Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1922-08-09
ANOTHER FROM PORTER
al Wanderer's DiarY

| it being Sunday and free day, that
was the cost of the trip, except tipped
q gentleman 3 lire who showed me
beautiful marble tomb outside Vesuve
gate and took me up to see panorama
of city. Returning had dinner; bread,
macaroni with grated cheese and to-
mato sauce, beefsteak and potatoes,
small bottle red wine, Sc cents Have
only a few days left to test the wines
of Italy and see no bad resuts so far,
and / feel none from a small glass of
the red or white wine they drink here.
/ 1t IS pretty weak and most anybody
would enjoy it. Pompeii is a larger
city than it was in 1910 and they will
uncover more of it ere long. was in
terested in the amphitheater made Of
| blocks of marble. Viroqua Park has
an excellent place for an amphitheater
above where the chautauqua tent is
pitched and such an auditorium, seat
| ing thousand would come very handy
i in summer months. The water for
Pompeii came from q mountain near
Vesuvius in Roman cement pipes or
| aqueducts and connection with the
fountains was made by lead pipes
made by bending strips of metal into
tubes. In the Rome museum there
are such lead pipes foot in diameter.
| July 3-Went to Cooks to get my
grip left there May "a. Charges IS
cents. Got $40 converted into 210 lire.
/ July Rose at and 70 rode or
express train to Rome where arrived
at 2. Fare IL lire, s2.05. Paid por-
| tiers as cents. Dined at Rome station
restaurant. Got room in fine Pension
Santa Maria which / eft amonth ago.
Got letter from wife dated June 16.
| First news from u S. in IS days. u.
| S. embassy flag flung July 4, little
dinky one like have at home.
July 5--Went to tomb of Adrian at
ten; to st. Peters later and Cameo
men got $3.50 of my money. Last one
| / got was made in Vatican factory
where they have a school. Rode by
| trolley to st. Pauls lovely cathedral
outside the wall. A grand church
with very mediocre facade or entrance
and some PAS great columns. The
3 trolley rides | took today of or 3
miles cost cents. for the three. In
evening rested an hour in one of the
glorious little churches near my room
Hate to cave Rome but must do FL
renze as they call Florence.
\ July 6-Must visit u. S. embassy
close by this morning to find where is
nearest German Consul | can get to
wise my passport. Must go to Cook
for ten dollars of Italian money to use
in Florence and Venice and get new
rates for board and seats at 0beram-
ergau as | will send u. S. money di-
/ rect to Mrs. Anton Lang and pay old
prices / paid in 1910. These lovely
people are not charging enough, /
readhave got away with $500 in Sc
days, or 1884 per day; that is.
July LEFT Rome for Florence
early and got fine room 2 days at hotel
de Ia Care for one dollar, Rail fore,
$40. Went to cathedral, and 10 tof
artists churches. They tell us that
Florence was the focus of Italy's intel
lectual life from the middle ages on
ward. The Florentines we're great
reasoners and had artistic talent end
commercial ability. They have dis
covered pre-Etruscan tombs which
leads to the belief that it was a popu-
lous center 5000 years ago. 1t is in
the valley of the Arno and well named
"City of Flowers" 1t is too hot for
work, hence ! am going north of the
lAlps.
July S-Went over the city; visited
Santa Croce, the Florentine Pantheon.
Lombardy is quite dairy section;
they are raising much corn for forage
as well as alfalfa. Italy is all one
! great garden.
July Sunday. Did the Ufizzi and
Pitt galleries today. The Pitt Pal
ace of itself is the richest palace re-
member of having seen. The collec-
ton in it is very valuable one. The
admission is 10 cents. The Ufizzi ga
lery is joined to the Pitt galleries by a
covered bridge crossing the Arno. No
admission was charged at the Ufizzi
gallery. Nearly all museums in Eu-
rope are open free, Sundays to visit
ors. Wen ito funeral in great church
in afternoon; much chanting; many
candles feet long lighted his soul
through purgatory.
| July 10-Left Florence $40 for Mi
lano; arrived q; got room for 81 cents
a day; fine quiet clean front room; run
onto two Laiteries or little clean milk
shops. Had some bread and milk in
one. Bet I'll live on milk in the Swiss
country. Have not tasted butter since
i left Jerusalem. Met Mr.. Hanson
and the two round the world boys /
rode with in the Arabian desert. They
went to Venice. cut that out because
of heat. Expect the min Milan the
18th. Florence and Milan ZIG miles,
fare 1922.
July Invent German Consulate.
Got visa to enter Germany. He took
100 lire or 1878 at price paid for lire.
Now with two dollars NOR efor a Ba-
varian Police permit to remain, hope
/ am done paying for visas--about s57
so far that passport has cost me be-
sides miles of travel hunting Consul
ates and hours of waiting or lining up
with Arabs, Negroes, Jess, Armeni-
ans, Greks, Turks, Franciscan friars,
and in Rome with four fine young
priests from New Jersey going to o.
Iberamergau. If Joe Beck can move
the Congress to abolish this curse, he
viii gain the eternal gratitude of the
tourist everywhere.
July 12-It rained at and hailed
real hard and snow whitened the AL
pine peaks farther north. First rain
lclouds and rain have seen for IS days.
Country south of Milan is parched and
dry; north a few miles everything is
green. Did Milan cathedral in a. m.
There are 1900 large stained glass
panes below the roof and some 1000
statues; it is the largest gothic ca
htedral in the world except Seville ca
thedral in Spain. They W re relaying
blocks of the mosaic floor while wor-
shippers were nearby. A cameo deal
er did thriving business out in front
with four American ladies. He made