6/12/09: Livorno, Italy

Looks like it is time for a recap of the week! Hmm.

In Barcelona I went and found a good internet spot. I was there by myself because Deanna was volunteering to be a spa customer. They do spa tours as the passengers arrive on the first day and like to have people actually getting massages and facials and what not so the services can be seen in action. I also just wandered around to see if I could find a new area that might be interesting for when Deanna and I stay in town for three days.

Malta was another internet day. I’m getting my headshot biz back in order and needed to mail out my newsletter and such. I found a new spot that is not only right by the port but also has fast wifi…and I’m not saying where until I leave.

Naples was going to be me going to the Archeological Museum and Deanna going up a funicular to a park. We decided to walk together to a coffee place and then we would part ways…but she had a total mapping brain fart. She is normally really good with maps and direction but got totally turned around by a plaza. It was a big plaza similar to St. Peter’s but a little less grand…just a little. So, she wanted me to go up to the park with her instead of us splitting up. We walked to where she knew the funicular stop was…but we had walked a long ways past it. To the museum! It was a good thing we went to the museum because there were two main sections of it that were closed when Deanna originally went. It had all sorts of frescos and mosaics from Pompeii and Herculaneum. A lot of great statues from those and other places as well.

The next day we were going to go to the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, but we heard that it would be closed. The one day of the year it is closed is the day we were showing up…Corpus Cristi day. So, we went to the town next to Civitavecchia, San Marinella and went to the beach. They had really nice beaches with umbrellas and chairs. I had my mind set on that…as did Deanna. I figured we could go to a restaurant and for an entrance fee we could use the beach by them. Well, kind of. It was 2E for a bathroom/changing room pass; 9E for an umbrella, and 14E for two beach chairs. All purchased one at a time as I figured out that they didn’t come together. All said and done, we sunbathed in between a mix of to guys kicking a soccer ball back and forth, rambunctious teen girls splashing water on each other, guys walking by with crappy jewelry or hats for sale every 10-15 minutes, young 20-something topless girls and older 50-60-something topless women. All in all it was a nice day with only minor burns.

Later that night in our improv show we got a 9-10 year old boy named Reynold to do our sound effects for an improv game. I was making TONS of sound effects at that age. Reynold, on the other hand, was very literal…but hilarious. There were cats (“meow”), dogs (“bark”), a combo (“meark”), but the best was when Ric said “My phone is vibrating! Let me switch it so you can hear the ring.” Reynold, “I like ice cream. I like ice cream.” Brilliant.

Today we were going to go to Lucca. Due to normal Livorno hang-ups we got to the train station in time to watch our train leave. For some reason there is a train to Lucca at 10:20 and the next one isn’t until 12:20. So, we decided to go to Florence instead. We wanted to go back to both of them and would only be here two times including today. We’ll get you next time, Lucca!