After the calcio storico yesterday evening and a hot shower to warm up, I was back out the door to meet my friend Erin at Ponte Vecchio. When I saw a manifesto (poster) advertising Cats in the Giardino di Boboli (Boboli Gardens), I couldn't wait to go. I had never seen this musical and finally my chance had come. All the way to Florence.
Normally in the middle of June, the weather here is quite warm, but last night I had to wear socks, boots, a sweater, and a wool scarf around my neck. For three hours, we sat and watched the spectacular performance in the Parco delle Colonne, which is a section of the Giardino di Boboli where there is a large prato (lawn) with large columns.
The actual palcoscenico (stage) was quite small, but the entire structure was gigantic. We sat in our seats in the middle and enjoyed every second of the show.
Unfortunately we were sitting near the staircase and many people were late in arriving, so the first fifteen minutes were not as we would've liked them to be. I was surprised that the spettacolo (show) started exactly on time, but when we ended at midnight, I was grateful.
The musical was in English, which I found quite surprising for being here in Italy. There weren't any sottotitoli (subtitles), so for those who don't understand English, I can't imagine how they fared. A girlfriend of mine who was at the same spettacolo called me during the intervallo (intermission) to ask me to translate some of the musical for her.
Had this been a normal June, the cool breeze in the Giardino di Boboli would've been welcomed with open arms. For the second time in one day, I had to take a hot shower to warm up. I went to sleep yesterday happy with my evening because it was full of cultural activities that were interesting and pleasing to me in many ways.
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