Louise is driving down from Boston with Annie tomorrow morning. She (Louise, not Annie) has an appointment in the city in the afternoon. Bless her soul. The original plan was for me to drive up to New London, where I'd meet up with Annie and Sevvie (Louise's housekeeper), pick up Annie and then drive us directly to JFK. 5 hours of driving, minimum.
Spoke to Annie this morning to see if she had any last-minute requests. She just wanted to make sure that yes, we were going to the Opera. "My first, Uncle Harold!" And then in her little "please say no if this isn't convenient voice" asked if I'd be bringing my computer, so she could listen to her favorite Jim Weiss recordings: Greek Myths, Arabian Nights and Egyptian Stories. I assured her that I'd have the computer but even better, I'd already downloaded onto her own iPod shuffle those stories plus the Susan Hammond children's classic music recordings "Mr. Beethoven Lived Upstairs," "Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery" (which takes place in Venice), and the Bach and Mozart recordings. 7 hours of recordings total, enough for most of our travel. She's a great fan of the Jim Weiss stories in particular, and surprised all of us in the Louvre last year when she pointed out a painting of the statue of Pygmalian coming to life thanks to Galatea's kiss "just like in the story!"
I put in a few hours of work this morning then dropped by the bank to pick up my Euros. Doing a little housekeeping then plan to do the pre-pack. I have my list all ready to go. Oh yes, I have a packing list for all eventualities. If you'd ever gone all the way to Seattle for a week's trip without any boxer shorts, you'd have one too. It's been remarkably helpful -- no more forgetting that once last things that I can see sitting on my dresser as the taxi pulls away from my apartment.
Biggest question right now is which photography equipment to take. On the one hand, I'm always tempted just to make do with the Canon G7 point and shoot. No muss, no fuss, and quite decent digital photos. On the other hand, I'd love to take the Hasselblad Xpan panoramic camera which take gorgeous wide-format shots (perfect for a horizontal city like Venice); I'm even tempted to take the Hasselblad medium format and old-fashion black and white film so I can do some "art" photos to print myself once I return. Of course, the Xpan and the Hasselblad would require the heavier tripod for the early morning/late evening shots I love so much, plus film which needs to be processed. But since we're not stopping in Milano but going straight through to Venice, it's a possibility. I'll test-pack and see what it looks like.
Listening to "Barber of Seville" on iTunes as I Google Jarmila Novotna/La Fenice to see if Annie's great-grandmother, the noted Czech diva of the 30s, 40s and 50s ever sang there. I guess I'll e-mail her uncle Luther and see if he knows. I do know she sang at the Arena in Verona, which I hope we'll be able to see.
Off to lay out my clothes for the trip!
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