AMERICAN FOOTBALL PLAYERS LIVING BELOW US

We also found out that we have 3 or 4 football players living on the floor below us playing in the European football league. Of course soccer over here is called football- so this is called "American Football". Apparently the town of Klagenfurt has their own team! I did not know that from last year. Nicki (our landlord) told me that he told the guys that an American professor was coming to stay!! I said to him, "I bet they were VERY impressed". He laughed, and said, "yes- they said, 'oh a professor'". So it ought to be interesting to run into these guys at some point- :)

THE UNIVERSITY OF KLAGENFURT

This is a great aerial shot of the University of Klagenfurt where I'll be teaching for the next few weeks. It is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year while we are here; the university is shut down for that day for a big party! The university of mostly contained all in that one huge building that they keep adding onto with new wings. Last year I got quite lost in the place but after awhile I figured out how to get to where my classes were and to find the place to buy Diet Coke (or Cola-Light as they call it here). You can see how close the university is to the lake- If you look at that picture and follow your finger along the lake coast going from the school to the right where it starts bending back left- that's where Krumpendorf is and where we are living right now- :)

ONE LAST COMMENT ON ITALY

I also noticed, and have meant to say something, that most Italian words, if you think about it, end in "A", "E", "I" or "O"- I never really thought or noticed that before, but once you look at signs that are posted everywhere you realize that they do! That also is why words just seem to roll off their tongues- But honestly, when you add a vowel like that to nearly every word- it just takes so much longer to say anything- then again, you don't get stopped up ending words in consonants like we do. Ona thata notea, I willa signo offa fora the nighta!

KRASSNIGS

This is the building where we are living. It belongs to a wonderful family with the name of Krassnig- Nicky and his mother own and run it- and it is just like staying with loving family to be with them. They both came out and hugged us today to welcome us when we arrived! Our apartment is in this picture, on the right hand bank of windows looking at the picture on the third floor. But they say we are on the second floor because in Europe they call the first floor "Floor 0". I can't remember if I ever noted that in Italy they call floors "pianos"- so to them, we'd be on "piano 2". I just always found that funny.

IN AUSTRIA!

And finally- I can happily announce that we have indeed made it safely to Austria! We got an early bus out of Venice and 4 hours later we were pulling into Klagenfurt. The university where I am teaching is in the town of Klagenfurt which is about 100,000 and is just beautiful- set on this wonderful alpine lake (the warmest alpine lake in Europe) called The Worthesees (pronounced Ver-the-seas). However, we are staying and renting an apartment in this wonderful little town just outside Klagenfurt and it is called Krumpendorf (like kroom-pin-dorf)- and it is also on this wonderful lake. I haven't had a chance to take too many pictures yet but this is the view from our apartment window. Last year I didn't even realize you could see the Alps from this building- but it turns out when you are on the second level, you can!

THE RIALTO BRIDGE

This bridge, The Rialto is also one of my favorite things in Venice. Its smack in the middle of the Grand Canal and is the oldest of Venice's bridges (there are only 4 over the Grand Canal which means you really have to be sure about which side of the canal you want to be on at any given time). I just looked it up and it was built in 1591. Its lined with shops- this other shop shows how its just store after store as you go over- and of course its MY kind of shopping- trinkets and junk!

SHOTS FROM THE LOOKOUT OF THE CHURCH

We got to go into the church, but pictures weren't allowed. Course that didn't stop most people who just had their cameras out clicking and flashing away. But I didn't take any pictures indoors- I didn't want to risk anything that might result in my being thrown into Italian prison for life. This is a shot of St. Mark's square though from the veranda of the church- mostly from the top of the church I enjoyed watching Carol hang to the walls pushing herself against the marble as hard as she could to avoid getting close to the rail :)

ST. MARK'S CHURCH

We stayed over there about 45 minutes and caught a quick ferry back to St. Mark's square- this is the famous plaza from movies where you always see the pigeons flying up- turns out in real life they caused me grief. If only I had been blogging last summer during our trip to NYC- because I seriously got crapped on MAJOR time while we were eating lunch at the boat house in Central Park- But I love New York so much I didn't let it dampen my spirits. I'm not sure what would have happened if I'd been crapped on in Italy-- :) But alas- it didn't happen-- however I did drop a chocolate cookie on the square- and when I reached for it with the five second rule, Carol said as I was ready to pop it in my mouth- bird flu? DANG!

