President Allen and his wife, Sister Allen, as well as the two APs (Assistants to the President). I was pleased to see that one of the APs was a young man from Sciacca which is down in southern Italy. We had a very nice couple of days meeting them and also getting to know the office couple, the Griffiths, who are pretty much doing the same jobs for the Milano Mission as we did for the Rome Mission. The Griffiths were former Mission Presidents in the Scotland/Ireland mission. He served a mission in Italy as a young man and ironically has both Italian and Scottish ancestry so his and their missions have covered it all. They said that they were always so grateful for what their office couples did for them in Scotland and going on another senior mission was their way of giving back.

On the Thursday after we arrived, we were driven to Genova (called Genoa by English speakers) by the Griffiths where we met the Halls, whom we are replacing, handed the keys to the car and the apartment and given some brief training before they departed. This is our apartment building, by the way.

Genova is a beautiful city but perhaps more confusing to drive in than Rome because of it's geography. It's a long thin city squished up against the mountains and coming down to the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. The city moves up along the mountain sides and because of that, the roads wind back and forth and up and down. The freeways tunnel a lot through the mountains so we're getting used to driving through tunnels a lot.

The main central shopping area is really nicely decorated right now with suspended umbrellas over the pedestrian-only streets.

Our work here in Genova is called Member Leadership Support or MLS for short. There are two LDS wards (congregations) in Genova, each meeting at different sides of the city. Genova 1 meets in an office building not far from the old city. They have one office space on the first floor (in North America, we would call it the second floor; the main floor in Italy is referred to as Floor 0) where the chapel and classrooms are, and the second floor above it has a Young Adult Centre where Institute happens and social activities.The old city nearby is really very nice and has the birthplace home of Christopher Columbus:

Being the birthplace of Christopher Columbus is one of Genova's claims to fame. Just up the walkway from this home is the old medieval gate for the old city. It's pretty impressive too. You can see the towers quite well from the Genova 1 church meeting space.

The Genova 2 ward has their own building on the west side of Genova and it's a very nice little church. Ironically it's a converted strip club (I kid you not). I have to say, they did a good job of changing it over to a church because you really can't tell!

We are just beginning the process of getting to know the young adults in the two wards as well as the leadership. Hermes is still daily coaching me on my Italian and I sit in meetings with leaders picking up a little bit of what they say and totally missing other things. I went to the store the other day by myself, and when I was asking for a grocery bag, I asked for a borsina (I should have said borsetta which means small bag). The cashier looked at me blankly and said "Saccheta?" which means "Sack?" and I said "Si, si." I hope Francesco, my Italian teacher back in Calgary, would give me brownie points for trying.

We've had the opportunity of exploring the countryside a bit. The region around Genova is called Liguria and the Ligurian mountains are absolutely beautiful. They're nothing like the Rocky Mountains by our home in Calgary. They're smaller and covered with lush green forests.

We stopped on the side of the road the other day near this lake and noticed these two horses and three mules all wearing cow bells around their necks. I was wondering why they were wearing cow bells and the only thing I can think of is they must like to run off and the owners are always looking for them. Here's a short video clip I took of them. I hope it works for you.

We also took a short walk up a beautiful little path with a waterfall going down to the lake.

So this is the start of our latest Italian adventure. We are happy to be in Genova, to be able to eat wonderful Gelato as well as other good food, to see some of the most beautiful places in the world, but it's knowing the people and finding ways to serve them that will give us the greatest joy. 

*If you don't know what I mean by Telestial, Terrestial and Celestial Kingdoms, go to Mormon.org and you can get an explanation on the LDS beliefs of where we come from, our purpose of life and where we're going after this life. It was just a joke about eating Gelato in the next life (but you never know!)