Going Postal

I received two packages today - one from Canada and the other from Padova. I'll talk about the one from Canada first.

It was from our good friend Cathy and she had mailed it back on December 6, 2010 - that's 71 days ago. So it took 71 days for a parcel to get from Ottawa to Rome.  I can't tell from any of the post marks as to when it arrived here but my friend Mark has suggested it has been held in the tender hands of Poste Italiene for perhaps a little while as he has found the same thing with parcels from New Zealand. Now part of my astonishment at the length of time that it took to get here is that a week ago Tuesday I sent a parcel from Rome back to Canada and Laurent's father received it by Monday - 6 days including a weekend??  Now I will admit that I had gone over and mailed it from the Country on the other side of the River and there is a chance that Pope Post has special wings but really??? Rome to Montreal - 6 days; Ottawa to Rome - 71?????? Strano as we say here, molto strano!

The other parcel was from the Hotel Beludi 37 in Padova and I was equally astonished but this time in a more than good way.

Hote Beludi 37 - Entrance

We had stayed at the hotel during our all too brief stopover in Padova on the way up to Austria. Two days was not enough time to see all the wonders of this fascinating city nor to experience the warm hospitality of the Beludi. The hotel is located a block away from the Sanctuary of Sant'Antonio - we had a view of the Basilica from our bedroom window - and close to all the sights.  It has a good breakfast, allows pets and has free wi-fi in the rooms - I'm still trying to figure out how a small hotel can do that when a big hotel charges €20.00 a day for internet. The first morning the hand shower was causing problems so I mentioned it to the front desk. Being a Saturday they weren't able to get a repair man in so they moved us to a better room - with that great view - and presented us with a bottle of Prosecco, snacks and a small fruit basket. All that for a broken shower! But it didn't end there.

Our very comfortable room with windows overlooking the Piazza Santa at the highly recommended Hotel Beludi 37 in Padova.

Saturday night we had dinner at a restaurant in Centro and in a moment of abstraction - not infrequent these days it would seem - I left my small change purse on the table - with change and more important the only copy of a combination number in it. When I remembered it on Sunday the front desk called the restaurant but it was closed for the day. At that point I gave it up for lost.  The next day as we sat at lunch in Innsbruck the cell rang - it was Tomas from the front desk at the Beludi. He had contacted the restaurant, they had the change purse, he would go over at some point and then send it on to my home address.

The view towards the Sanctuary of Sant'Antonio from our hotel room window at the Beludi 37 - you can't get much closer than that!

That was the parcel I received today - I might add 5 days after he posted it by Poste Italiene - complete with all the change and that important number.  There is no way to sufficiently express how impressed I am with that sort of care and service.  1000 grazie to Tomas, and in fact to all the wonderful staff, at the Hotel Beludi 37 - your hotel may be listed as a two star (I'm still trying to figure that one out) but the service is ***** all the way.

16 febbraio - Sant'Elia e Compagni

Lines, Lines Everywhere's There's Lines

We have our box at the opera this year but unfortunately it doesn't include the season's opening production - Tosca directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Zio Franco is still a big draw around these parts - even if recent pronouncements he's made in the papers sound like he may be, how shall we say, losing it just a bit. We want to see this "new" Zio Franco production even if it is a rehash of the Callas 1964 one from Covent Garden or the Met's elevator mad one, just to see real solid sets and not steeply sloped floors with sticky out bits. Guaranteed with Zio Franco if the libretto says Act I - Church of Sant'Andrea delle Valle you'll get the Church of Sant'Andrea delle Valle.

So when tickets went on sale for the season this morning I headed down to Piazza Beniamino Gigli to get us some seats.

The Box Office opened at 1000 I arrived at 1130 and joined this crowd:

And received this slip of paper from a kindly gentleman ensconced in the corner:
He wasn't a member of the Opera House staff - just an opera lover who was going to make damned sure everyone got their turn based on when they arrived. And wonder of wonders it was working except they were just calling number 85 and 86 when he handed me mine.

I figured it would be a long wait so left to do a bit of window shopping and book buying. I returned an hour later and they had just called number 106. An hour after that and they were up to number 162. In conversation with the man who had number 446 we decided we'd be lucky to get to the box office window by tomorrow. In the meantime I had been back and forth to Termini hoping to meet our friend Jack when he arrived on the airport train.

He called to say his flight had arrived late, he had waited an hour to get his bag and he was in the line up for train tickets. An hour later he called to say he had just got his ticket and would be on the next train. The final trip to the Opera House indicated that they were "Now Serving Number 187."

In the meantime I thought I'd buy the stamps I need for my Residence Permit at the Station Post Office while I was waiting. And surprise I ran into another line up.

It just seemed to be a day for line ups. I didn't get my tickets for Tosca nor the stamps for my Permit but I did manage to pick Jack up so at least something was accomplished. Mind you we had to line up for 10 minutes for a cab.

03 gennaio - Santa Genoveffa