(BTW I'm playing Gregorian chants from YouTube as I write these updates)-

This tower (Campanielle) is VERY famous as well- I've seen it in so many movies set in Venice as I'm sure you have- Last year we went up to the lookout in it, so there was no need to do that again. Interestingly enough, the thing was built over 1,000 years ago, however, in 1902, one day after groaning a lot, it came CRASHING to the ground!!!! It took ten years to rebuild it- and by 1938 it had another crack in it which threatened it- so now they are working on protecting it again and there's scaffolding all around the other side of it-

The church's claim to fame is that it is 1,000 years old- and it contains the bones of St. Mark- from the bible St. Mark :)

DESERTED ISLAND

But you know since we were there- it certainly was a nice quiet place for walk :)

and what views of Venice! Plus Carol's never one to stay mad long :)

NO GREGORIAN FOR YOU

So the boat finally comes and pulls out- and there's this American couple on there (other than us) with luggage up the ying/yang... and he's so busy trying to get a shot of this cruise ship- that he's not really paying attention to which boat he's on- and we leave the dock and he yells out- AIRPORT? We're GOING TO THE AIRPORT RIGHT? The guy working the boat shakes his head and then the American starts to PLEEEEAD PLEEEEEASE turn the boat around- PLEEEEEAASSSSSEEEEE- and he goes into the captains cabin and starts begging- I could see him with his hands in a praying fashion- and I'm thinking, "Oh yeah buddy- now I'm not the only one in the doghouse around here....." and he comes out smiling, making the sign of the cross saying "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" and all of a sudden the boat slows down, makes and arc and starts heading back to the dock. OH NO!!! COME ON- YOU GUYS ARE KILLING ME HERE!!!!! Carol just stares straight ahead, looks at her watch and sighs----

Sad part was it took all of two minutes to get across the canal and dock at the church- and we jumped out- well you could tell from St. Mark's square there didn't look like there was anything going on at this church- and when we got there- had there been tumbleweeds you would definitely have seen them blowing by- but as it was, all there were was locked metal doors and absolutely NO sign of life ANYWHERE on this island- NOTHING-- like in the movies and you're the last man on earth and you're in a city with nothing but wind blowing and echoes-----

I think this picture of Carol pretty much sums it up :)

GREGORIAN CHANTLESS CAROL LEE

OK so yesterday I got Carol interested in going to San Maggorie Island which is just across the canal from Venice to a church that Rick Steve's said did a Gregorian Chant mass everyday M-Sat at 8am. So she got out of bed at 6:30am and showered, got herself fixed up- and then flicked the light at me (because of course I had my iPod on listening to music all night)- and told me to get going. In my defense this was about 7am- I did get ready- but then reminded her that we really shouldn't start the day out without something to eat and I did have a jar of Nutella sitting there calling out my name (hey its Europe- you eat bread for everything, so you've gotta make it exciting)-

Getting to the boat to go to the island involved us walking probably 20 minutes to San Marco square and if you've ever walked in Venice, you know there's no such thing as a straight line- so we set off- you could already feel the humidity in the air, and you could tell it was going to be a hot day.

Venice was blissfully without crowds at 7:30am- and I have to say its one of the few times I actually enjoyed walking around there. UNfortunately, however, by the time we got the boats it turned out that the boat to the island had JUST left the dock- and the next one wasn't coming till 8:19am (the mass started at 8am)-

Carol wasn't too happy-- up early, fixed up- practically running across Venice in humidity and we miss the boat-

I did get a couple of good shots tho! This cruise ship went by while we were waiting- MAN those things are HUGE!

CAMERA RECOMMENDATION

I tell you, I have to say that I am LOVING the camera that Carol got me for Christmas. It is the Canon Coolpix S70. This is exactly what it looks like right here. It has the greatest LED (or LCD) place to see your picture on the back- and adjusts all by touching the screen- and very symbol driven. And best of all it hooks into my belt, so its kind of like whipping out a little revolver when I see a picture of something I want to capture- just whip, snap- and its back in its holder without anyone really knowing :) Just had to put a little plug in for it- especially if you're looking for a medium priced (I think it was about $400) camera- that is easy and fun. When I Googled this looking for it, I realized that all my words came up in German now- And just when I was getting used to Immageneria being the word for images on Google :)

