I went to see Tosca at La Scala last Wednesday night, and I got a better seat than when I went to Figaro. Standing, I could see the entire stage. The set was incredible and so were the two leads. Actually seeing a production there explains why the most expensive seats are upwards of 300 euro. I am going to try to get to a few more shows there before I have to leave.

I had my last voice lesson with Patrizia on Thursday. She left over the weekend for a two-month stay in Belgium where she will be playing Mimi in La Boheme. She was really excited about the role, but she was sad to leave her students, I think. I always get a little sad about parting with voice teachers, and she definitely did a lot for me. Even though I am done with my lessons, I still have a performance the last week here. I need to figure out exactly what I am doing for that.

The weekend was pretty low-key. We mostly stayed in and made our own party. I think everyone was still exhausted from traveling over our three week break. I was still a little sick from it, too, but now that is clearing up.

Now that finals are drawing nearer, I have quite a bit of work to do. I spent most of the days this weekend working on my final paper for my opera independent study. Basically, I had to analyze the entire score of The Marriage of Figaro and discuss its historical significance. I will admit, it was fun (I know I'm a dork.) but now I have all of the music constantly playing through my head.

Charlie's parents were in town to visit this last week, too. They are typically "Minnesota Nice". They told me that I should come over this summer when I am in the cities for a barbeque at their house (They live about 4 blocks from Mac). It was fun having them around, even though it was kind of weird to be in the presence of parents again.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) Megan Buckingham is coming to Milan to stay with me for a couple days. She just finished up her abroad in Barcelona and is traveling around before returning to the US. I'm excited to show her around my hood.

I am going the Cinque Terre, a set of five hiking villages along the coast, on Friday with an IES-sponsored day trip (we don't have classes). I think that will officially be the last traveling I do in Italy.

I need to make a list of things I still need to do in Milan before I leave. I still haven't see The Last Supper, and there are a ton of other things I must see/do. I actually cannot believe I am leaving here in less than three weeks. I can't think about it right now.