Verona: Wednesday night

Decided I didnt want to spend the day hopping from one train to the other and kept thinking about Verona so I spent the morning on the Venice train station steps soaking in the sun and took the 1pm train to Verona. and I got to talk to a british boy for a bit. soaked in his british accent as well. It was a lovely one. not stuffy, kind of subtle.

If I havent mentioned it before, most of the radio in Europe seems to be English/American music. I was grocery shopping in Padua and there was a rap song playing (they dont bleep out words) so youve got Bev and Sue housewife shopping for their lettuce and milk amid "you gotta breeeeeeeeeathe oh. breaaaatheee. oh. you b......s gotta ..... f....ng.... and I am looking up at the ceiling going "oh my gosh." that uncensored rap music is playing in a supermarket as everyone else walks around completly oblivious. Luey and Bonnie told me that youll even be in a fancyish resturant and uncensored music will be playing and everyone will just be eating as they looked around somewhat shocked. Its interesting. I guess if mostly spanish music was playing I wouldnt be picking up on all the swear words either.

Got to Verona at 4, hostel was pretty amazing, in a old villa- garden grounds and all.

I didn't go to Verona because of Romeo and Juliet. Frankly I think they both needed serious counseling and if I was an english teacher and had a say in the matter... well I'd still probably teach it so that they kids weren't thought as nitwits when they got to college, but I wouldn't spend too long on it. Certainly wouldn't wax on about how it's about love and it's power. They were both wanting to kill themselves at the drop of a hat when things went bad. and then they ultimently did. Does that not make any teacher pause when they are about to teach it to teenangers?
There should at the very least be a PSA at the end of it in textbooks. "If your boyfriend Ben dies in a car accident, you can be depressed and incredibly sad but do not kill yourself because that would be really stupid. He was going to dump you this summer anyways."

Despite my feelings about Shakespeare, I did go to Juliets courtyard. It was free. In the courtyard is a statue of Juliet. There is this belief (I have no doubt started by a guy) that if you rub her Left breast you'll have good luck in love or something like that. So the poor bronze statue's right breast and arm is completly shiny.. It was rather funny seeing how the different cultures reacted to the customary pose with the statue. I watched a whole group of japenese tourists pose with her one by one as their tourguide took a picture. Most of them were rather embarresed, they mostly just held her arm. A lot of them still wanted luck in love though, so they just quickly and bashfully touched the boob. after the photo and then ran away. It was actually a rather beautiful statue. I stood and looked at it for quite awhile. I didn't think she looked like a Juliet. She looked braver. more independent. more mentally sound. and in a really nice dress. I touched her hand and told her I thought she was cool and I knew she wasn't Juliet. She was the brave and beautiful lady of Verona, withstanding a never ending tourent of sexual harrassment day after day and still having a great sense of who she was. I did not get my luck in love for the year, I wouldn't do that to any female, but especially not a friend.

Everywhere in europe there are people who make themselves look like statues (paint themselves white, bronze, gold, black) and stand in costume with a money jar in front of them. I noticed the notJuliet statue and I had a simularly shaped face. Wow, I could make some money in Verona if I dressed as the Statue. The statue heard my idea and tilted her head to her shiney right side, reminding me why I've never seen any statue person dressed as the Juliet statue in Italy. Oh that would be horrible. Even if you put up a sign.

Hung out in the garden of the villa hostel and wrote.