MISCELLANEOUS VENICE

These are a couple of other shots I took in Venice-

MURANO

So today, we set off by boat for Murano Island!! OK I admit, I’d never heard of Murano glass before last year but apparently a lot of women have- and my wife is one of them J. And Venice is of course, the home of Murano glass! And then if you really want to specific, Murano Island within Venice is THE home of Murano glass! So we went! I actually really enjoyed it- I figured I’d enjoy it for Carol’s sake (since I made her look at 100,000 statues in Rome)- but I actually found a lot of the glass stuff to be quite beautiful myself- it goes waaaaay beyond the jewelry. The chandeliers caught my eye the most- it would just be incredible to have a house large enough and grand enough to have a different one of these pieces in each room wouldn’t it. The island itself is just off shore of Venice but there are so many “things” in the water between boats, yachts, cruise ships, buoys, little islands- that it took us about 30-40 minutes to get over there. Plus you have to snake around the whole outside of Venice itself- Here we were going for about ½ an hour and I looked and we were just on the other side of Venice. I could tell from seeing the huge campanile from St. Mark’s church in San Marco Square (the famous square with all the pigeons). I J K These pictures show San Marco (St. Mark’s) Square as we were leaving it- and then they show Murano Island as we’re pulling into it- (the white/black light house)- and the other shot of the buildings- a lot of those buildings are actually glass furnaces/factories that are firing up hot furnaces to melt the glass and get it ready for the blowers.

The whole glass blowing thing years and years (I mean hundreds) ago was required to be put on this separate island to keep it away from Venice because of the danger of fire. For those of you who love glass jewelry like Carol--- you would have been in heaven on this island. Shop after shop after shop after shop of places – each of them with some very unique pieces and not just all the junk that is shipped over to all the tourist places in so many places like Venice, Rome, etc.. And REALLY reasonable- And by reasonable I mean that if something would sell for $20 in the US you might get it for $10 here- or bowls that might be $1,000 in the US for $300 here. Obviously isn’t back too many bowls J.

VENETIAN SUNSETS

As we were walking back to our place last night from dinner the sun was setting and it was just golden. Look at this view looking down one of the little inner canals right by our place.

GONDOLAS

I still am not into the whole Gondola thing and fortunately (for me) either is Carol- It just seems so cheesy and a really bad way to spend 100 euro- But if someone likes it I guess its ok- I think its fun to watch the Gondola drivers cause they are usually screwing around or trying to talk someone into going for a ride- This guy was on the Accademia Bridge while we were eating our first meal in Venice last night. Turns out they really do dress like that- and apparently if you get them to sing (which they do from the evening on) it costs even more J You know if you keep an ear open to all these tour groups going around you can catch some of them that are English and last night we heard that this place which is right by the little house we are staying in, is the ONLY place in Venice that actually builds Gondolas from scratch. And its apparently been in business for over 1,000 years. Did you know that Gondola drivers leave their right to be a Gondola driver to their wives- I'm not sure what they do with it- give it to their sons?

ARRIVING IN VENICE

So before last year, I had absolutely no idea what Venice was going to be like. But last year, when we spent 6 weeks in Austria, we ended up taking that bus over for the day (4 hours over, walking all day, and 4 hours back)- so I knew that there was this freeway that was built out into the water connecting the mainland of Italy to Venice—but what I didn’t realize until yesterday was that the train ran RIGHT next to the freeway- because after cutting up the direct center of Italy through all this beautiful Tuscan landscape- we ended up cutting right out into the water over the Adriatic Sea and pulling up into a beautiful train station RIGHT on the Grand Canal. It couldn’t be more convenient.

I also knew to expect complete chaos when we got there with people speaking tons of different languages and going in as many directions. But I think it helped to be finishing three weeks of already haven been in Italy; we were pretty much already used to the chaos—This isn’t the greatest picture in the world but its kind of fun cause it shows how you first see the Grand Canal- as soon as you get off at the train station you need to get into these water taxis that I think they spell “Traghettos”. Honestly- its awful to say, but when I see these things go by all I can think of is the boat people that you see landing in Florida- people are just CRAMMMMMMMED into these things- and at 6.50 Euros a ride you think the accommodations would be a little better- but they aren’t. Still they are a ‘walk in the park’ compared to the Rome subway system (but I’m not bitter)- Fortunately our ride was only about 10-15 minutes. We are staying at a place that Rick Steve’s recommended and of all our accommodations in Italy, this one is the most sketchy. But eh- its ok. The location is really nice. It is located on the backside of Venice which means that about a block from our place is a beautiful wide walkway called The Zattere- the sunsets are beautiful and there is actually room to walk unlike the Grand Canal which doesn’t really have nice walkways, and is JAMMMMMED with people. - The canal is called The Giudecca Canal- its actually bigger than the Grand Canal.

