Mesmerized by the Beauty

   As our work and play in Italy, France and Greece comes to a close, I am mesmerized.  It is astonishing to me that our family of eight has been able to do these summers for seven summers in a row.  How can I thank God adequately for the blessing He has given us?  As people always say to Ron when he has explained his summer work, "What a job!"
   This summer trip has had the theme of beauty.  Perhaps it really began in the south of France.  I had never seen such beautiful colors, landscapes, mountain ranges, hillside villages.  I had never tasted mussels or baguettes or wine so delicious.  I had never smelled perfume or flowers quite so beautiful.  Although western Europe is close to the U.S. in many ways in terms of modern technology, medicine,  banking systems, and so forth, I felt a light year of distance between me and the locals of Provence.  Their heritage of sheep herding, lavender farming, bread making, fishing, and the like still defines who they are.  If modern Americans identify around Apple devices and having adequate wifi, the locals of Provence identify around beautiful treasures that grow out of the ground, whether it be flowers that make world-famous perfume, or grapes that become world-famous wine.
    The Greeks are no less exemplary for the world in terms of beauty.  The white washed stone structures built into Paleolithic mountainsides, the sunsets that spread of thousands of miles, the deep blue of the Mediterranean Sea, all have a healing power.  They anoint the eyes, cleanse the heart, calm the spirit.  This sea and land is where civilization--what many today would arrogantly call pre-historic only for the incidental, accidental fact that we do not have any recorded history from their rich, personal lives and cultures--first sprang.  The Mediterranean Sea has no sharks because it is a sea, not an ocean.  It is temperate, never getting too cold.  It is life-giving.  The climate, the land, the fertility, the accessibility from island to island all contribute to a happy, delightful springing forth of human culture.  Being there for so long, it finally made such intuitive sense to me why it is the birthplace of who we are.

Goat and Rooster

Ron, Annie, Sebastian and I ventured into the villages on the backside of the mountain on Naxos.  We found fishing villages and little clusters of goat herders and shepherds.  At sunset, we sat at a restaurant with an outdoor terrace and ordered.  What were we going to eat?  We might as well eat local.  So, we got roasted rooster, grilled sheep sausage, and chunks of goat meat.  We got a huge platter of local goat and sheep cheese with local, Naxos honey drizzled all over it.  We ordered zucchini balls with tzaziki sauce that was perhaps the best tasting food I have ever had--I could eat that every day.  We drank red wine from Macedonia--the only" imported" item on the table.  It was absolutely to die for.  Everything was so flavorful, so delicious, so outrageously wonderful.

Island Time: Vacation Part II

Day 7: Sebastian and Wesley had lots of swim time, and I absolutely loved watching them play in the Mediterranean Sea!

Ron and I had a date night at the Labyrinth restaurant, a wonderful place on the old town.  After a rough start tasting wine from Santorini, and after much deliberation, we wound up with a shockingly good wine from Macedonia.

Day 8:   The next day, Hunter, Stephanie, Jacob, Mary and I went to the Archaeological Museum of Naxos.  We saw remains of the neolithic period, as well as early Cycladic statues and artifacts from the Bronze Age, 3rd millennium BC.

Today, the six divers passed their scuba test!  Leigh scraped by with a 78 (you had to have a 75 to pass), but she wins major points for considering it a real possibility that fish might nibble at her because they think she is "fish food"!

We had a wonderful dinner at an outdoor restaurant with a garden patio.  The food was truly fine cuisine, and the cousins ruled the roost at their own table. Hunter and Stephanie gave Annie a lesson on the refugee crisis and ways we can help.  

I told them about Wesley telling me that he hoped he could make a billion dollars so that his parents could retire and help the refugees full time--a precious sentiment from a 14 year old!

Day 9: This was the day of the BIG REEF DIVE for the divers.  Ron went with them on the boat out to the reef.  The divers had a great time exploring.  What an accomplishment!
      This evening, Hunter took us up to a mountain top restaurant called Rotunda.  It was a stone's throw from Mount Zas cave, where legend has it, Zeus was raised as a child, hiding out from Cronos who wanted to swallow him (as he had Zeus' brothers and sisters).  The restaurant was so beautiful and the view the best I might have ever seen.  What a joy to be together in this beautiful place!

Day 10: Hunter and Stephanie took all 13 of us out on a sailboat.  Captain Yannis brought us around the island to beautiful coves and bays.  Such beautiful water!  The ride was so restful and peaceful.

 This time with our cousins was an incredible joy.  It was one of our family's best vacations ever.  We love our cousins so much, and felt at home with them.  How our kids all enjoyed their bonding time!  Thank you, Hunter, Stephanie, and triplets, for joining us in Greece!  We love you!

