Lake Como

What a difference a day makes. Before leaving Firenze (last sunset pic at Firenze)I went to Sienna to complete my visit of the remains of St Catherine. Yes, I had to travel the country to find all of her. My Lord, poor St Catherine. Her head and a finger are in Sienna while her body remains in Rome. What were they thinking? What would she be thinking? What do people, especially women and the young, think as they come to discover their faith and seek  the powerful Christian women who formed our universal faith?

The Duomo is beautiful in Sienna and I must say the marble flooring with giant mosaics is spectacular (pic to the right). At least Catherine is not being walked upon.

I left Firenze to make my way north to Lake Como via Milan. I felt like a cooler change as I prepare for my desert experience in Egypt and Jordan, starting this time next week.

Travelling on my own is challenging when it comes to making some decisions. I am glad I bought my travel computer and mostly have access to the e-world, which I use to get info out and a little info in. Not all my decisions are helpful.

At Milan Central train station, my money was taken by the food machine in between my 20 minute change of trains. I again put in the same amount money and pushed the same buttons and received the same result...nothing. Not happy! Pushed and shoved the machine, pushed and shoved the same buttons, and voila...all this food fell from the machine that I did not select. Grabbed the food and offered some to strangers then pushed and shoved the now moving train door to get myself back on board.

Arrived at Como. No transport from the hotel. Tried to call. Wrong phone numbers. Not happy. Eventually located my hotel which seemed different from where I placed it through the Internet booking. Transport to hotel not happening. Not happy. Ah ha! Hire car company. Looking good. Get a good price for the week as there is little regular bus transport from where my 'mystery' hotel lies. Haggle for the "Clergy" discount. Success. Head off in my motorized shopping trolley with no relevant maps and no GPS, wrong side of the road, gears on the floor stick thingy shift, and no idea. Hail Mary....

And some call this a sabbatical! Eventually arrived safely at my hotel which is actually near Lecco, near the Lake but 30kms from Como. Lecco is very beautiful as I hope you can see. The mountains are spectacular. It is going to be a good retreat. I may just have to change the name to Lake Coma though.

This page is dedicated to Bokko, whose birthday I missed, again. To Pete, whose birthday I missed ages ago, and to my mother whose birthday is this weekend, and I hope she received my birthday postcard.
And some say this is a sabbatical? I am working on it.


Pace e bene.