The day after we left for Italy (once more!), which i had nothing against! We were headed this time to Verona, to see the Opera in the Arena. I must explain the story behind this however.
When my parents were in Venice (without me), they were sitting in a Cafe? on the street, and it began to pour with rain. The huddled under a little umbrella next to two guys, and waited out the storm. It lasted for a long time and got really strong, so they stayed there and just talked. Somehow they got talking to these two guys who were seated at the table next them and turned out to me two really nice guys. They had nothing to do, and couldnt go anywhere so they kept talking to these two guys. They got talking about their mutual interest in Opera and that really struck up conversation. Somehow i got mentioned in the conversation and my year in Europe. They mentioned that although they were going, i was here for a year. Then these two guys said that if i would like and was around that they had extra tickets to the Opera in Verona and if i would like to go then it would just require an email and we would be off. I naturally jumped at the chance. For those who dont know, the Opera in Verona is the sort of Superbowl of opera, even though every opera buff would cring to hear that analogy. It is in the Arena in Verona, the little brother of the Coliseum in Rome, but almost equal in size and importance. All the finest singers, players and conductors in the world are called perform in the arena, and despite the logistical problems of performing in an Arena, it is known as being some of the finest performed opera in the world. The operas are always huge and over the top. Aida is always performed, and usually the more well known and bigger operas, like La Traviata, Madame Butterfly, and Rigoletto are performed. It is a spectacle, with live elephants, horses, and a cast of more than 300 on the stage. So naturally i was looking forward to it.
I called one of the two guys that we were meeting up with a few days prior and he sounded like a really nice guy, so i was really looking forward to meeting these people that my mum and dad had told me so much about.
We left for Verona, and the drive was fine. It was almost impossibly difficult to find a place to stay in Verona, because of the Opera season, and this was generally the high tourist season. But we did find a place at a very fine hotel, and were looking forward to everything very much during the drive on the way in.