Monthly Archives: May 2014

Bella Italia (by Kai and Naomi)

We’ve made it to Italy! And are truly enjoying the incredible dulce vita of Tuscany. We’re staying at the agriturismo working farm of Alberto and Roberta Bennati outside of Castiglion Fiorantino.

Kai: I’ve noticed lots of encounters with most drivers in Italy are a bit dangerous. This was especially true in Florence (Firenze). But where we’re living is nice and quiet. Our hosts own 12 horses, one donkey (assino), one cow which is going to have a calf in 6-7 days, chickens, rabbits, pigs, and sheep. They also have two nice dogs; Dado is my favorite, and I love to scratch his back and tummy.

Naomi: They also have a kitty. I really liked our horsey ride today. I rode on Amour, Kai rode on Armando, and Mommy rode on My Lady. It was my first time riding a horse all alone by myself.

Kai: The horse ride was quite nice, though at times Armando stopped to eat some grass. But I got used to getting him going again, and one time I nearly got to galloping.

There’s a really nice soccer field and a natural, spring fed pool, which does occasionally attract frogs. At first I didn’t quite want to go in, but after I saw other kids going in it, I said, “Hey, I want to go swimming!”

Naomi: The water is very cold. I can’t reach the bottom.

Celebrating Castle Montecchio’s 1st 1,000 years

Kai: We got to go to a really, really cool castle (Castello di Montecchio) that someone actually lives in (learn more about it HERE). You can see it from the farm. We met a woman named Xenia who’s making a film about the castle. She gave us a tour. The castle is marking its 1,000 year birthday this year.

Naomi: Yesterday we went to Cortona, and had two flavors of gelato with two round cookies sticking up like Mickey Mouse ears. The city is built on a hill, and we hiked to the top of the steep streets and could see for miles across the great valley (Val di Chiana).

Tonight we’re helping to make pizza with Roberta.

Ciao for now!

‘

May 24-31

This week marks the transition from France to Italy. We travel via train from southern France to Tuscany, province of Arezzo, where we begin a weeklong stay at a working Italian farm (agriturismo) near Castiglion Fiorentino, in the Arezzo region of Tuscany. The farm will be our home base for their first week in Italy. Day trips to nearby Assisi, home of St. Francis, as well as Siena are planned.

Cycling in the Loire Valley

Our starting point in Blois, Hotel Anne Bretagne

Rose on old village wall, Day 1

We have had three spectacular days riding on cycling paths and rural roads under sunny skies in the Loire Valley. With Blois as our starting and ending point, we pedaled through the valley enjoying prolific birdsong, small unmapped villages, incredible histories of 16th century chateaux of the region, so memorable surprises, and unbelievable meals.

Route-finding was not always as easy as we would have liked–in spite of maps and a detailed itinerary–but we had some incredible experiences; some of which were planned and many which were not. All told we biked about 55 miles in three days, each one of us on his/her own bike, and the kids did remarkably well. Below and on our photos page are a sampling of some photos from along the way.

: This old tower seemed surprised when we appeared around the corner

Chateau Chambord, largest in the Loire valley, has a central staircase and floor plan thought to be designed by Leonardo DaVinci. Like a number of sites, it was in the process of restoration through a national French cultural preservation program.

Loire Valley Bike Trip Photos

Two happy kids enjoying Pizza after 3 days of biking brought us full circle, safe and sound

: The Restaurant at Hotel Hubert in Cour Cheverny provided a new culinary high for all of us

Cycling past vineyards in France

Only one flat – on Naomi’s bike

High on a balcony among the towers of Chateau Chambord

Back in Blois for a magical final evening before driving off to south/central France

May 18-23

From May 18 – 23 the schedule is loosely defined. A stop at Le Chambon-sur-Lignon is planned, and Erik plans to rent a road bike for two days of more robust cycling along roads made famous by the Tour de France.

The story of the small of Protestant Huguenot farming village of Le Chambon in the mountains of south-central France is compelling. When France capitulated to Germany in June of 1940, the fate of French citizens and foreigners of Jewish ancestry was in doubt. That very day, Pastor Andre Trocmé stood in the pulpit of his parish church to address his parishioners in Le Chambon:

“The responsibility of Christians is to resist the violence that will be brought to bear on their consciences, through the weapons of the spirit.”

Over the course of WW 2, the approximate 5,000 inhabitants of that valley and surrounding areas sheltered approximately 3,500 Jewish men, women, and children (in addition to 1,500 others) in direct opposition to the orders of the French Vichy government and Nazi occupation forces, for the duration of the war. When Vichy authorities demanded that Pastor Trocmé cease his activities, he told them:

“These people came here for help and for shelter. I am their shepherd. A shepherd does not forsake his flock. I do not know what a Jew is. I know only human beings.”

Eventually, Trocmé was forced to hide from the Nazis. But his wife continued his legacy and with the aid and encouragement of local residents many Jews resided in relative calm until the end of the war. This story is powerfully documented in the film by Pierre Sauvage Weapons of the Spirit. (Sauvage was born in Le Chambon and returned years later as an adult to try to understand what happened here and why. Follow this LINK to view his interview with Bill Moyers about the film.)

