Gubbio and Spoleto - sounds a bit like a cartoon show, doesn't it?

This will be a scattered post. My time grows very very short.

Earlier in an previous post, I said my German friends were gentile hosts. My friend Jack pointed out to me that I probably meant gentle (or at least he hoped so). Actually, this is a frightening example of times when the Italian word comes to me before or instead of the English word. "Gentile," pronounced "jen-TEE-lay," means extremely nice, hospitable, friendly, etc. And so now you know.

I still have to write about our last show and the town drunk who tried to spoil it, but that will have to wait for another time. Sleep is drawing its curtain fast across my eyes...

Yesterday Jackson and I went to Gubbio and Spoleto. Two prettier towns I have not seen in quite some time, cumbersome though their names may be. I didn't take a single photo, mainly because I suck, so you'll just have to come visit me in Italy sometime and we'll go there. Both are hill towns in Umbria, both specialize in pasta made with black truffles, and both are singularly wonderful. Spoleto was especially enchanting (the word for which in Italian is "incantevole," pronounced "een-cahn-TAY-voh-lay", a word which I find enchanting in and of itself). Spoleto sits high on a hill, surrounded by a massive gorge which is spanned by a 14th century stone bridge. Its main cathedral, the Duomo, was constructed partly from Roman ruins and sits at the base of a cascade of white stone steps...as you round the corner, after panting up a hill, you come around the bend and see a flood of blinding stairs that rush down and end in a red brick piazza, from which the Duomo, constructed of white and pink marble, rises effortlessly, exactly big enough to fill the piazza without over-dominating the space. As we stood there at 8.30 this morning, a definite chill to the air and not a soul in the piazza, the sun reflecting off the gold foil painting on the facade of the church...well, I couldn't help but think that it was really heartbreakingly lovely.

I have to go to bed now, because I have to get up early tomorrow and record, record, record, eat some fantastic food, and then record some more. We are very close to finishing something...don't know yet whether it will be an EP or the honest-to-goodness album, way ahead of schedule. I will, as always, keep you guys posted.

Oh, and I'm selling a bunch of furniture if anyone is interested. A killer IKEA bed, double, with new mattress, and and an IKEA bookshelf, for starters. Let me know.

a presto,
vanessa