OH NO - NOT IN ITALY

Talk about treasure hunting...WOW!  Three banks of food plus desserts.  I so wish I had brought my camera to lunch yesterday.  I joined my host and a few of his friends at a organic buffet restaurant.  Now normally I would just go to be social and to pick at things.  Most of those kinds of places from my past serve brown pasta that tastes like cardboard and sauces whose textures and flavors remind me of wallpaper paste but OH NO - NOT IN ITALY. I was in heaven.  All of the food was delicious and the meat dishes (I wrote organic not vegan) melted in my mouth.  What a delicious and healthy hour and a half of gluttony on my part.  I admit it.  I went back for thirds.

I have had an interesting few days. As usual my travel experiences are not usual.  My host had to work all day on Saturday and then had an out of town conference so he didn't get back until late Sunday afternoon.  This turned out great because I could write and sleep and get over my jet lag grumpies all by myself.  Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous sunny warm day, a real gift or treasure if we are keeping with the previous theme here.  I set my alarm for 9:00 and headed toward the old town, so I thought.  Usually it is about a 45 minute walk IF if you are going in the correct direction.  I wasn't.  I got lost.

About 15 minutes into my adventure I realized I needed help.  I had a map with only a few street names on it and I wasn't walking on any of them.  I saw a man in his 50's in a suit in front of his house cleaning out his car. He was shaking his car mats.  "Scusi, Lei capiche l,inglese?"  I am getting good at that question.  My inflection is now excellent.  "Si, un po."  He tried to explain where I was and how to get where I thought I should be and then simply offered to drive me to the dot I had put on the map.  Seriously Patt?  You are going to get into a car with a stranger?  YUP.  I sensed no danger at all.  He was being helpful.  Go with your gut not your programming.  That kind five minute ride really helped to get me back on my planned path.  

A half hour of walking later I reached the old city.  I spent seven hours walking around, taking photos, enjoying the warm sun.  It was wonderful.  Usually you buy a day pass for entering the museums and churches as it can be expensive to pay for them individually but of course I decided to sight see on the first Sunday of the month when all the sites are discounted to just one euro.  Nice.

I got back to my host's apartment about 15 minutes before he did.  When he arrived he whisked me straight away to METRO (the Italian version of COSTCO and SAM'S CLUB) and bought me a new phone.  Yes, he bought me a new phone.  I tried to pay him (it was only 25 euros but still...come on).  GRAZIE CHE.  How nice of him.  "Now I can get in touch with you."  Yes, now I am textable and callable.  If you want my number email me and I will send it along.

Monday my host had a lot of work and I decided it was time for payback.  I decided to do one of the things that I do pretty well which is help out in the marketing of a workshop/event he and his non-profit organization is presenting in July.  I wrote some copy, found the quietest corner of the apartment possible, flicked on my voice recorder and did my thing.  Then I threw the audio file into an editing program, asked him for photos to match the promo and made a video to be put on youtube.  That kept me busy.  But I wasn't done. Later I made him sit down and chat with me about the workshop topic of Siberian Shamanism.  I edited that up this morning.  Once he gets home from work we'll transfer it to his computer and then transfer me to the train station.  My work is done here for now in Verona.  I have an artist/cook waiting for me in Vicenza.  I should be there in this evening.  I will arrive hungry.

Oh and what is the Italian word of the day?  VESPA.  Why?  Because I love this photo and I want a ride.

photos:  The Arena, The Castle, The Adige River, The City, Lover's Locks by Juliet's Balcony

(Of course I have many more photos but I guess you will have to meet up with me after my trip and share a coffee and an afternoon of stories that don't make it to the public blog.  Uploading is taking forever.  Google keeps switching me to Italian.)

UPDATE!  I have now created a video slide show and uploaded it to youtube so you can see the many images of Verona captured by my camera.  But still when I get back let's take a coffee together anyway. :)