Opera, awkward Australians, and Harry Potter

Verona was nice. Dave and I did get to see an opera from the festival, which are performed in a humongous amphitheater. It was nice, but it was Verdi (Aida), who isnt mz favorite to begin with, and I found the production... rather trashy. It was definitely a tourist attraction.

After Verona, Dave and I spent our last three days together getting lost in the muggy heat of Venice. Unfortunately, no non-platonic activities took place... ever. Im sure he was aware of my lust (for lack of a more fitting word) for him, but I think he chose to let it pass by. Oh well. We said our goodbyes and parted wazs last night, he on a night train to Paris, and I on one to Vienna.

When I disembarked, I immediately sought out a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It would be a lie to say I didnt feel a little pang of emotion knowing it had already been available in Europe for over 9 hours and I hadnt even started on it. I procured a room in the hostel closest to the train station and began. 12 hours later, here I am, finished. It was quite enjoyable.

Been to and going

So I've been with Dave ever since we met up in Rome. After a few days there (including a day trip to Pompei) we shuffled on up to Florence for a few nights. It was amazing. Our Ceiling had a 16th century fresco painted on it (I mean... the ceiling of our room, not the hotel). Apart from that, Michaelangelo's David was intense. Everyone said it would be, but you can't understand until you've seen it. I captured a few illegal shots before we took off. Also, the gelato in Florence can't be beat. We were told by some locals where the best gelato was, and they were right. The day we left, we went there 3 times for breakfast (I'm on holiday, no judgind alowed).

We went through Pisa and spent the night in Lucca, hometown of my friend, Giaccomo Puccini. Since then, we've been in the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera, which is too beautiful for words. It's five really small towns, and even though Dave and I have a platonic relationship, I think we've caused waves with the locals (they always chat and stare when we walk around, only augmented by the fact that our mini-apartment is on the central square). Last night we splurged for a four-course dinner in the nicest restaurant they have, and three older American ladies just could not stop staring at us. In retaliation we decided to hold hands and make googley eyes at each other, so as to watch them squirm. We ran into them again today on the hiking paths between cities, and it was pretty funny.

We leave tomorrow for Verona, where hopefully we'll get to catch an opera. Then it's on to Venice (where I'll be when Harry Potter comes out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), at which point we part ways. It's okay, though, because he's going to come visit KY for a vegan week sometime in the future, and I'm going to start writing Harlequin novels to finance a shopping adventure to southeast Asia, where he will accompany me (he's... got money).

Much love,
Scott

A change in plan

So I had an absolutely wonderful time in Munich. I saw several operas and went to some really interesting art galleries, and got an autograph from my beloved Edita Gruberova (and learned how to actually pronounce her name!!).

I went into Innsbruck, Austria on Friday, and hated it. There wasn't much to do at the time (hiking and skiing trips leave at 8 every morning only) and I was feeling really homesick and lonely. I decided to take a major shift in my plans and take a night train down to Rome, which is where I currently am.

Yesterday was fun, and today was been great. I've been palling around with an Australian fellow named Dave, who has been a lot of fun. Tomorrow I'm going on a day trip to Naples and Pompeii, and then Tuesday I'll finish off Rome with a trip to the Vatican and St. Peter's. Next stop (in theory) is Siena, a quiet village south of Florence.

Germany, here I am. Yesterday was rough. My plane was delayed two hours and I never got to the small town I intended to... but it turned out okay. I got into Munich about an hour ago, and I'm going to hang out here until Friday.

I'm aware I haven't written for several weeks. There have been many reasons, all of which are boring and beside the point now. I have many things to talk about, but internet time abroad isn't free, and there are always things that one would rather do. I'm afraid the majority of my updates until I get homw will mainly be little blurbs like this. If you have specific questions, e-mail me, because it's always nice to log into the internet and find a full mailbox with letters from friends.

Con amor,
Scott