Siamo ritornato...

Back home after three weeks of fun in the sun in Europe. Lots of sun - and heat! Our tour with the chorus lasted 12 days, and was very successful. What a joy to sing in some of those ancient places. Perhaps the high point in that regard was singing in the cathedral of St. Francis in Assisi. The acoustic was lovely, and the place oozed spirituality. In a country where there are so many questionable relics, it was very special to be in a place where the remains of such a remarkable person truly lay.



Another high point of the trip was to meet up with my 19 year old daughter in Firenze, where she had just finished a month of intensive Italian at the Istituto Europeo. We spent the afternoon together, had a wonderful bistecca fiorentina at Frescobaldi (1.5 kilos!) and ate gelato in a bar owned by some older folks who had taken her under their wing.



I'm not sure if this was a compliment, but she did note amazement at how well I was able to make myself understood in my "crappy Italian..." I choose to take it as such!

The best way to learn to speak "good" Italian is to get out there and use "crappy" Italian, letting folks give feedback. Our previous trip to Italy was four years ago - I did much better with the language this time. A wonderful experience.