ESCAPE FROM ITALIA

By the time you are reading this we’ll be in AUSTRIA! I had no internet contact while we were in Venice. I didn’t think the place we stayed would have any, but I was kind of hoping that someone in the area would have wireless I could tap into; but no such luck. As I write this we still have one more day left in Italy. I have to say the country has been thrilling and fascinating, but I really am ok with the fact that on Sunday we enter back into a nation that is a little more ‘sane?’ But again, it’s a trip I’ve always wanted to do, I’m glad we did it- and it’ll be fun to look back upon. And seriously, I don’t think I care if I EVER eat pizza again!

I had to include this picture though. I had read online that the Italian rail union was planning on going on strike at 9pm on Thursday night (the day we traveled from Florence to Venice). Sure enough, as we are waiting near the tracks in Florence we hear all this shouting and yelling outside on the street- and slowly more and more police started to gather inside the train station. Carol (being a state cop’s daughter notices immediately and goes, “oh, oh , the police aren’t looking happy”). Of course our train is late, and I’m thinking I’m five minutes from freedom from this place--- Pretty soon all we see are red/white/green flags waving inside the train station- and the demonstration comes walking through the train station and some of the flags read “Transpertato”--- they must have been told they weren’t allowed to make noise in the train station though cause they were silent marching through. Then at LAST! “Bin 6” and our train arrived to wisk us away to Venice. I never did find out if the rail system went on strike again; I’m sure they did. It sounds like they do a lot. All I know is our transportation out of Venice and over to Austria is the Austrian bus system. For some reason the Italian rail service dropped their train service from Venice to Klagenfurt (no one from Klagenfurt can figure it out either) but there is a WONDERFUL first-class bus that takes you from the parking lot (Trochenetto) to the train station in Klagenfurt where we can catch a quick 5 minute train to the little town of Krumpendorf where we’ll spend the next month J.

PISA and EDWARD HOPPER

While we were sitting in a cool spot on the street in downtown Pisa- I couldn't help but notice how much the light on these buildings looked like an Edward Hopper painting (the missed show in Rome). Guess you can find art in many things daily-

THE UNIVERSITY OF PISA

Have to say, didn't know there was one- but it turns out Pisa is a college town! Still- I think I'd rather teach at UNI :)

A FEW MORE TOWER SHOTS

Here are a few more miscellaneous shots taken while on the tower- shows the staircase and the bells from right next to them.

BACK TO CAROL LEE

In the end, I made it up and I made it down. I never did see the brown tooth guy again- Last I saw him was on the second level and he was talking to himself, I think kind of wondering what was going on and why he was up there-

Carol was waiting for me when I got down and she was happy to have her husband back- I had told her where the rest of the train tickets were and what time our flight left on July 3 just in case--

A nice guy from Australia took this shot of us a little while after I had come down :)

THE VERY TOP

Of course when I got up there- it was a rush! PLUS I had absolutely NO one telling me what to do- and that it was dangerous to spin in circles while videoing myself- So you get to see one of my creations! Its hard to hear me but basically I'm saying something to the effect of being on the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa :) At first I didn't realize that we could actually get to the VERY top- but then I saw people crawling into this 2 foot opening in the marble and then mounting tiny little circular steps that went up up up (straight up practically) to the very top of the tower- I've gotta tell you people were either terrified up there or acting like they were walking on the sidewalk below. Fortunately I fell into the second category which is funny given my inner ear imbalance- but one thing that's gotten for me is that I often feel off-balance even sitting in a chair- so being at the top Pisa- and feeling vertigo- just old hat to me-

There was a young guy from Germany up there- I didn't even mean to take his picture- but after I snapped this shot, he (red shorts) looked at me with a look of humor, fear (much more fear) and exasperation as he in English, "THEES IS CRAUGHZY!!!"

