A little bit of catch-up

Since I have been a bit of a slacker I will just group a couple stories into this post. There seems to be a pattern here. Anyway, I had a great time in Cinque Terre. It is about a 3 hour train ride, but that is only because you have to stop at approximately 389 different cities along the way. Although it took unecessarily long, it was fascinating to see the countryside through a train window.

One example are the large mountains just outside of Pisa. The whole side of the mountain looks as though it has been blown off. It looked like Mt. St. Helens but instead of the top it blew out the side. I came to find out that this was where marble comes from and after using the same place for thousands of years it is a little worn down. I tried to get a picture, but none of them turned out to be able to see what I am talking about. When I go back to Pisa I will try to get something better to look at.

After arriving in the Cinque Terre the landscape changes, as you can see from previous pictures. It was fun to walk around on all the paths throughout the region and take in the views. One afternoon I was eating in a cafe on the water and after realizing I spoke english a wonderful lady struck up a conversation. She ended up being an author and will be sending me her book when printing get done in the Fall. She had many grandchildren approaching my age and I think she was surprised by the entertainment. It was fun and just one of the strange, enjoyable encounters I have had.

On our way back to Florence we got stuck in a tiny rail station for a couple hours. We still don't know what happened exactly, but rumor was there was a firre in the engine cabin of a train and it forced all the other trains to stop and wait until the tracks were cleared. By the time we got home we were pretty tired, but felt the Jazz Club calling. Yes, in case you are wondering I am a member of the only Jazz Club in Florence. I have the member card to prove it. The duo that night ended up being fantastic and we were glad we ignored sleep and went for a listen. You can check them out at www.emiblues.com. If you go to the site make sure to check out the mp3 section and specifically the duo stuff.

So I have met a writer, discoverd ablues band and yet I save one of the best for last. Every Monday and Tuesday the local theater plays movies in their original english. I decided it was time to watch a little Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull mostly because it was unbearably hot and it is one of the only places with air conditioning. While waiting for the movie to play sitting with my ice cold Heineken in the air conditioning I met...wait for it...a voice over guy. Yep he had all the tricks and I am sure you have seen many of his infomercials on a late night channel surf. He was an odd fellow, but very entertaining as you can imagine. I am getting so much more from this trip than I could have imagined. It is a great experience and hope that each of you get to do something similar someday.