travelin' through

Yesterday Sarah and I rolled into Salzburg on the train and it was not raining. Which was an immediate point in favor of us liking this city. The next few hundred points were delivered emphatically by the beautiful mountains surrounding us on every side. A point or two was taken away for the smoke filling every cafe we wanted to sit it, but overall, we are happy happy happy. I can't help but love a place that puts me within arms' reach of towering peaks and snow-covered hills. Gosh, this place is stunning.

Today we went on "The Sound of Music" tour. That's right. And it was such a good decision. Not least because now I can watch that movie and say, "I've been there! and there! and there! and there!" And probably only you - Daddy - would be able to sit through three hours of me doing that. :) But mostly because it took us out into the lake district which was lovely. And we never would have been able to get out there on our own.

By the way, did you know that Mozart was born here? Because you couldn't walk through Salzburg and stay oblivious to that fact for more than a few minutes. Mozart-worship is everywhere. I like the man well enough, but give me some Mahler and I'll forget Moz-something ever existed. Sacriligious, I know. But I was never a conventional music major.

We just came from Vienna and we have no idea what the city looked like. The wind and rain were so fierce that all we saw was the pavement and the insides of buildings. Can I just say - if I ever have to look at a rendering of the Madonna and Child again, I'm going to hurl. Or Dead Jesus in His mother's arms. I miss Impressionism...

In Vienna, however, we got to go to the symphony. And that lived up to every expectation we had. Debussy, Ravel and some other composer named Zemlinsky. It was gorgeous. Just absolutely divine. The opera, on the other hand, we left at intermission. "What a great experience," we said to one another. "Thank you for not wanting to stay."

Before Vienna was Vernazza in Cinque Terra on the coast of Italy. You'll have to ask me individually about all these places or this update will never end, but this village was classic little Italy. We loved it. We didn't enjoy Firenze as much. It was rainy and grey, but also, we'd just come from glorious Roma, which had completely stolen our hearts and our ability to immediately appreciate any other city. It was sunny there! Sunny and ancient and orange!

So yes. That is the traveling update. After Salzburg is Munich and then Amsterdam, Bruges, and for me - London and home! How quickly the time has gone. I'm anxious to be home, even while being present in the traveling moments - drinking in my surroundings, trying not to inhale too much cigarette smoke, drying out my boots each night, and dreaming of the tea pot which waits for me in Portland.