So I have to put him in here :)

THE TOP

There were really two levels to the top. First there was the sub-top- this was actually worse than the top- because on the subtop- there is NO flat level- its just a series of steps- that you can't really walk on (kind of like walking on narrow bleachers) Can you see how they are shaped here?

And so if you go high, then you're above the railing- and if you go low, the area was more narrow- and add to all this its like walking on a saucer that is at a tilt- so the whole time you're trying to go up and down marble stairs, you are being forced into a crouch- because you're getting too much steam going one way- and the other you're going up hill! I honestly don't think this would EVER be allowed in the US with everything being so uber-protected from lawsuits. But the Europeans think nothing of pushing you up the stairs and saying, "Have at it!"

TRUDGING ALONG

This goes on for about 2 minutes- you think that's not long- you've never been in the Leaning Tower of Pisa in this situation before- trust me. Its long. All of a sudden I hear these American's about 10 people behind me, "OH man this place REALLY STINKS!" And I'm thinking- You should be up here buddy! Now none of the people in this picture are this guy- but finally, mercifully, there is a little jut out in the walk up for resting- and of course, he goes RIGHT by it and continues on- (I mean I really gotta give the guy credit)--

but I'm no fool- I duck out- and do a little 'winded' number-- the young American guy behind me with his girlfriend looks at me like 'get out of the way old man--- young guy comin through'-- and i'm like, "you go for it young man"---- I let about 10 people go inbetween and then jumped back in- that's about when I took this picture---- I could still smell him- but it was more disparate and bearable-

Then suddenly we go around this next bend- and there's another jut out- and there's the young American guy with his girlfriend- and he's like doubled over in disgust- fanning the air around him saying to his girlfriend that the smell is DISGUSTING and he can't stand it!! I keep my head down and just go by- burning in my guilt, but grinning in my delight---

That's about when we came out on this scene-

Up until then, other than the smell I'm thinking, "Poor Carol- she's gonna be disappointed that she missed this-" and then I hit the top of the birthday cake (that's sort of what this tower looks like in person)- so ornate-

ROUGH START

The first thing that happened is the young couple with the 5 year old ahead of the brown tooth guy got kicked out of the line because their child was too young to go up--- they threw up their hands in exasperation and said, "What do we do??" YOU GO BACK TO THE TICKET OFFICE---- !!! GET NEW TIME!!!!! and they were off- That left me, immediately behind brown tooth guy- and that's when I realized he could barely walk. But that didn't stop him- he went in that arched marble doorway and started his way up the worn and sloped marble stairs- And I thought to myself- really if you think about it only I could be behind a guy with brown teeth, who can't really walk and we're heading up a dangerous tower to now I'm sure, a certain death. Just then he slipped for the first time!!! and I realized he was wearing the most FLIMSY pair of leather sandals I'd ever seen! AND HE SLIPPED A SECOND TIME- and only this time starting backwards towards me- I put out my arms- but he caught himself- He stopped- I thought, Ah ha--- he's turning around- now the 28 people who were coming behind me are on my tail- and we are going at a SNAILLLLLLLS pace. SA-LAAAAAAAAP HE SLIPS AGAIN!!!! wobbles- leans back- and then does a full circle back forward----- And that's when i realized- not only are his teeth brown- but this guy reallllllllly reeeeeeeeeks!!! It was a mixture of dirt, urine and BO--- but it was bad- REALLY bad----- like make you sick bad----- and we had 295 stairs to go..............

THE JOURNEY UP

So I had my reservation time booked over a month ago- but we got there early so I went in the ticket line and had my time changed to an earlier one. They only allow groups of 30 people to go up at once- and then everyone has to be out before another group is allowed in. So when the time came I went in the cog with my group- and of course since Carol was sitting it out, I was just standing there minding my own business listening to all the different languages being spoken. All of a sudden a woman comes bursting to the front of the line and looks at me desperately and says, "Espanol"??? To which I say of course, "sorry- no". She sagged in her disappointment- but being the good samaritan that I am, I pointed to the ticket building across the square and said, "TICKETS!" "THERE!" "TICKETS"! She brightened!! "Ce pasa sing do libre do masa nota bo tana do mata???"(I have no idea what I've just written)--- I pause, and look at the guy ahead of me and say, "What do you think?"- that's when I noticed that his teeth were an interesting shade of sienna brown. He looks at me, looks at her, and that's when I realized that this poor guy was not only physically disabled, he was mentally challenged. She looks back at me desperate, and so I say quite confidently, "TICKETS" "THERE"--- to which she waves her hand in exasperation and walks away from me at which point the Italian guard pulls back the rope and we are off!"

