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Hanging with Haeusers
Apr. 12th, 2007 11:19 amWhat a week so far!
Well I know why I don't work on computers anymore. I just got to a new
internet cafe and couldn't figure out how to make the computers work
(sometimes you need a password, sometimes the clerk has to activate it)
and I was being given an instruction I didn't understand. Finally the
clerk came over and pressed the button on the front - so now I know how to
say "turn it on" in Italian...
Tuesday I had what the Aerial Angels call an "Italian Experience". I
asked a few cops on Monday (female, of course) for information about
busking, and was told to talk to the Municipal Police. I went down to
that office the next morning (when I first went there on Monday it had
closed 11 minutes earlier) and they told me to go to another office. When
I got there I was told the guy who knew the rules wasn't in yet, and after
a half hour of waiting was told that they would call me when he got in.
Evening starts to roll around with no call, so I said "screw it" and set
up on a promising looking street and played for two hours, doing very
well. I have no idea if it was legal (only one cop passed me, it was
during a CD sale so I wasn't actually playing, he was on a bike, and while
he gave me the Hairy Eyeball he didn't say anything - maybe because he was
off duty, maybe he just didn't care, maybe it's legal after all). So who
knows!
Yesterday I trained down to Florence to meet Katie and Jaime Haeuser -
Katie's choir is touring the Big Three (Rome, Florence, and Venice) and
Jaime is chaperoning. What a blast! I have to admit that after three
months here yesterday is one of the highlights for me. We went to the
Pitti Palace (I'd never gone), the Palazzo Vecchio (I never knew there was
a museum inside!), and the Boboli Gardens. The Gardens were what really
wowed me because I've seen a LOT of Italian Renaissance gardens (which is
why I'd never bothered to go before) but these were absolutely stunning.
I took them to the leather store where I'd hit my head and gotten a huge
discount a year ago February (some of you might remember the story, I'm
fond of repeating it) and they remembered me! That was impressive, if
embarassing. Unfortunatly they didn't have what I was looking for in a
new pair of shoes, and if I'm going to drop $200 on shoes they'd better be
perfect! It was a gorgeous day, and capped by an absolutely stunning
evening meal where I ate WAY more than I should have (I always seem to
forget that wine makes me think I have a bottomless stomach). It was just
so much fun to hang out with the girls (as well as Jaime's friends among
the chaperones and Katie's friends among the choristers)! I'm still
impressed by Katie getting Nutella on her toes without getting it on her
white shirt.
Today I'm recovering, and trying to put together my itinerary for the rest
of my trip. Just over a month left, it seems hard to believe!
Well I know why I don't work on computers anymore. I just got to a new
internet cafe and couldn't figure out how to make the computers work
(sometimes you need a password, sometimes the clerk has to activate it)
and I was being given an instruction I didn't understand. Finally the
clerk came over and pressed the button on the front - so now I know how to
say "turn it on" in Italian...
Tuesday I had what the Aerial Angels call an "Italian Experience". I
asked a few cops on Monday (female, of course) for information about
busking, and was told to talk to the Municipal Police. I went down to
that office the next morning (when I first went there on Monday it had
closed 11 minutes earlier) and they told me to go to another office. When
I got there I was told the guy who knew the rules wasn't in yet, and after
a half hour of waiting was told that they would call me when he got in.
Evening starts to roll around with no call, so I said "screw it" and set
up on a promising looking street and played for two hours, doing very
well. I have no idea if it was legal (only one cop passed me, it was
during a CD sale so I wasn't actually playing, he was on a bike, and while
he gave me the Hairy Eyeball he didn't say anything - maybe because he was
off duty, maybe he just didn't care, maybe it's legal after all). So who
knows!
Yesterday I trained down to Florence to meet Katie and Jaime Haeuser -
Katie's choir is touring the Big Three (Rome, Florence, and Venice) and
Jaime is chaperoning. What a blast! I have to admit that after three
months here yesterday is one of the highlights for me. We went to the
Pitti Palace (I'd never gone), the Palazzo Vecchio (I never knew there was
a museum inside!), and the Boboli Gardens. The Gardens were what really
wowed me because I've seen a LOT of Italian Renaissance gardens (which is
why I'd never bothered to go before) but these were absolutely stunning.
I took them to the leather store where I'd hit my head and gotten a huge
discount a year ago February (some of you might remember the story, I'm
fond of repeating it) and they remembered me! That was impressive, if
embarassing. Unfortunatly they didn't have what I was looking for in a
new pair of shoes, and if I'm going to drop $200 on shoes they'd better be
perfect! It was a gorgeous day, and capped by an absolutely stunning
evening meal where I ate WAY more than I should have (I always seem to
forget that wine makes me think I have a bottomless stomach). It was just
so much fun to hang out with the girls (as well as Jaime's friends among
the chaperones and Katie's friends among the choristers)! I'm still
impressed by Katie getting Nutella on her toes without getting it on her
white shirt.
Today I'm recovering, and trying to put together my itinerary for the rest
of my trip. Just over a month left, it seems hard to believe!
