PRONTO?

 I must practise my Italian.

Apart from reading the odd, very odd, post from Richard where he bangs on about pianos in Italian, I haven't had occasion to use the little Italian I studied years ago...

A little Italian

... other than when dining in Italian restaurants or reading the cooking instructions on pasta packets.

The Old Girl and I did an intensive course before a trip once but she's much better at speaking it than me.

I saw this yesterday:

We've decided to check this out either to go with the package trip or to make arrangements as free agents. There are plusses and minuses in both. The advantage of the package tour is that all bookings would be done by others who know what they are doing. There is less chance of errors or being ripped off in that. The downside is being part of a tour group and getting stuck with some real opera nuts or Christians or ... both!

The tour covers two operas at the Verona Festival and three operas at the Verdi Festival. 
Accommodation will be: Verona (4 nights), Venice (4 nights), Trieste (3 nights), Ravenna (3 nights), Tuscany (3 nights), Reggio Emilia (4 nights), Parma (4 nights). 
Place to visit with guided tours will be Verona, Venice, Vicenza, Mantua, Padua, Murano, Burano, Florence, Milan, Bologna, Trieste, Vinci, Lucca, Tuscan hills, Emilia-Romagna, Ravenna, San Marino, Modena, Cremona, Parma, and Slovenia including Lake Bled!

Robert will be relieved to know that fate won't be tempted by us visiting Catholic Churches or going to see Il Papa in The Vatican.

Of course September 2026 is a long way away but we have to start planning early for a trip like this.

As I said I will start practising my Italian language:

"Non voglio il salame nel caffè e voglio sapere dove sono i bagni della stazione ferroviaria. C'è un vecchio protestante che possiede una sala qui vicino? Quanti pianoforti possono muovere gli scimpanzé contemporaneamente?"