Venezia

I am in Venice. I had planned to stay only one night here on account of financial expenditures, but will stay with a friend for another night and then move onward to Verona tomorrow. This is the Plan.

I have walked around a lot here in Venice. Last night I went to an 'opera' (in a place that was far too small for the powerful tenor who nearly busted my eardrums). Despite the decidedly inadequate venue, I was pleasantly tittled by my first experience with the opera. Wow - there is nothing quite like a stringed octet supporting the voice box of an opera singer .

Today I sat on a bench for a couple of hours to rest and play music. It was nice to play without a monetary-receptacle in front of me. Although I was able to find joy when playing in the streets for money, it feels different when I'm not trying to do anything but make music. I should probably feel the same whether or not I play for money, but when money becomes a part of the equation, something changes in my perception. I am not quite sure that I shall overcome the way I feel when I intend to make money for playing; I am not sure that I want to.

I met some welch musicians this morning in hotel adriatico who were scheduled to play a show with elton john in Venice. The show was cancelled, but they came for a photo shoot anyway. I might try to find them tonight for a beer. I'd like to catch a glimpse of their big smiles under freckels and red hair.

Venice is treating me well and I'd like to think that I am reciprocating the love. For some reason, while I was sitting on the bench today, two separate parties asked me for directions. For reasons unknown, I think I was actually able to help them out. One set of directions was given in english, and the other in italian. Wow, I am really learning italian: what a treat.

I think that I still want to try to get to Bologna after Verona. Only time will tell.

Soon the Fam will make their way to this beautiful boot and I will have time with the people that I really, truly love. Although I feel love and compassion for the wonderful people I am meeting here, it will be wonderful to spend time with my true loves in Italy. So much goodness still lies ahead of me in the blip of time remaining for me here.

I will surely want to come back once I have gone. I hope that I make it happen.

So much Love from me to you.

Paris

I have been in Paris for 4 nights and 3 days. Andrew and I have walked around a lot, eaten many delicious pastries, and are now preparing to part ways. Tonight I will board a Milano-bound train and that gets in at about 6am tomorrow morning. I am not exactly sure where I will go.

I might go to Venice or Verona or Bologna or all three.

I have been staying in the swanky apartment of Andrew's friend, Joseph. He is a fashion designer in Paris and has had little time between his research duties in vintage clothing stores, shopping excursions, and aperitivo parties at 11pm to play tour-guide. I am not quite sure that his rigorous work schedule (literally, he works 7 days a week) has allowed him to fully explore the city himself.

I am happy with a place to stay, but have been experiencing a lot of culture shock from being in an expensive apartment in an expensive city. I miss Avalon, or at least the way I felt there.

I am glad that I came here. And I am glad that I am going back to Italy to work on my italian and possibly try to find some friends that I have made.

This might be my last entry for a while as I have no idea where I will be in the coming days and weeks. I nebulously plan to return to Avalon and then head towards Rome to experience the italian rainbow gathering. And then, directly following that, my family is coming and I will meet them in Umbria.

I have a few more beautiful and exciting weeks ahead of me in Italy. Life is still sweet.

Love.

ciao tutti!

Well, well, well - look what we have here: a laptop with internet acces in one of the corner rooms of Avalon.

Avalon is one community within the Elfi. The other 12 communities are in the 'Elfi Valley' approximately 45 minutes from here in a beautiful section of nearly untouched, forested mountains. Here there is an amazing terraced garden on the mountain side with vegetables, olive trees, and grape vines that overlook the small city of Pistoia.

I have been in Avalon for just over two weeks and have become close with some other travelers here. There are a few more permanent residents here with children and designated rooms, but most of the folks around the dinner table are passing through in a couple of days, weeks, or months. Most of them are nomads.

What a life; what a challenging, exciting, lonely, enticing life of a nomad. I am beginning to think that a return on July 17th just might be too soon. One of my new friends asked me to travel by land to India in August with him. I laughed, but he just looked at me. I know it sounds crazy, and I haven't exactly had time to mull it over in my mind long enough, but oh gosh - what an adventure.

Wowwowweewow! So much is changing within this head of mine. I feel very powerful and in-control and ready for (mostly) anything. I left Avalon last Tuesday and I spent two nights alone in a run-down house of my friend, Juan (who had left for germany). I think for the first time in my life I was really, truly by. my. self. His house is in the Elfi Valley, but he plans on turning it into a meeting place for homeopathic-related retreats for foreigners (which is more than slightly controversial within the Elfi community). Anyhow, I left his house feeling empowered and ready to take a hike into the unknown Elfi Valley to find one of the 12 communities, Granburrone.