Our Island Vacation

Our summer vacation is a much needed rest!

Day 1: We slept in, and then met up with our cousins, Hunter and Stephanie and their triplets, in Athens and had a a great dinner in our favorite outdoor taverna.

Day 2: We took a ferry to Naxos, a beautiful Cycladic island in the heart of Greece.  We ended our day lying on the beach under tiki umbrellas and swimming in the Mediterranean Sea.

Day 3: We had lots of time on the beach, lots of time to read, do art projects, and even take a little nap.  We ended the day with a grownup's dinner on the beach: wooden tables, white table cloths, small tumblers of white wine, fried calamari and courgettes, lamb souvlaki, and lots of laughs.

Day 4: I had  a long run on  the beach and lots of time swimming in the sea.  Ron and Sebastian rented an ATV, which made Sebastian's dreams come true.  I made rice and Greek lentil stew, cut up lots of watermelon.  While Hunter and Stephanie had a date night, the rest of us ended the day with a family movie: "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

Day 5: I took Annie and Sebastian on an ATV ride around the island.  We rode so much that they wanted to be done at the end--I was very content to exhaust Sebastian's desire to ride.

 Meanwhile, 6 older kids began a scuba certification course!  Jacob, Mary, Clare, Leigh, Harrison and Natalie spent four half days doing dives and taking instruction.  What a blast for them.

We ended the day with a pizza dinner in an outdoor taverna.  Sebastian made fast friends with Hunter and Stephanie, playing and goofing off.  Afterwards, everyone came over to our balcony and we had ice cream.

Day 6: The scuba divers went for another day of instruction.  Meanwhile, Wesley and Annie took a bubbles class, an introduction to scuba.  They were outfitted with the gear, and took a one hour shallow dive.  Some of us had lots of time in the beachside cafe by the dive shop, and others of us went to the beach!  Date night for Ron and me.  Thanks, cousins, for watching our kids!

Greece!

How fabulous was the Greece portion of the Summer Rome Program!  We went to Delphi, Athens, Mycenae, Nafplio, Corinth and took a ferry and went island hopping to Hydra and Spetses.  What an amazing history and what a beautiful sea, land and sky!

Here are the ruins at the ancient site of Delphi, one of the best preserved site of ruins in Greece.  I gave a site lecture about the Temple to Apollo, at which resided the Delphic oracle. The oracle said that Socrates was the wisest person in the world.  Socrates heard this and was perplexed.  He knew he was not wise.  But finally, he realized that his wisdom lay in knowing that he did not know--unlike so many others who presume great knowledge.  This is the foundation of Western philosophy.

Here is the stadium at which races were run in Delphi at the equivalent of the Olympic games (the Olympic games were in Olympia, but such games were held in many such cities throughout ancient Greece.)  The games were held after the huge celebration of the feast of Apollo, god of logos, order, and light.  No more child sacrifices; no more chaos.  The Greeks now worship an orderly, honest, righteous god, and along with their religious sacrifices they play music, run, wrestle, race horses, and enjoy their athleticism.  It is a new day, in which life is enjoyed and festivities are part of the religious life.

Here is the Parthenon in Athens, with the gleaming light shining upon this symbol of Western civilization.

Here is the "Harpist," a Cycladic sculpture from 2700 BC.  An artist (sculptor) depicting an artist (musician): no longer a culture trying to survive.  This is a sign of true leisure and comfort.  Plus, it is so beautiful!  The Cycladic sculptures discovered in the early 20th c. influenced artists such as Picasso and Rodin.  The Cycladic civilization is the under-appreciated third great civilization, along with the Minoans and the Myceneans, that ruled the Aegean Sea, before the arrival of those whom we think of as the "ancient Greeks" of Athens, Sparta and the other city-states.  

Here is a cup that is from 6500 BC.  Can you even imagine how long ago that was?  If it has been 2000 years since the birth of Christ, and 2000 years before that that Abraham lived in Canaan, this cup is more than two more of those 2000 year blocks.  It's so lovely, you could sell something like it in Starbucks.

Island hopping was a great delight!

Ciao, Italy

I have loved being here in Italy this month!  I have enjoyed the sunsets, vineyard, wine and lovely Italian people.  I love the birds chirping, the wind blowing, and the air so comfortable that one does not even need air conditioning.  I love the food, the Masses, and the priests and nuns.
    Ciao, Italy!

The Dignity of the Human Person

How lovely and enriching to be here in Rome.  Our class is investigating three possible grounds for human dignity: human reasoning and the power to know objective truth (including mathematics, laws of physics, and so forth), the power of self-determination (freedom), and the capacity to love others.