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Published: September 22nd 2006
Quick Notes:
1. "Red Light Stupido"! Driving here is scary and we're only in Northern Italy. They say it gets worse the farther south you go. I'm thinking of leaving the car in a garage and taking the trains.
2. Life lesson - if you buy something for $7,000 and sell it a few weeks later for $250,000, something is probably wrong. (See below).
3. Italian men are like peacocks. They wear flashy colors, bright red shoes, and love to strut.
ITALY! we love the pizza and the pasta and are getting fatter by the minute!
We pulled into Verona in the late afternoon and went into town on the bus for dinner. the bus managed to foil us twice--both on the way there and on the way back. those tricky italians!
we found a wine bar in town that was recommended by our guidebook, but we got lost on the way and spoke in italian to some guy at a gas station to ask for directions. i was very proud because i had learned how to say "where is..." in italian and the guy knew what i meant and answered back in italian and we actually understood. we were very proud. anyway, this wine bar was great because we met this crazy austrian there who is wanted in the US. he apparently bought some roman marble bust at a flea market or something and decided to list it on Christies to see how much he could get for it, and turns out it sold for 250000 in NY. well, turns out it was stolen many years ago, so the US authorities asked him to come to NY for questioning. well this guys lawyer told him not to go because they would "just keep you there forever" so he didn't go and now he is wanted! he was such a character and bought us asti spumante (like champagne) just because he is that kind of guy and he liked us.
The bus ride home was also entertaining. we missed our bus and caught the last one by chance, but our campsite apparently closed early, so we were worried we would have to scale the wall. we were communicating this to the bus driver (or rather, Christina was) in a Spano-italian mix with wild gesturing. it was hilarious and he finally got it and was laughing so hard. luckily the gate wasn't locked when we got back. in case you were wondering how the bus driver could be paying attention to such antics while driving, rest assured the italian bus system is very efficient and must stop at certain stops for 10 full minutes before moving on. this is where we had our conversation.
ok, so verona was fun. the sights themselves were a little dull--a roman arena that is the 3rd oldest in the world but so updated to modern standards that even pearl jam plays there, and then Juliets balcony. but its not really her balcony, its one that looks like one she might have had. but this didnt stop the tourists. there were sooooo many people packed into this courtyard--and on a tuesday! we then headed for Bologna
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Jon Lim
non-member comment
wanted...
That Austrian guy is probably on one of our databases at work. The feds would almost certainly spot him as soon as his passenger info is sent, or definitely by the time they scan his passport. You know, you could've bought it off his hands for $8000 and still turned a good profit. Haha!