Just before beginning my sabbatical, I (Erik) had the good fortune to exchange emails with Patrick Henry of Whitman College, a Holocaust scholar, who put me in touch with Nelly Trocmé Hewett, daughter of Andre and Magda Trocmé. (How we got to that point is itself a story that I’ll tell more of some day.) She told me of the existence of a new museum in Le Chambon, ( I thought they’d all closed), dedicated last summer (2013) that tells the story of what happened here. Her words, received only days before we began this trip, made the prospect of being in Le Chambon infinitely more meaningful. Le Chambon was not alone in its righteous conduct during that trying time. A dozen or so communities small communities of the region shared in the ministry of sheltering Jewish refugees, at the risk of their own lives, thus embodying Jesus’ admonition, “Love your neighbor as your self.”

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Following our time in Le Chambon, we will travel south to Arles and use it as a home base for experience the history and culture of the Provence region before heading on to Italy.

May 14-17

Leaving Paris on the 14th, we stop at the Cathedral at Chartres, to experience this medieval masterpiece and its famous labyrinth. Then it’s on to Blois for a four-day family cycling adventure among the châteaux’s of the Loire Valley, including one, Château de Cheverny, which was the inspiration for Captain Haddock’s country house in The Adventures of Tintin, by Belgian author Hergé; a series beloved both by Kai and his elder brother Nathan.

Paris High

TOP FIVE WORST PLACES TO BE IN A THUNDERSTORM…

5. In Lady Liberty’s torch

4. Atop London’s Big Ben

3. At the summit of Iona’s Dun’I

2. In the bell tower of Durham Cathedral

1. At the top of a 1,063 foot metal structure in Paris

: Enjoying the carousel in Paris

Today some of our most deeply held sabbatical wishes were fulfilled—though it didn’t start out that way. After a late start, we stopped by the Luxembourg Park play area in our neighborhood, only to discover that we would be denied entrance once again to the special children’s play area we had been hoping (especially the youngest among us) to enjoy, this time due to maintenance work being performed. After some tears of disappointment, I suggested we head to the Eiffel Tower, a surefire success, and so we did. We found our way on the Metro to Tracadero Station, and emerged to get our first full scale view of the Tower…WOW!

Climbing the first 700 stairs of the Eiffel Tower

It may seem to be almost a cliché, but there really is a reason this “temporary tower,” built during the Industrial Revolution to showcase the possibilities of building with steel, has maintained its iconic status—not only for Parisians but for the million visitors who come here each year from around the world.

After initial photo ops, and a stop for a carousel ride, we arrived at the Tower’s base at a moment when there were no crowds—likely due to the day’s on again, off again, rainy weather. We opted to climb the 700 stairs to the first level, then added the 952 stairs to the second. Then, finally, we decided to head for the top via the elevator—our only option. We conferenced about this before making our final move to the top, because one of the kids’ dreams was to see the Eiffel Tower at night. Having gone part way up, we decided we’d go up all the way while it was day so we could gain the full view of the city in the daylight, and we were rewarded with a lively experience, to say the least!

: A rain squall sweeps toward Napoleon’s Tomb

We saw, and then experienced, waves of rain squalls sweeping across the city. It made the experience more memorable—especially the hail! Our excitement multiplied several fold when peals of thunder and flashes of lightning (!) accompanied our time at the top observatory!

Looking east from the tope of the Eiffel Tower

Following that “high” we hopped the Metro for the Louvre (the only museum open in Paris on Mondays.) Though we hardly had time to see much, we did visit Leonardo’s famous lady, saw some other treasured Renaissance paintings, and took in some of Michelangelo’s sculpture, namely, two statues (“Slaves”) that inspired Paris sculptor Auguste Rodin, whose work we’d seen on our first full day in Paris.

View from our 3rd floor flat at corner of Rue des St. Jacques and Rue de Ursulines

Finally, it was time to head to our flat for some dinner, and though we were pooped, Kai reminded us of our plan—and his and Naomi’s dream—of seeing the Eiffel Tower at night. So, after a later dinner, a bit of down time, and a change to warmer clothes, we took to the Metro once more and headed back to Eiffel. We were not disappointed.

: Eiffel Tower under moon light

Our first view of the lit tower, just before 11:00pm, was breathtaking, rising with elegant strength— and seemingly lit up from within—under now clear skies and a nearly full moon.For the first 5 minutes of every hour, in addition to the fixed lights, the Eiffel Tower glistens with flashing lights spread throughout its full height. So five minutes after arriving, we saw the Tower in all its glistening brilliance!

“This is a midsummer night’s dream,” said Kai to Chris, as we took in a site that had been right at the top of hoped-for sabbatical experiences. Oo-la-la!

May 9-13

“All roads lead to Rome.” Beginning in the early Middle Ages, the Cathedral at Canterbury, England, became a starting point for the pilgrimage road from England to Rome that became known as the Via Francigena. Our next pilgrimage arc on this sabbatical journey begins here in Canterbury, and takes us on a ferry across the English Channel to Calais, France. From there we take a detour from the pilgrimage road, and go by rail to Paris, where we spend five nights in the “City of Lights” at a flat adjacent to Jardin du Luxembourg, the second largest public park in Paris and its most popular.

Kindem Sabbatical Notes

posts and pictures from our family's sabbatical journey