The Magic of Italy ....

If you love opera, and you also love Italy, as I do, you have really missed a stunning spectacle if you haven't been to the Verona Opera Festival.  (Even if opera is not really your thing, you could not fail to be moved by the ancient setting).  

I went a few years ago with a friend, and as it was her 'special' birthday, we decided to do it in style and opted for the best seats in the house (Poltronissime), where the Italian men wear their tuxedos and the ladies wear long evening dresses. 

 

Before entering the Arena di Verona, it is a good idea to eat at one of the many restaurants in the small streets that surround the Amphitheatre. This way, you can really make the most of the charged atmosphere, whilst doing some serious people watching at the same time.  There are lots of gorgeous, designer shops for you to feast your eyes on (I particularly remember the Louis Vuitton shop, which was immediately opposite the ancient Arena).

 

Once inside the Arena, be prepared to be blown away by the sheer scale and magnificence of it all.  The Arena sits 20,000 people, from the best seats on the floor of the Arena, right up to the unreserved places on the upper (very upper!) stone galleries, where you are perched high on the topmost ramparts of the original Stadium, which was built in 30 AD.  

 

 

When one thinks of opera, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the Sydney Opera House, and La Scala all spring readily to mind, but you will find that Verona combines a quite unique setting with productions and performances of a consistently  high standard. Where else could you be watching, on a hot Summer's evening, a performance of Aida, as I was, when at the start of the second act, immediately behind the stage, a huge, full moon rose majestically  above the ancient stone walls, and literally hung in the dark sky, surrounded by glittering stars, for the remainder of the  performance!

 

The Italians really do have a love and flair for the dramatic performance, and they are a very demanding audience, which seems to bring out the best in performers and musicians alike. When the audience is appreciative of a certain Aria, they will stamp their feet, cheer and clap, so that, even though the performers are in the middle of an Act, they will perform the Aria again, to even more spontaneous applause!

It really was a magical experience, and one that I will never forget. 

Opera In The Open Air

Verona Opera Festival

If you love opera and you also love Italy, you really have missed a stunning spectacle if you haven't yet been to see the Verona Opera Festival.  (Even if opera is not really your thing, you would not fail to be moved by the ancient setting of this particular Festival).  I went with a friend a few years ago, and we decided to do it in style, and opted for the best seats in the house (Poltronissime) where the Italians turn up in full evening dress for the men, and long, elegant gowns for the ladies.

Before entering the Arena di Verona, it is a good idea to eat at one of the many restaurants in the small streets surrounding the amphitheatre.  This way, you can really make the most of the charged atmosphere, whilst doing some serious people watching at the same time.  There are lots of gorgeous, designer shops for you to feast your eyes on (I particularly remember the Louis Vuitton shop, which was immediately opposite the ancient arene, containing a huge selection of wonderful handbags - all at wonderful prices, of course).

Once inside the arena, be prepared to be blown away by the sheer scale and magnificence of it all.  The arena sits 20,000 people, from the best seats which are on the floor of the arena, right up to the unreserved places on the upper (very upper!) stone galleries, where you are perched high on the topmost ramparts of the original Stadium, which was built in 30 A.D.

When one thinks of opera, The Royal Opera House at Convent Garden, the Sydney Opera House, and La Scala all spring readily to mind, but you will find that Verona combines a quite unique setting with productions and performances of a consistently high standard.  Where else could you be watching, on a hot summer night, a performance of Aida (as I was) at the start of the second Act, when immediately behind the stage, a huge, full moon rose majestically above the ancient arena walls and literally hung in the dark sky, surrounded by glittering stars, for the remainder of the performance.

The Italians really do have a love and flair for the dramatic performance, and they are a very demanding audience, which always seems to bring out the very best in performers and musicians alike.  When the audience is particularly appreciative of a certain Aria, they will stamp their feet, cheer and clap and, even though they are in the middle of an Act, the performers will sing the Aria again, to even more spontaneous applause.

It really was a magical experience, and one that I will never forget!

Whilst in Verona, of course, we just had to see the balcony from Romeo and Juliet!

I hope you have enjoyed this second visit to Italy 🇮🇹 

(All images today courtesy of Pinterest.com)

Safe Journeys

I know from reading my friends' blogs, that some of you are now having a break from writing your posts until the new year. 

