The mimosa was beautiful while it was in bloom. It just didn't last long.
Everyone has their pots full of flowers now for the season. Since there aren't many yards here in Ancona, pots have to do the job.
We were admiring these gardenias while the owner was tending them and she was lamenting because it wasn't warm enough at the time for them to all be in bloom.
This is the first Ikea that we have ever been inside of. We were taken here early in our mission by the Harmers but we are on our own now.
Collecting some goods for the elders when they added more missionaries to the apartments in Pesaro and Ravenna.
The only way out of that place is to follow the arrows. Anziano Fry says he's never setting foot in an Ikea ever again once we return home.
Besides the frustration of getting out of the store, we still enjoyed the food counter.
Thank goodness for restrooms. There are few and far between in Italy. At least Ikea got that right. They had about 6 different restrooms all with different titles. Family, men, women, etc. I wasn't sure which one to choose.
Sometimes we take our daily walk in Centro. It is beautiful over there. The buildings are well maintained and the bushes and trees are well cared for.
I'm always intrigued by the many walkways and the different designs of the tiles.
Right in the middle of all of the city is a cute little piazza. They have carousels for the children and a few play things.
Even though the traffic is crazy and it's very busy, the Italians seem to love the leisure of afternoon and evening walks and chatting.
We had the opportunity to travel to Siena in March. The Lees, who were serving there, were finishing their mission and had some household items that they were needing to get rid of. We were interested in a few of their things so decided to make the drive.
Siena is located south of Florence and Pisa in the Tuscany region.
They were kind enough to show us around the city. It's beautiful!!! One of my favorite so far. The tourist season hadn't begun so we didn't have to fight the crowds.
Elder and Sister Lee had ordered some ceramics from this lovely little shop so we all stopped by so that they could collect their treasures before going home.
This is the main piazza with the bell tower. Below is a picture of a picture showing the twice a year horse races (Palio) that they hold in the piazza.
They haul in the sand and make the horse track around the outside. The city is divided into neighborhoods or contrada. Each section has a mascot and flag and they each are given a horse to ride for the race. It's a huge event, each contrada rooting for their jockey. When it's all over they take the sand out and life resumes.
My favorite is always the cathedral. They are so beautiful!
Detail of the outside spires.
We weren't sure if the stripes were painted or constructed. I thought it a little odd but very unique.
The ceilings and murals are fantastic.
A couple of last glimpses of the city before leaving.
A couple of shots on the trip home. We went to Siena in about 3 1/2 hours. We didn't have the autostrada for speed and the traffic had glitches. The drive home took about 4 1/2 hours. It was a long day but much enjoyed. Of course the Lees served up a nice lunch of salad and pasta.
Sometimes we get a recommendation from one of the locals or one of the young elders of places to visit that are near Ancona. We had short drive to Loreto to see what all the hype was about.
As always, the main cathedral was beautiful! Here in the piazza a man was doing some chalk drawings. It's so much work and then to think that the next rain will wash it away. He was amazing.
We always look for the organ when we see the organ pipes.
This below is what makes Loreto so famous. Inside this closure is the virgin Mary's house.(or so the tale goes) We were able to enter and look but no pictures were allowed inside. The angels first transported the house to Croatia and later it was brought here where is remains today. This is one of the only cathedrals that we've seen that was obviously very active with clergymen and women. It had a different feeling than the others we've visited.
Some detail of the outer closure that protects the house within.
More murals from the inside of the cathedral. The only bad thing about this short trip was the parking ticket that we received. (misunderstanding of what the disco orario can do) Fortunately it wasn't a very expensive ticket.
One evening we gave the anziani a ride to a neighboring city, Jesi. While they did their teaching, we went for a little stroll looking for some water to drink. Look what we found! Of course we went in for some fries and a soft drink.
Here you have your menu and below you have the dessert bar.
As always you have to avail yourselves to the toilette. (the reference most used in Italy) It's fun to figure out the flushing mechanism because it varies. This one makes more sense to me than any of the others I've seen. It's just a button near the floor that you can push with your foot. Ingenious!!
I've told people here that the only time we use the word toilet is if we are going to go clean it. Others have suggested we also ask when you are sick if you made it to the toilet. The word in Italian for bathroom is bagno. I've never heard it used. Here we mostly see signs for the W.C. or toilette. So on that note, I end this post.