I left early in the morning and hiked up, up, up the mountain and then down a bit and then thought I had made a wrong turn (which i had) and continued on a path that I hoped would lead me to Granburrone. I walked on the path for a while and, just as the path split and I was ready to reassess my prior decision, I heard a child's voice and then more voices. I saw the barely visible roofs of Granburrone. I sat down with them as they smoked their morning chillum and then started 'pulling the bad grass.'

I stayed there for one night and then left in a caravan headed for the Festa di Socializzazione. The Elfi organize this event every year and set up camp in the small park in the middle of Pistoia for the weekend. They make delicious pizza (nearly round-the-clock), present numerous 'spectaculos' (dances, puppet shows, music), and every night is filled with music, drum circles, and fire shows (!!!). I even learned how to spin a fire stick. Wowwowweewow.

Okokok. I must go. I hope that this provides at least a little bit of insight into what I've been experiencing. I am living a beautiful, beautiful life; a life that is possible anywhere; a life that I am sincerely drawn to. These people are happy, they work because they want to, and they are raising wonderfully adept children. Wow. They're doing it, they're really doing it.

I suppose that I am doing it too. I am really, seriously doing it.

Love, love, love.

Baci è abbraci

Levanto. Revisited.

I am back in Levanto (on the sea and down the mountain from Sandro's casa in Bardellone).

I hope to be brief as this internet point is very expensive.

I finally met some friends my own age in my last couple of days in Genova. We played music and drank beer. I am surprised by how much I miss the company of young people.

I find myself losing patience with Sandro. There are certain things that he does that irk me. I have yet to decide whether I am seeing what is to be seen or making things up in my head. It is probably both. As the novelty of living, working, eating, and learning together wears off, language barriers and general misunderstandings can create uncomfortable situations.

I can envision returning here for a short time after Paris, but I think I have had enough of this place for now. A part of me wants to stay to figure out what it is that is making me want to leave and then resolve it, but I think this to be quasi impossible. I know any problem I have is within me and without me and my responsibility. I am doing fine, but I find myself often irritable and unwelcoming. I don't like this in me. I want to leave.

On Monday, Sandro and I are going to Tuscany to stay with a self sustaining community in the mountains. I think I will remain there until I depart for Paris. I am not positive about this, but presently I feel it is right. There are young people there who are living off the land. I think I will like it and I think it will be good for me.

The people in the mountains call themselves the Elfi. They have named the areas of their community after places in The Lord of the Rings. I am sure I will know more about it in the coming days.

Wish me luck. This time in my travels is kind of difficult: just over three weeks away from home and two weeks without english-speaking companionship. I think there will be both english speakers and, certainly, italian speakers within the Elfi. I will be able to communicate while continuing my studies. I think this is right for me.

Baci é abbraci.

A Life in Genova

This is going to be my last day and night in Lucia's apartment. Sandro returns from Bardellone today and we will probably head back that way tomorrow or the next day. I am looking forward to returning to the countryside, but have not dismissed an offer I received to stay in Genova indefinitely. A woman named Aisha who owns a cafe here asked me to babysit her children. She said that I could live with her and act as nanny. I met her kids and I observed the two of them (an older brother and younger sister) dancing with each other (her on his feet), laughing a lot, and swordfighting with chopsticks. I also had the opportunity to meet and talk with the man in Aisha's life. He is english by birth, but owns a house in the south of France, a flat in London, and considers owning the cafe Aisha manages as a "hobby." When Aisha was making the offer, all I could think about was fresh-squeezed orange juice on a terrace in the south of France.

Is that so wrong?

I think the position would last longer than I intend to be in Italy. I will keep it in mind and consider contacting Aisha if I return next summer (a possibility...).

The past few days have been filled with walking the streets of Genova, grocery shopping at the biologic (organic) grocery store, buying espressos, playing guitar in the streets, and making yoga. I have also been reading the italian-english dictionary like it's a Dan Brown mystery novel. I am getting better at italian though it is still difficult and tiring to communicate; like yesterday when I was trying to politely tell a young genovese boy that I did not want to go have a drink with him. Silly, silly italian men.

I cut my hair. Not all of it, but at least 5 inches. I don't know if it's my new attitude or the new 'do, but I feel like there are fewer probing, mannish eyes looking my way. Maybe once I stopped looking at them, they dissappeared.

The day before yesterday, I played on a commericial, pedestrian street in the historic district of Genova called San Lorenzo. I played for almost an hour and a half and walked away with 11€. I bought the night's focaccia and espresso for Lucia with my earnings as she stuck around for the duration of my 'performance'. Yesterday, I decided to play at the port of Genova. I played for about 45 minutes in the blazing afternoon sun and didn't make squat (except for two loyal fans). I then moved to the shade where I could overhear the old genovese women talking about me like I couldn't understand any italian. The port was not my favorite place to play. Some people seemed to like the music (they turned around to watch me and stayed quiet while I played), but they didn't openly express it to me. People don't usually come up to me when I'm playing on the streets if they're not going to give me money. I don't give a shit if they give me money, but some sort of acknowledgment of my existence would be nice.

