Sweet Jazz.

So I've decided that many of the good things in this world reside in Italy. For example, Michaelangelo's David, which, when seen in person, knocks everything else out of the park. The Leaning Tower too, in the medevil town of Pisa, is an exciting sight for a wandering tourist like me. And the food - oh boy the food...if I were to live in Italy there would be a good chance I would weigh twice what I do now. Florence is a great city, filled with reminders of a time long past and marked with the signature of thousands of famous Renaissance artists.

So, yes. Italy is a fabulous place.

After we left Rome last Thursday, we went to Pisa to spend some time taking in the sights. It was gorgeous out - probably close to 70, so we laid in the extraordinarily green (to my Minnesota eyes) grass to catch some rays and eat lunch. We walked around and explored, but since we are on a 21-day train limit we left for Florence after only 2 hours.

Our train was an hour late to Florence, which was a real bummer since it cut down the time we had before museums closed (one thing I dislike about Italy is their train system). Anyway, we would only have time to go to one museum that day so we decided to hit uup the Acadamie, which was really cool. It was a small museum but had many famous paintings and all the pictures were labeled and described in English, which really enhanced the experience.

We stayed in a neat hostel that night, one that was filled with travelers like ourselves. We ended up meeting a guy from Seattle and hanging out with him for most of the night. We also got a free supper and breakfast included with our rent payment, which was very welcome.

The next morning (Friday) we got up and walked around for awhile. We had planned to leave for Trento at 11, but Tim wanted to see a few more museums so he changed his ticket to leave later. I decided that I was museumed out, so I opted to keep my ticket and spend my time walking around, reading and writing. It was a quick train ride back to Trento, and since I had 2 hours before Tim arrived I enjoyed a sit in the park where I fell asleep and got perhaps a little too much sun. I also chanced to meet an old Italian man (he was 82, he kept tellling me) who lived in Trento. He said he used to work at the "hottest bar in Venice. In San Pedros square. Hottest Bar. Martini Martini, gin, whiskey sour. Hottest bar in Venice. I was 20. Now Im 82. 82. 82..." (and so on and so on) I believe he had Alzheimers or didnt know what he was saying in English, so it was a very interesting conversation.

Federica picked us up again and we went back to her place, where her parents had another wonderful meal ready for us. Later we went out with Fede and a few of her friends to get some ice cream and we actually ended up going to a Cherl Porter jazz/soul concert, which was really funny. She sang in English and I suspect nobody in the audience really knew what she was singing about. It was a great concert though and the piano player was phenomenal.

Saturday afternoon we headed out for Fribourg, Switzerland, where I am at the moment. We are staying with Delphine and her family, who are friends of Tim. Last night we had a very Swiss meal - cheese fondu. It was much different than I ever would have expected as it consisted of dipping bread and potatoes in melted cheese. As many of you do know, I am not much of a cheese fan, but surprisingly on this trip I have had plenty of cheese...and I have enjoyed it as well. Strange.

I believe I forgot to write about two strange incidents that happened to me in Rome. When we were in line to go into the Coliseum, I looked back and 3 people behind us was our friend Joel, who we had met 6 days earlier in Nice. He was alone so we invited him to join us for the day. It was very random we were at the Coliseum at the exact same time...

But even more ridiculous was who I met at the Pantheon later that day. We were on our way out when I noticed a big dude wearing a Bethel Football t-shirt. Who was it? James Foster, who graduated a year ahead of me from Hillcrest. It was probably the most insane random meet I have ever experienced, especially since I hadnt seen him for 2 years. But really, what are the chances you meet someone you know from high school at the Pantheon in Rome? Wow. Turns out he is studying in Europe and was on a trip during his break throughout Italy. We both had a good laugh indeed. Small World...

Anyway, we have exactly one week left on our rail pass and then 2 weeks left in Norway. I am getting really excited to see all my old Norsk friends and am pumped up for some NOrwegian mountain. Tomorrow we spend another day in Fribourg and might even get a chance to go to a hockey game...haha.

Also, if anyone reading has extra questions about anything in particular, dont hesitate to ask. It is hard to go into great detail without writing for hours and hours...so hit me up - calvinbrue@gmail.com

And Ive been thinking...on this trip I have had only two regrets,

1) That my elementary and high school years didnt stress the importance of learning another language.

2) That I didnt bring a scooter...