its been good fun in the italia the last week. we just got back from going to Martina's graduation. I didn't really understand a whole lot of what was going on (not too keen on the law words), but apparently the thesis presentation was a success, so she is on to the graduate school part. last night was watching their salsa dancing class and some very very good bruschetta.
the places so far:
venezia: walk, walk, walk, walking. bridges and churches and squares. we found a great place for lunch that was right off the main street and not made or priced for the tourists. and the indiana jones church, which is no longer a library but is currently housing the ever touring da vinci machine exhibition-i saw it about three years ago with my mom somewhere else in italy. very nearly falling into a canal; if it wasn't for a small piece of rope attached to the side of a wall, it would have been all over, with camera number four gone in a year. lesson learned, do not walk on the black marble. it is slippery.
milano: a communist union party rally and, later in the same square, TRL (mtv's total request live) Italia. the great duomo and some quick thinking to get onto the roof (you can't tell us its closed). the last supper; way bigger than i thought. and whoever thought it would be genius to put in a giant door into the last supper wall, didn't put a lot of thought into it. it really is unbelievable. The city is quite the land of fashion and i was finally able to buy the european jacket that i've had in my mind. next up a backpack (invicta to be specific for the italian fans), but it is a strange thing. every single person has one, but they are not sold anywhere. seriously, nowhere. looks like it will have to be www.ebay.it for me.
verona: be the first into the arena, don't trust the city maps, and buy the day passes for all the sights. juilette's balcony was actually kind of cool. for some reason nobody goes into any of the places, so it felt bad standing out on juilette's balcony while every else was trying to take a picture from the ground. they obviously did not purchase the day pass. the most impressive for me was the castle. i like to imagine the places i go as how they were when they were made. with things like the gladiator arena it takes more imagination on my part and is probably not very close to how things really were. but the castle made it easy to see things from long ago. something about walking the castle walls at night with all of the bow and arrow slots. the imagination didn't have to work very hard. we also tried climbing the hill to a castle that over looks the city. it was a good walk up, but by the time we got to the top we were engulfed in cloud, so not much to see.
it's great seeing Mattia's home and family and friends. they are all good people. the chocolate is perfect. i am determined to purchase a proper hot chocolate machine. i think that is the only way to go.have a good day
your friend
chad
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