LINDQUIST CONQUERS PISA!

OK something really cool did happen today. I climbed to the top of THE LEANING TOWER OF PISA!!! Carol didn't do it- she absolutely DETESTS heights. And now that its done, it is SUCH A GOOD thing that she decided not to try it- she would have HATED it- Now if you recall- I got her to the crown of the Statue of Liberty- and when it was done she was charged with excitement. But this- the closest thing I can liken it to- is imagine if you went up to the crown of the Statue of Liberty, only when you got there, rather than stay in the crown, they had a little portal door that you had to crawl out, and then you had to hang on and crawl up to the top of her head- and sit on one of the waves of her hair. THAT's what it was like at the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa! It was awesome and horrifying at the same time!

GYPSIES, CRABS and THIEVES

I have to admit- I borrowed that title from a very witty guy whose blog I was reading earlier. He was sharing his experiences being accosted by gypsies while traveling in Italy. If it wasn't so true (and constant) it would be pretty funny. One of my new particular "favorites" is the guy who got in my face the other morning when we had just started the day out and bellowed at me, "SENOR! YOUR CHANGE--- PLEASE" in a very demanding and expecting way with his hand in my face. I just kept walking- and was thinking, gosh I kind of thought that I WAS gonna use that change today, I didn't realize it was his! Another particular favorite is when you're eating at a restaurant outside and they come by with the cup, and if you continue to ignore them, they start to shake it in your face rattling the coins they have inside. And now I'm talkin really YOUNG, healthy, perfectly able young people- they are the ones who are most aggressive. Then, just when its time to get a break from them, there's the guys with the roses in your face- tonight, sitting at an outdoor cafe with Carol I was telling her that the part about Italy that is getting to me, is the CONSTANT harassment by all different types of people; the gypsies, the Africans selling the illegal watches, and that you have to keep your guard up at ALL times- and if you let it down for even a SECOND they'll get you- just then a rose (I kid you not) appeared in my face and there was a guy an inch from me, pushing the flower at me, "SENOR- FOR THE SENIORITA!!" ' No thanks", OH BUT SENOR! "NO".--- he moves onto the next table adding joy and delight to their evening at an outdoor cafe-

But just remember- I'm not bitter.

BUT I DIDN'T STOP THERE!

Check out my new briefcase for teaching!!! Not sure if the pictures can capture its elegance. But you can see it for yourselves when I get back :) and before anyone gives me any grief, Carol got cashmere lined leather gloves and could have had more but she's holding out for Murano Island in Venice!

LEATHER

Last one! Today, I went a little nuts in a leather shop in Florence- it started with a black wallet- oh the smell is just so LEATHERY and Italian- and it was made by the father of the shop owner and he described how in that smooth Italian accent-

Look at the craftsmanship!

FLORENCE

Its the view that David is looking out upon that is the most majestic here, however. Just look at those vistas! You can even see the original ROMAN WALL that surrounded Florence during Roman times-

PIAZZA MICHELANGELO

I have to say, the giant state of David was a bit of a disappointment. Maybe because it was SO hot, and such a long walk up, up and up to get to this part of town where the mammoth statue resides. Or maybe because he was GREEN??? BTW I guess I failed to mention earlier that WE DID indeed to get to see the statue of all statues- Michelangelo's David in the Accademia museum. However, after all that build up- they didn't allow cameras! Actually it was probably just as well- that way I lived in the moment instead of just trying to capture every image in the place in my camera lens (speaking of which I need to charge my camera up for tomorrow's visit to Pisa)! But David was GREAT! No picture- no replica can even come close to the detail that Michelangelo put into that masterpieces. You would swear he's going to start breathing the detail is so real- you can see the veins in his neck- the tendons in his legs- the pores of the skin on his arms! Unreal-

Anyway, we hiked and hiked in the Tuscan sun to get to this park, and there he was, in his green skin. I put a shot in from the distance to show how he's in a parking lot with vendors-