Verona

A month since my first post. So, you think I'm lazy,eh? Well, you're right. But that wasn't the reason for my complete inactivity. The last month was packed, I tell ya, packed. We, SET students made a trip to Italy which was sheer brilliance. Add to that, a bunch of parties, a barbecue, Quakelive and lots of assignments. Now you get the picture. You'll notice that 'assignments' was keyed in last. That was intentional, because that's precisely what's been happening. I guess its time to pick up the slack and continue plowing forward. But, before I scoot, a brief word on the trip to Italy.

We drove down to Verona on 13th of May, via Germany and Austria (now that's a story for later). We spent 2 days in Verona and 1 in Venice. Lads, the place is amazing. Put it on your to-do-before-I-die list. Verona is a quaint charming little city. Its got old cathedrals, an arena and other touristy things. But since I'm not a fan of the touristy things, I'm gonna take you straight to the traveller stuff. The city was pretty safe (We were wandering around at eleven in the night without being hassled). But still leave your valuables and passport and things at home base. The Piazza Bra in the city centre serves thick, hot chocolate. Pretty neat stuff (read: you need to try it). Beer is expensive, but who needs beer when you're in wine country, heh heh. Apparently Verona is known for its horsemeat. Cavallo is a local speciality. Well, I hunted around for the stuff, but didn't find any, so I settled for the standard issue pasta and pizza. There's something about eating Italian food in Italy. Its..its.. authentic. (Heh heh heh...precisely the word I was looking for). So when you get there, make sure you stock up on the food and wine.
Now, like I said before plenty of tourist traps in this place. Romeo and Juliet lived here (the original pre-Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet), so their houses and tombs and what not are scattered about in various locations in the city. But, if you want my opinion, you should skip all this, pick up a map and go to the main Piazza's, where the good Italian folk congregate. The scenes that greet your eyes are more or less like that you saw in Hannibal. Remember? The scenes in Florence? Ha ha..of course you do. But Florence (I'm told) has got more of the fancy medieval stuff. Italian folk are also interesting. Everyone dresses up to impress. Some dress to kill. I felt pretty inadequate there, with my jeans and T-shirt (but, only for a little while). So just walk down marble lined streets, take in the sights, enjoy a refereshing Gelato....... What’s that? You don't know what a Gelato is? Its ice-cream laddie, Italian ice-cream. I was hooked on the stuff. There are Gelateria's at every street corner, by the way. Italians are hooked on the stuff as well.
Want a panoramic view of the city? Walk up to San Pietro's Castel. It’s located on a hill. The views from the top are mind boggling. Watch out for couples who make out, though. They're all over the place, exchanging deep kisses, only disengaging momentarily to come up for fresh air. Italians are passionate, all right; you don't need to tell me twice.
Also, plenty of students in Verona. No idea why. I didn't see a University, but there they were anyway. On our second night in Verona, we went to a student pub. The place was chock full. Even the stairwell was crowded. The air conditioning had kicked the bucket before we walked in. So picture the scene: Musty, dim lit, hot with sweaty students dancing to some cheesy Italian rock band. We stayed there until closing time. Well, nothing fancy about this place, just a typical student rat-hole....something like Pecos, back home. But, of course, Pecos is no rat-hole. Heh heh heh....
Before I end, a couple of memorable quotes from some memorable (unnamed) folk:
“What do you think I am, a junkie?????” and
“Hey, are you a smart-ass or are you just trying to be a smart-ass?”
Hahahahahahaha……
Ok, enough for now.
Next time: Venice.