I know, also, that many of you will be travelling to spend your Christmas with family and friends.  No doubt some of you will just have to travel a few miles, whilst others will be making quite a long journey.

The weather forecast here in England is for very bad weather coming in again (they have threatened us with bitterly cold winds, snow, ice and rain.  I think they've about got it all covered there).

My prayer for all of you is that the weather will be kind and that you will reach your destinations safely, unharmed, and ready to enjoy the celebrations surrounded by the love of your family.

I know, also, that some of you will not be with family this Christmas and I pray that you will all be able to meet up again very soon in 2011.

Not Happy!!

As we set off from my daughter's home yesterday for Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, the snow was falling very heavily indeed.  We set off much earlier than we needed to, as I was worried about my daughter having to drive back from the airport on her own in, by now,  really atrocious weather. 

Well, thank goodness we did start early, because on the approach to the Departure Terminal, the traffic was at a complete standstill and we were stuck there for forty five minutes, with the final check-in time rapidly approaching.   Fortunately, we started to inch forward just in time.

It was a brand new Terminal - one which we hadn't been to before - so it took us time to locate our check-in desk.  Anyway, we arrived with about two minutes to spare.  Phew!

Ignoring the wonderful array of Duty Free Shops, we headed for the departure gate, and couldn't believe it when, at 2 p.m. we started boarding.  (The departure time was 2.30 p.m.).  So far, so good.  We were then directed to a bus, where we patiently sat for thirty minutes until the driver appeared. 

Still, at least we were on our way, with the snow still falling heavily.  Now we were on the plane, and I started to make myself comfortable, feeling really lucky that we were going to get off  without too much delay.

BUT, an announcement then came over the tannoy from the pilot saying that we were going to have to wait for the engines to be de-iced and that they couldn't get any time information from Air Traffic Control.

To cut a long story short, we sat on the plane for THREE HOURS, whilst waiting our turn to go through the de-icing machine.  (It was almost like driving through a car wash!).  I have to admit that I did find it incredible that an international airport of that size, with planes taking off every couple of minutes, just had one de-icing machine to cope with the situation.

Perhaps England is not the only country struggling to cope in these sub-zero temperatures!

Oh! I forgot to mention that, on top of all that, I've left my iPhone over in France. Grrrrrr!

Hopefully I will have a better day tomorrow!



Getting excited!!

Gosh, you wouldn't believe how cold it is here at the moment - we have a real biting cold wind, and I don't like it.  I'm not built for the cold!!  It's only 35 degree here at the moment and seems much colder with the wind coming from all directions.  At least we don't have any snow in my part of Devon at the moment, and I am praying that we don't get any for the next 24 hours, because tomorrow, my husband and I are catching the plane to Paris for a few days, to celebrate our  granddaughter's 13th birthday. 

I've just looked at the weather forecast for Paris  and it's even colder over there, showing 25 degrees for today.  Eeek!  I'm going to have to turn out my thermals, me thinks.

I noticed this morning that even the horses in the field have their winter coats on.  We moved into this house thirteen years ago, and have always had feral cats (they live in the deserted Barn next door) coming to the back door for feeding.  There seems to be a new little litter of kittens arriving every six months or so, and they are so cute, in all different colours.  There was a little black and white one which arrived a couple of months ago and, out of all the ones we have had here over the years, he was by far the friendliest.  Every time I went outside the house he would come running up to me and follow me round the garden.  Anyway, I came down this morning and looked outside the back door and he was just lying there as if he was asleep.  I opened the door, but he didn't move, and I discovered that the poor little thing was dead.  Whether it was the cold that had got to him, or whether he had been knocked down on the road, and managed to pull his little body up the drive  to our door, I don't know, but I felt very sad. We have buried him in the garden, and I shall miss seeing him every day, although the mum and dad are still here.  In fact, it looks to me as if the mum is pregnant again!  We have given several kittens to friends and taken more down to the local Animal Shelter.  It's really spooky, because only a couple of days ago, I had taken a photo of this little kitten, which I don't usually do.
 

Poor little kitten

As I shall be away, I probably won't be blogging for the next few days, but will be back with you again soon.  Take care until then, and I will leave you with this Chinese proverb :

"Rather light a candle than complain about the darkness."