Thiene

I enjoyed a quasi-feeling of having the day off on Sunday. On a General Conference weekend, a broadcast of the first session occurs at the church, but it doesn't take place until 6 pm. The men went over to the church at 11 to watch a taped copy of the priesthood session. But, C, T, and I went out for a walk. It was a beautiful morning and we walked over to a statue garden where a remnant of Vicenza's city wall stands. T had fun looking at the fountains, ducks, statues, and trees, and then we strolled over to a park-like area. It was very casual, very relaxing.

After lunch, we headed out to Thiene to catch the Renaissance festival we had bypassed the day before. It was exciting to see the Renaissance characters against an actual Renaissance backdrop. We saw jugglers on stilts (one of T's favorite--especially when they juggled with knives and threw them "way up high!"), men twirling flags, a whole piazza of children's games, and knights marching up and down the street. T also was excited by the knight's helmets with the plumes. But, what we mostly saw? Throngs of people. The streets were packed. I guess Sunday is family day anyway, and I'm sure the rain pushed everyone to Sunday as well. It was so so crowded. So, we didn't stay for too long. But, the highlight of the day was the procural of a knight helmet and sword (complete with sheath) for T. He was thrilled and has been thwacking at things non-stop since then. We decided to make a Renaissance dress for MJ too so they can go as lady and knight for Halloween.

We came home and again listened to conference, with a slight break from 7-7:30 for dinner. After conference was over, AJ and MJ called and it was good to talk to them. AJ asked, "So, the question of the day: did you hear Sister Beck's talk?" I guess it was during the dinner break for us, and as it turns out, I think I'm quite fortunate that I didn't have that one take me by surprise. Even AJ said there were some thing that "made my blood boil." Unusual for him. It turns out that the talk has a lot of good material, but there are a few things that I'm sure I would have been very upset by. I spent some time on Sunday night and Monday around the bloggernacle reading what (so many) people were saying about it, and I was glad not to be in the middle of it emotionally. I also discovered that the talk I had walked out of in April 2004 when I was pregnant with T was a talk by her. Hmm. I'm sure I will post my thoughts on her talk somewhat later, but for now, I'm content to enjoy the Italian fall and not let any ire ruin my mental state.