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Laurel & Ric on vacation: Part I – Verona

24 Jul

I hear you cynics out there: You took a vacation, and you live in Rome? Yes friends, we had to get away and see more of this amazing country. Plus we needed to cool off!

First stop, Verona. You know, Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, and Two Gentlemen of Verona. While we made the obligatory stop at “Juliet’s Balcony,” the motivation was to experience this town we’ve heard much about, and to attend an opera in the Arena, a 2000 year old structure much like Rome’s famous Colosseo. It was quite a production.

“Aida” is a huge and fascinating work. Staged in the ancient Arena in Verona, the stage was elaborate and took full advantage of the venue.

I wanted to see Aida, which is four (4!) hours long, starting at 21:15 (very late for Americans), after sundown, when the day starts to be tolerable. Ric almost threw me over the stands when I told him I thought it was three hours long. (Of course I waited to tell him until we were seated with our rather expensive tickets long since paid for.) It turned to be four hours because there are 4 acts and 3 long intermissions, totaling at least an hour, to facilitate changing the elaborate sets. There were dozens of supernumeraries but only about 5 main singing roles. The “supers” filled the stage, climbed to the highest ledges with lighted torches, and generally added to the “really big show.”  It was so riveting, even in Italian with no translation (ah, Portland Opera, you spoiled us!) that Ric stayed awake for almost all of it. (OK, I rested my eyes during some of he particularly long arias too. Just a little. During the really long ones.)

The Arena in Verona used to be twice as tall. Amazing to be able to attend an opera in a 2000-year-old structure!

The Arena begins to fill with opera-goers as the sun fades away and night descends.

In honor of Verdi and the 100th performance of “Aida” many years ago, opera goers are provided candles to simulate a time when there was no light and the opera fans provided it with candles. (Long story; Google it.)

Verona is a very nice little city settled by the Romans in the crook of a river, the Adige. Anchored by beautiful Piazza Bra (nothing to do with women’s lingerie), Verona requires nothing more of one than to stroll, savoring the architecture, the ambience, the food.

Not quite like the Willamette River, the Adige runs fast through Verona, but there are a lot of bridges, green hillsides, and charming architecture. Many bicycles, too. More than we’ve seen since Amsterdam.

In Verona you are still clearly in Italy. But move a little further north, and it’s not so clear. More to come…

What do I miss and Independence Day, Italian-style

4 Jul

A friend recently asked “Is there anything you really miss here?” (“Here” being the U.S., Portland, or my former office depending on context.) He got me to pondering…. After almost 7 weeks in Rome what do I “miss?” The adventure is still new: so much to explore, to learn, to see. But I do miss

  1. People, of course. I used to see my son every day, now niente, although we did “Skype” recently. Dinners with Voyageur Femmes. The great people at my place-of-work in Portland: devoted, smart, fun, challenging (in a good way). V & B, our best pals, dining out together, exploring Portland, big holidays. “Dates” with Jonnie seeing oddball plays and artsy movies. While our family is spread about the country, certainly picking up the phone to chat is not as likely to happen, if only because the 6 to 9 hour time difference makes it tougher.
  2. Cool Portland June. Sometimes called “June-uary,” this Roman heat makes me long for the days I had to use the fireplace in June in Portland. (July is promising more of the same.)
  3. Familiarity. We get lost in Rome. I never got lost in Portland (at least not after the first year or two). Sometimes we head out and never get to our intended destination. All part of the adventure, but tiring when it is 90 degrees.
  4. A large cup of American coffee once-in-awhile so I can sit with my husband for half-an-hour and chit-chat to start the day. But we’ve replaced that with aperitivi. Not a bad substitute.
  5. My furniture. Should come any day now….
  6. The Oregon Zoo, a big part of our lives or so many years. We will miss ZooLaLa this month for the first time in 10 years!

That’s about it. I love my job, love the people I work with, and the location is amazing. Food to die for, markets to dream about, and don’t get me started on the pork salumi! Good thing we walk several miles a day. I do not miss Starbucks as much as some would conjecture. The coffee here is damn fine, and we have our amazing Nespresso machine at home.

As to Independence Day, we were fêted at the Ambassador’s last night, along with 3000 or so others, including Premier Mario Monti.

The crowd gathers in the garden at Villa Taverna

It was definitely a unique 4th-of-July party in an Italy-meets-America sort of way.

La Porchetta, artfully done and oh-so-delizioso!

The menu ranged from hotdogs and hamburgers to porchetta and parmigiano reggiano.I especially enjoyed the Virginia baked ham, which many Italians eyed with suspicion as if thinking “why would you do that to a prosciutto?” There was watermelon, ice cream, and corn-on-the-cob, but also pizza, pasta, and the most impressive cheese table I have ever eaten my way through laid eyes on. Italian wine flowed along with Miller beer. (If you can lay your hands on a bottle of Brachetto d’Acqui, do it. A fine summer red for aperitivi!)  The National Anthem was sung by one of our Marines, and the musical entertainment was 100% American jazz/swing/pop. The party is a hot ticket for Italians: Efforts to secure an invitation endured until the last moment. Italian guests out-numbered Americans by a huge majority. In fact, Ambassador Thorne gave his speech entirely in Italian. Lest you think the U.S. Government spent taxpayer dollars on this largesse, be assured corporate America and L’Italia delle imprese (Italian business) made the evening possible through sponsorships. Crowning the evening, an impressive fireworks display. Happy #236 America!

Fireworks above the carefully trimmed trees of Villa Taverna.  Bravissimo!

Quite a show in the middle of Rome.

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