I am now back on terra firma in the good old US of A, although it took me just about 24 hours to get to St. Louis. But that's ok...there were no hysterical Amys this time; just a cool, collected, on-the-ball world traveller, if I do so say myself. And since there is no one else to say it for me, well, I do.

Some hi-lights of my last few days in Italy include:

• Getting heatstroke thanks to my FAVORITE conductor deciding it was clever to have all the singers rehearse for the gala for an hour and a half in the full, midday Tuscan sun with no breaks for water or shade--on the night of said gala. BRILLIANT.
• Attending a big ol' party at a swanky club (San Colombano) on the wall (with free food and free wine), at which the aforementioned conductor got called out on his affair with the lead in the opera (PS, his wife was on the program as violin faculty), in a most public manner. He deserved it. I've never wanted to throw a shoe at someone's head more than I wanted to throw one at his, all the time.
• Noticing the next day that said conductor was no longer wearing his wedding ring.
• Busing the ENTIRE program (full orchestra, all the singers, the whole shebang) to Torre del Lago in order to repeat the final gala concert at the Puccini festival.
• Getting the most RIDICULOUS applause at said festival.
• Drinking wine on the bus back to Lucca after the concert.
• Falling off of the back of Bevin's bici on our way to our final party for ourselves on the wall. WE WEREN'T DRUNK. We were mildly tipsy.
• Spending Saturday night at the Hilton at the Fiumicino Airport in Rome, so as to negate the need for getting to the airport in time for my 7:45am flight Sunday morning. ROOM TO MYSELF, AMAZING.
• Walking into the Rome airport at 6am (ok, I was a little later than I intended to be) and seeing 5OO PEOPLE IN "LINE" (line is a relative term--since the line is an imposition of foreign culture in Italy, Italians don't respond well to them) in front of the Alitalia desk.
• Walking to the end of the line, and realizing I would never get through it in time for my flight. And I HAD to get that flight.
• Deciding that, instead of getting hysterical, I would attempt to cut the line, in a very non-German disregard for the line.
• Successfully cutting the line, and then getting upgraded to business class. HOT.
• Getting home from after 24 hours of travelling and 26 and a half hours of wakefulness.

Good trip. I'm broke, and this sucks, but now I have a job and am working 8 hours a day. I miss Italy.

The end?

*ciao*

Contrary to popular belief, no, I am not dead. Although I might be after this week....that remains to be seen.

Saturday started our four-day stint of performances...we had opera scenes Saturday night, the Cabaret Sunday night, opera scenes again Monday night, and the Cabaret again tonight. Everything has gone exceedingly well, and my voice (THANK GOD) decided to grace me with its presence.

My voice and the rest of me is definitely ready for a break...while I am not ready to go home per se, I am ready to see St. Louis people again whom I am missing sorely. I am also ready for people to come back to St. Louis from points west of there. I am also ready to have time to myself and a room to myself...7 roommates is an intense experience.

Anyway, I have a rehearsal for the Gala soon (with one of the biggest assholes to ever exist, I believe), so I must run. Baci!

*ciao*

If anyone has any information regarding the PAD people in London for the Globe program and their safety, please email me or let me know somehow.

All thoughts and energy are with those in London right now.

EDIT: They've not left yet, thank God. Of course, now they have to actually get there during this mess...oy veh.

Acid reflux sucks, but Cinque Terre is amazing.

Saturday morning, Bevin and I decided to catch the 8:12 train to start our trek out to Cinque Terre. We decided to do this both because it takes a long time to get out to Cinque Terre (*grumble*Italian train system*grumble*), and because we wanted to attach ourselves to Mark and Dana (opera scenes stage and music directors, respectively), because Mark had been to Cinque Terre before. Always better to follow someone who knows what they are doing, that is what I always say.

In the Lucca train station, we ran into Michael and Stephanie, two solisti singers who were going out to Cinque Terre as well, and they joined our group. Later, on the train to Pisa, we ran into Dean (who just got to the program after being a Gerdine Young Artist with OTSL this summer, randomness) and Tana, two other solisti singers who had the same plan. So our group grew to 8.

When we got to La Spezia, we caught a regional train that runs between the 5 cities of Cinque Terre (hence the name), and decided to get off at Corniglia and hike to the next city, Vernazza.

We hiked 6 kilometers, straight up the cliff side.

Then we hiked another 6 kilometers, straight back down and into Vernazza.

All told, we probably hiked about 14 km (figuring additional hiking that we did not figured into the two 6 km numbers).

It was MAJORLY intense. And absolutely gorgeous. Today I would just like to detach my legs from my body, but I tell you what, nothing makes you appreciate diving into the ocean more than a 3 hour mountain hike. And MAN was it breathtakingly beautiful in Vernazza.

When we walked into Vernazza, we ran into Brent, yet another solisiti singer who had trekked to Vernazza from Monterosso by himself that morning (after missing the people he was supposed to go to Cinque Terre with), in hopes of running into someone he knew. Which he clearly did.

After we FINALLY ate (well, I sort of ate, since I can basically eat nothing in Italy anymore, thankyouverymuchacidreflux), Tana decided to go to Genoa while Stephanie, Brent, and Michael decided to head to one city past Monterosso, which is out of Cinque Terre proper and thus less touristed, but just as beautiful...but Bevin and I decided to head home as we were both dead tired (Bevin hadn't planned on a hike that day...nor had I planned for such an intense one...). So Dana, Mark, Dean, Bevin, and I started heading home at 6:45.

The train to La Spezia was PACKED. We were crammed onto it like sardines, which was delightful seeing as everyone on board had spent the day hiking and beaching it up. But just as the doors were closing, another three people jumped into our car--and one of them happened to have a Cardinals cap on. So of course I had to blurt out, 'St. Louis?!'....It wound up that he had gone to WashU, so we bonded between Vernazza and Riomaggiore, discussing the benefits of cheap housing and the like in St. Louis.

Random.

We wound up running into a bunch of Studio singers in the train station in La Spezia, and we all finally got back to Lucca around 10:30. It was quite an adventure.

Cinque Terre is without a doubt the most beautiful place I have ever been. The water is blue blue blue, and terraced cliffs rise straight out of it, with brightly colored towns clinging desperately to them. It is awe-inspiring and pictures do not do it justice.

But you better believe I took a ton anyway. I will try to get some up asap, but not all of them, because I am having trouble rotating the pictures.

I LOVE ITALY.

*ciao*