Alas, I know the problems I've found with playing in the streets rest within my own head and if I want to play then I have to do it for me and, come what may, enjoy it. So I left the Port and went to San Lorenzo again where people are walking around and more likely to give me a pleasing smile or some other sort of sign that I really am existing with them, there in that moment. I played for about a half an hour and ended the "work" day on a good note (so to speak). One man stood about 10 feet away from me rifling through his wallet for a minute or so then walked up to my case and tossed in all the change he could find; he looked into my eyes for a moment and said, "Grazie."

I packed up my things at about 17:45 and headed to the Cafe Dolce (where Aisha works) and had a beer and a slice of lasagna. I chatted with my two Algerian friends and Aisha for a while before returning to Lucia's. The two of us crazy cats had an early night and went to bed at around 10pm. Lucia and I talked about going to the opera tonight and I sure do hope that we do. I have never seen an opera and I think I am ready.

Ciao. Baci é abbraci

Dudes at a Bar (and some chicas too)

I went to a caffe last night with Lucia and some of her friends. I brought my guitar and sang a few tunes (probably too loudly, but i think they liked it anyways).

In this bar there were two dudes from Algeria, one dude from England, and a couple of chicas from Spain. I'd be hard-pressed to find this combination in the States.

Actually, now that I think about it, my little college town in blacksburg is pretty diverse if you look in the right places. Because many grad students are from abroad, on any given night there can be at least a few countries represented in The Cellar. The difference here is that, when they ask me to visit them, it might be a possibility in the coming months. Europe: 27 countries with at LEAST 27 different cultures. Awesome.

I hung out with the two algerian dudes last night (amur, amar) and spoke in slow english. We talked about the deserts of Algeria, different dialects, and connections and disconnections between languages (as they speak algerian, french, and understandable english). It was a good time.

Well, another day is here. It is rainy again, and i am thankful for a reason to stay inside and study conjugations. I will conquer you, italian, if it's the last thing i do! bwahahahahaaaaa, bwahahahahaaaa (evil-sounding laughter).

Baci é abbraci

Sure, I'll stay with you in your beautiful genovesi apartment, Lucia.

Sandro has gone back to Bardellone with his friend Concetta while I check out Genova more thoroughly. Lucia invited me to stay with her in her apartment until Sandro returns on Tuesday. This has made me happy for a number of reasons. Let me count the ways:

1) I think Sandro was planning on going back to Bardellone very early in the morning today. I was not interested in getting up at 4am to drive back.
2) I haven't yet had a chance to try my hand at street-music. It is rainy here now, but it is supposed to be nice tomorrow, sunday, monday, tuesday so I will have my chance.
3) I started drawing the duomo (cathedral) of Genova and I still need a couple of hours to finish it. Maybe I will and maybe I won't.
4) Genova is a remarkable city. It has all the history and magic of other big cities in Italy, and yet far fewer tourists. It is a little secret that should be kept.
5) I really like Lucia (loo-CHEE-ah). She is 63 years old and quite a little firecracker. When we were walking back up the mountain from Levanto the other day, we passed by many private farms with lemons, olives, and roses that were accessible from the road. Lucia would hunch over a little bit, raise her eyebrows, and put her finger to her lips in the 'shush' position then say, "piano, piano...voi un limone?" "quiet, quiet...do you want a lemon?" She picked a lemon and then quickly stuffed it in her bag. Lucia is awesome.
6)Tonight I will provide the entertainment for a small get together among friends here at Lucia's apartment. I think this will be fun.
7) Lucia's apartment is really beautiful. It is old, old, old (like nearly all the buildings in this city and country). The door to her apartment building has midieval spikes on it that look like they could stop a fire-breathing dragon. Maybe this was the intention. I hear that fire-breathing dragons really existed here when people believed in them.

Anyhow - I am in Genova and will be here for a week or so. Unlike Firenze, the center of this city is pedestrian-only. Both Sandro and Lucia live in this section of the city so it is not nearly as loud or polluted as Firenze. Genova is not trapped between mountains like Firenze either, so the air (and pollution) moves around and doesn't stagnate to become smog. I like Genova.

OK, I think I shall watch the rain or try to talk to Lucia or write a song in italian for the party tonight. So many choices, so little time. Oh..wait - no, no - I have plenty of time. Sweet.

Baci é abbraci