It got terribly hot, and we stopped in for lunch at a cute little cafe around 1145. Unfortunately they didn't open until noon, but the obliged by giving us a table and we sat and enjoyed the shade and breeze. We ordered a prosciutto and melon again (we did every meal) as a starter, because we thought it would cool us off before the main meal. The table was in a doorway, and what we thought would be a great view of the piazza (and cool breeze) turned us into a display, which everyone came by and looked. Although it was cute in theory, it got kind of annoying. While we ate, a little boy fiddled on the violin nearby and provided a bit of entertainment. What we ordered for the main course was unconventionally large and we were so stuffed that we couldn't eat most of it. Although we felt badly, we had to leave it. I think we were still recovering from the night before.
We continued to walk around the town, and stopped in front of the arena for a gelato, bottle of water and sat on the grass in the park. It was much cooler, and we enjoyed the people watching, as there were hundreds milling around. I had to go the bathroom, and luckily they had "pay" toilets nearby, which was an interesting new experience. Glad I had some change on me. We walked to the Castlevecchio and across the nearby brick bridge. Both were interesting and beautiful. It was hard to really enjoy it in the heat. We stopped off for a bit in the shade to call Grace, and it was good to hear her voice.
We went back to the hotel early, and caught a nice hour long nap before going to dinner and the opera. We grabbed a shower and put on our "fancy" outfits for a night on the town. For dinner, we wanted something light, so we walked back to the arena to pick up our tickets ahead of the show. There were even more people there than when we visited earlier in the day and we saw some interesting outfits, including one guy in shiny silver shoes and plaid pants. We grabbed a seat at a cafe in the piazza, and had a the obligatory prosciutto and melon, and both had awesome pizza. It was so fresh. On both sides of us were German couples, and as one left, a French man sat down and ordered TWO prosciutto and melons. It was awesome, and I was glad we weren't the only one's that were addicted. The tiramisu we ordered was terrific and different from the night before. Cara and I decided that it's better here in Italy because it's not overdone. Most restaurants in the US put too much coffee/chocolate powder on top, or douse it in too much rum. Here it's perfect!
The opera started at 9, so we finished up dinner early and went and got our seats. The arena was mostly empty at that point and we had a ball watching the Italians work there way in, all dressed in their posh outfits. We had pretty good seats, but thankfully far enough away that it didn't warrant a suit. As it darkened around 9pm, a wonderful cool breeze kept us comfortable and was so refreshing after such a hot day. We bought seat cushions and read-along translation guides which were helpful to scan during the intermissions (all 3). The music from the orchestra and the singers was astonishing, and we closed our eyes several times to soak it all in. It was truly one of my favorite things I've experienced, and it gave me goosebumps to hear some of the music we've all heard sung properly. Carmen is an interesting show, and Cara and I were still discussing the story and moral a couple days later. We had no idea the show would last for 4 hours (with 3 - 20 minute breaks), so we were very grateful for the previous nap and walked straight back to the hotel at 1am after it was over, both acknowledged what a wonderful time we had.
We had to get up early the next day for the train to Venice, so we went straight to bed. More on Venice tomorrow. :) G'night!
No comments:
Post a Comment