Language Barrier

Yes, I took one year of college Italian. That was... about 12 years ago now. At the end of my final quarter, I did manage to pass the final (an informal conversation with the Prof on a random topic with no dictionary or notes!) by the skin of my teeth. Today... well, I remember enough to kind of know how things are pronounced when I read them. But then when those words come out of my mouth, they still don't sound like what's in my head.

So because Italians don't walk around with flash cards attached to their chests, I have memorized a few key phrases:

Sono allergica peperoni.
I am allergic to peppers.

Non mangia pesce.
I don't eat fish.

Non mangia equina.
I don't eat horse meat.

Dove si trova l'internet point.
Where is the internet cafe?

Accettate la carta di credito?
Do you accept credit cards?

Parli inglese?
Do you speak English?

Non parla italiano.
I do not speak Italian.

Non sono d'accordo con President Bush - sono liberale.
I do not support President Bush - I am a liberal.

Quando e aperto il museo?
When does the museum open?

Dove il bagno?
Where is the bathroom?

Italy 2008 Itinerary

Here is a brief Itinerary of our trip.

3/31 Monday - Depart Seattle
4/01 Tuesday - Arrive Venice
4/05 Saturday - Leave Venice, Drive, Arrive Florence
4/12 Saturday - Leave Venice, Drive, Arrive Como
4/13 Sunday - Leave Como, Drive, Arrive Ravenna
4/15 Tuesday - Leave Ravenna, Drive, Arrive Siena
4/16 Wednesday - Leave Siena, Drive, Arrive Rome
4/21 Monday - Depart Rome, Arrive Amsterdam
4/22 Tuesday - Depart Amsterdam, Arrive Seattle

We should be checking our email regularly - all our hotels have some sort of on-site internet access (no small feat!).

Maiden Voyage... er, Post

I used to worship the mighty genius of Michelangelo - that man who was great in poetry, painting, sculpture, architecture - great in everything he undertook. But I do not want Michelangelo for breakfast... I like a change, occassionally.

- Mark Twain, from The Innocents Abroad

So I might as well start things from the beginning, and the above quote about sums me up quite well. I adore Mark Twain and Michelangelo, and I just couldn't have expressed the sentiment any better. I discovered Mark Twain as a preteen, and then Michelangelo my senior year of high school.

Mark Twain didn't make me keen to tour the Mississipi (although I have visited his hometown in Missouri) - but Michelangelo left me desperate to visit Italy. Especially Florence. But that was just a daydream for years, completely unreachable in my mind. So in college I chose Italian to meet my language requirement, and took a class in Renaissance Art History. All this did was fan the flames of lust, not quench them.

So here we are, 17 years later, and I'm finally going to see my dreamboat. Well, his art anyway. Eric and I are going to Italy for three weeks! I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop - I'm so paranoid that something catastrophic will happen to keep me from that plane, that when it snowed on Friday I almost giggled like a lunatic. Can you imagine, Seattle getting snowed in when I'm supposed to finally make my pilgrimage?! The feeling was exactly the same as the moment the doctor told me I had Pink Eye two days before my wedding. All of the planning, and who could foresee something like that? So snow. Three days before we leave. You either have to laugh or cry.

I will leave you with an image - probably my favorite piece of art ever.



The original full-sized image can be found here.