trapani weather

It was 77 degrees in Trapani earlier this week. Here is a link to the weather.  Put your cursor on the line and click. A button will appear below it that says, Go to Link, click that and it takes you to the weather site.

http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Trapani+Italy+ITXX0077

Anzio 30-50 Euro a day

I have to decide by November 1, if I want to stay so close to Rome as Anzio. What we discussed is a charge of 35 euro a day when I am there by myself and up to 50/day when I have guests. It would be convenient for folks flying into Rome. I had planned to travel further north, but it is likely that it would be warmer to some degree in Anzio.

If you are interested in this area, please post a Comment on the blog, email or call!

Irene

Cinque Terra Coast

I have not yet committed to a place on the mainland of Italy after I leave Sicily. I am negotiating for various places for April and May. Have a look at these options on the Cinque Terra coast.

http://www.ferienhausmiete.de/ferienhaus_details.php?obj_nr=15844

When you click this link, it will be in German. Go up to the far right corner where you will see several flags. Click the British flag to change the wording to English. Then look at some of the listings.

Irene

Marlowe a Mason? A Free Thinker?

Came across an interesting idea in a book a few weeks ago. Some guy said that the description of the scene when Marlowe is killed is reminiscent of a Masonic Temple initiation. Marlowe was in a tavern with three other men most of the day, walking in the garden and sharing dinner for a period of about 10 hours. He was reportedly laying on the bed after dining while the others played backgammon. There was a dispute over the bill and he reportedly attacked another man with that man's knife. Ultimately the other man stabbed him through the right eye and Marlowe died. An inquest was held 24 hours after the death was revealed. He was buried in a mass grave the same day. Was he assassinated like Hiram or was it homicide in self defense as the survivors' claimed?

I read the same story in several accounts, with much debate among scholars. This one is from Elijahprofet.net: "According to the Masonic legend, Hiram Abiff was a man of Tyre, the son of a widow, and the chief architect of the Temple built by King Solomon. He was the central character in the building of the Temple and one of three leading characters along with King Solomon and Hiram, King of Tyre.

Hiram Abiff, Masonry teaches, was the only one on Earth who knew "the secrets of a Master Mason," including the most important secret of all, the "Grand Masonic Word," the name of God (the "ineffable name"). In the Occult,  knowing the name of a spirit is a key to having its power, there was a very great power in knowing this word.

Knowing the other "secrets of a Master Mason" would enable the masons/workmen working on the Temple project to go out on their own, working as Master Masons and earning Master Mason's wages."

Hiram Abiff had promised to reveal the "secrets of a Master Mason," including the name of God ("Grand Masonic Word"), upon completion of the Temple, and to make the workmen Master Masons, enabling them to go out on their own as masters (instead of  "fellowcraft" Masons). One day Hiram went, as was his custom, into the unfinished Holy of Holies at noon ("High Twelve") to worship and to draw up the work plans (on his "trestleboard") for the workmen to follow the next day. The workmen were outside the Temple for their lunch break ("…the craft were called from labor to refreshment…").

As Hiram was leaving the Temple he was accosted by three men in succession, who demanded that they be given the secrets immediately (without waiting for the Temple to be completed). He was handled roughly by the first man (Jubela), but escaped. Accosted and handled roughly by the second man (Jubelo), he again refused to divulge the secrets and again escaped. The third man (Jubelum) then accosted him and, when Hiram again refused to divulge the secrets, the man killed him with a blow to the forehead with a setting maul.

The body was then concealed under some rubbish in the Temple until midnight ("low twelve") when it was taken out to the  a hill and buried. The grave was marked by an Acacia branch, and the three men then tried to leave the country.   They couldn't get  passage on a ship so they retreated into the hills to hide.

King Solomon was notified that these 3 men were missing in addition to Hiram Abiff who was also missing.  Two searches were conducted.  The temple was searched (presumably at the King's request) and none of the men were found.   At this point 12 "fellowcrafts" reported to the King that they and three others had conspired to extort the secrets of Hiram Abiff from him but they had repented and refused to go through with the plan. They informed the King of the three men that murdered Hiram Abiff and King Solomon then sent out a second search party to look everywhere they could and find the body of Hiram Abiff."

Anzio south of Rome

The asking price for this apartment is $3000 euro a month. That is 100 euro/day. More than I can spend. I am negotiating with the owner for a lower rate. I could probably do 50 euro/day if I had some company for some part of that time between April 10-May 25.

The apartment, located at Anzio in the quiet, historic town south of Rome, is three bedrooms kitchen and two bathrooms. It offers 7 beds and a terrace to enjoy admiring the "Paradise" (Liberty casino). It 'just a few minutes walk from the beach, from the central fishing port and train station every hour linking the town to the capital. Enriched by the opportunity to be able to do so comfortably tourism in Rome, stay at Anzio provides a nice clean beach holiday, cultural visits, the ancient Villa of Nero to the historic buildings, the Museum of the Landing Villa Adele and excellent dining with fish specialties can be enjoyed in the typical restaurants.



Following the Allied invasion of Italy in September 1943, American and British forces drove up the peninsula until being halted at the Gustav (Winter) Line in front of Cassino. Unable to penetrate Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's defenses, British General Harold Alexander, commander of Allied forces in Italy, began assessing his options. In an effort to break the stalemate, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill proposed Operation Shingle which called for landings behind the Gustav Line at Anzio (Map).

Lord, what fools these mortals be!

Wait til you here what I did! I was working late one night last week and decided to apply for my passport renewal on line because my work computer has the right version of Adobe for the forms. I Googled the site-National Passport Processing Center. When I opened the link, it said "Express Passport." Said it was authorized by the US government to expedite passports but if you did not need extra time, could also apply on line. I thought the company was a subcontractor to the US government for this function. It said if you need an expedited passport, there is a $99 fee. I didn't need an expedited passport, so I figured I would be paying the regular fee.

I clicked to the next page, which was the payment page. I paid by credit card $139.00 and then completed the on-line form from the US government. That page had a fee schedule that said the renewal was $135.00. It also said that you must pay the exact amount. I was not sure why they would want me to pay the extra $4.00, so I brought it all home and showed to Greg. He just shook his head and said, that is a scam. I said I had paid by credit card, so I would just cancel. He said he thought it unlikely I would get my money back.

Sure enough, I called them, I emailed. They said it was clear on the web page the fee was non-refundable. The said they would credit me $50 but the balance would go toward paying for the mailing labels they were emailing to me. I said I did not want their product or their service and I wanted a full refund. The credit card company said they would challenge it but I am not hopeful. Like I told the guy, I believe him when he says what they are doing is legal, maybe not moral, but probably legal.

Then I went on-line and read a lot of stuff about such companies. I sent my passport renewal by mail to National Passport Processing Center. It should not take long. I am always telling Greg, don't click on a link. Find the site, enter in the browser and go to site directly. Taking my own advice would have come in handy last week. Also a good reason not to work too late/brain drain.

tickets

Greg got our tickets with the help of his cousins, Michael and Ann! We fly to Florida for a Kaufman family wedding January 10, then on to Italy from there about January 13. Greg has decided to stay until after my birthday in April! Wow. Treat for me.

My friend Katy has her tickets as well, after she does a tour in Morocco.

Dagmar, in Berlin, is looking into a place owned by friends of hers on the Cinque Terra coast. I definitely looked at this place on one of the advertised sights, not knowing that a family member knows the owners!

http://www.ferienhausmiete.de/ferienhaus_details.php?obj_nr=15844

See if you can figure out how to translate!