Italy Tastes Good!

I arrived in Bologna, Italy, 15 days ago. Haven’t been able to relax yet. My mother insisted, rightly so, on seeing as much as possible. So we traveled to Venice, Florence, and Rome. While in Rome we met a Sonoma county couple whom we liked so much that we joined them on VIP tours around the city and stayed at the same hotel. Florence and Venice were great and doable in a day or two. However, all three cities as well as Bologna are graffitied to death with socialist commentary. Just imagine the great Roman city walls tagged with propaganda. Really a sad sight. Otherwise all the cities, with the exception of Florence, were very clean and tourist friendly.

I won’t go into details as to what we have seen in the last few days. There is simply too much to write about. To say the least, we did it all.

For the next 10 days I am all alone in my tiny 1 bedroom Bolognese apartment. Feels odd but I have done this before so I am sure I will be able to relax and have a real vacation.

The University of Bologna, where I attend class, is the oldest in the western world. The Justinian laws, the finding documents of civil law, were written here. However, the university and the city are in need of a makeover. There are too many grand buildings, palaces, and churches that could use some cleaning and updating-the dirt is an inch thick and the doorways too narrow for fat tourists.

I have decided, or am still considering, not writing onto law review. While chances of getting on are good because of low applicants, I know I am going to hate the experience of cite-checking 20 hours a week while missing out on mock trial and my life. Some have said one can do both law review and mock trial all in one year. While this may be a possibility, I am sure it’s going to cost me all my free time. There are theatre season tickets for the Geffen, Amhenseon, and Mark Taper and a handful of small trips planned to New York, to see Julie Taymor’s “The Magic Flute”, and possibly Canada and London. Oh, and we just won a $24,000 vacation to Paris. I am not about to give up these delights, otherwise known as necessities for proper human development, just so I can say I know how to do “strumpet” work. Plus, my focus is strictly litigation, not academic research or corporate law. But who knows, I may just write on for the heck of it.

Next on the itinerary are Tuscany, Milan, and few unknowns.