Flashback Friday: Trip to Verona (Italy)

One of the best things about living in Italy was the ability to travel. I wish that I had taken advantage of it more. Maybe later in life, I'll go back to some of these places. Verona was a nice place. Not too touristy. It's also the town where Romeo and Juliet took place.

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Okay, so I've been in for around half an hour, and I am still shivering from my trip to Verona. It was not a bad trip, but sweet Jesus, was it cold. There's an organization called Information, Tours, and Registration (ITR) that runs trips for military personnel, to different places. For all of you that don't know, Verona is the place where the historic story of Romeo and Juliet took place. More on that later.

First off, here are some random pictures of the things that I saw. These really came with no explanation to me, so I'm giving no explanation to you, because I'm too cold to make stuff up.

Okay, so enough random pictures. Now for ones that I can say at least a few words about:

Okay, so it's not historical or anything, but I just had to get a picture. I mean, it's baby yogurt. Probably made from the finest babies available. Soylent Green has nothing on this.

This was just some statue that was around. The guy looked pretty pimped, so I took a picture. Pimping ain't easy.

Okay, these are pictures of the Square and the Coliseum. This coliseum is the fourth largest in Italy, the largest one being the one in Rome, and was constructed in the first century A.D. They hold an annual concert here in the summer. Like the coliseum in Rome, it was designed with an outer wall that surrounded the inner wall, but most of it collapsed due to an earthquake in 1117. Rather than clean it up, the rocks were left there, and it became a quarry for the town, which is why there are no stones there now. The design of the coliseums is such that even if people are screaming and cheering inside, there is almost no noise that can be heard in the Square, which is right outside.

This is the clock tower in Verona. It is the largest tower in the city. It's also pretty close to where Romeo lived. I would have taken a picture of his place, but because of the angles and tight places, all that I could get was his door, and it was a damn big door.

Okay, now for the Juliet stuff.

This is Juliet's balcony. Actually, it is a recreation of the balcony, due to the fact that the actual balcony had been destroyed. This balcony was taken from a similar building and used in the restoration. The girl in the picture on the left was just there.

This is interesting. People come here and stick small love letters and notes up on the wall. Unfortunately, they do it using bubblegum. So it's kind of romantic, kind of unsightly. There's going to be another restoration, where I guess that they will remove all of the gum and stuff.

These are close up picture of two of the letters. The one on the left is sweet, but the one on the right says "Spud, I want your rear." How loving.

This is a side by side shot. On the left, you see a woman writing a note on the wall, along with a bunch of other notes that people have written. On the right, you see a painter, painting the opposite wall white. It was just so funny to see. I mean, I don't know who should feel that their efforts are more futile.

Closeups.

Okay, last but not least, in the courtyard, there is a statue of Juliet. Now the statue's right breast is extremely shiny compared to the rest of the statue. This is because they say that your are supposed to rub it, and it will make you lucky in love, or if you are married, it will strengthen your marriage. Yeah, nothing strengthens a marriage more than rubbing a statue's breast. I assume that it makes single people luckier in love because they now have to justify copping a feel on a statue. And so, it's time for teh gorping pictures:

And that concludes my trip to Verona. Maybe I'll do it again when it's warmer.

Wayback Wednesday: National Strike Day & the new apartment in Italy

This post originally appeared on November 30, 2004. It was my introduction to the lazy life of the Italian in Italy. I mean, this is just the tip of the iceberg, because over the next 3 years, I would suffer to many more mildly inconveniences. This also contains the first pictures of my apartment.

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After a workout that enhanced both my abs and my abs, I went to the chow hall to get some breakfast, and found that only paper plates and plastic utensils were being used today. Why? Because the Italians are taking a day off for, (stop drinking anything) NATIONAL STRIKE DAY!!! I have yet to visit a lazier country than Italy. Seriously, this country should have a national Go do your damn job day, in which work actually gets done. In case you missed an earlier post, let me enlighten you. The typical Italian business opens at 1000, and stays open until 1200. From 1200 until 1500 (that’s 3 hours or 300 hours for you military people), most businesses are closed, except for restaurants. That’s because the Italians like to take their time for lunch. I mean, you have to since every meal is required to have a minimum of 4 courses, plus wine. So the store reopens at 1500 and stays open until 1800. That means these people have a 5 hour workday (unless you work in a restaurant, in which case, you stay open for long periods, because people take forever to eat). Also, never count on a business being open on a Sunday. Lastly, businesses are required to be closed for one day of the week, which varies from business to business. So that comes out to being open for 5 days a week, 5 hours a day, for a 25-hour work week. I think this country needs a National “We lost World War 2, so we should speak English” day.

Okay, so then it rains all day. Surprisingly, this is also the day where I have to do a lot of walking outside. You feel kind of bad when you have to walk to a place in sideways falling rain, and notice that one half of your uniform is a lot wetter than another side. However, you feel better when you realize that it will all even out when you walk back in the other direction. Damn Infantry. I'm a man, who can't wear rain gear because of my branch. Most people in the Infantry don't acknowledge that it exists, unless you have to spend a long period standing in the rain. Also, if it’s just YOU that have to be in the rain, you don't wear the wet weather gear, or you'll be called various 4 and 5-letter words, mostly in jest.

I was promoted today to First Lieutenant (1LT). Technically, my date of rank is 1 December (and so is Eddie's, Heather). It just means that I get a pay raise ($343.40 per month, plus the 3% pay raise at the start of the year thanks to cost of living) to spend money on new rank, and that I've been commissioned for 18 months. No real changes. 6 months until my next pay raise (2 years in the army means another raise of 362.40 a month, or $705.80 more than I currently make). Combat will mean that I'll have to pay no income taxes for a year.

Lastly, I had to go out to my apartment to have it inspected before I move in, so I took some pictures while I was there:

This is my Kitchen area. Note that the stove is kind of small. That’s just how it is in Italy. I have no idea why, especially when they cook such large meals. The fridge hides away, looking like a cabinet and tricking hungry thieves into thinking that I have no leftovers. The last picture is the view from the Kitchen.

This is my large bathroom, and the shower. I didn't include a view from the bathroom, because no one really looks out of the bathroom window. Maybe I should have checked to see is there might be someone looking in. Maybe I could charge for shows.

This is the small bathroom. And,... um,... yeah.

This is the small bedroom. It is where other will be sleeping, unless there is some reason they want to share the large bed (lightning, etc.). The last pic is the view (in case your perspective is off, that is not a wall behind the trees. It's an open field or something. Look at the distance on that view.

This is the big bedroom, aka My Room. That is my bed, and a picture of me taking a picture. Once again, the view. There's a third room, but there was nothing in it, so I took now pictures of it.

This is half of the living room. I forgot to take a picture of the other half of it, which is where the couch and two comfort seats (I think that's what you call them) are. Finally, this is the view from the window. The first pic is what's to the left, the second is straight ahead, and the last is what's to the right. Now you may be asking, "How much does this cost?" 850 euro a month, which is a little over $1,000. Now, guess how much the Army give me for rent, ON TOP OF my paycheck: 850 euro (non-taxable income). Can you say free housing? I know I can.

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