Arezzo, Italy (2007) |
We spent a week in The following
story is preserved for posterity so you don’t have to read it unless
you were there. It is entitled, “Being
John Butler”. We stayed in a hotel near the conference. Initially a triple was to be shared by Pogen, Johannes, The next day at lunchtime, Later that evening Johannes explained that he got us into a
little trouble. At lunchtime he
had returned to the hotel to pick up his bathing suit. John reminded him to sneak in and under
no circumstances ask for the key from the front desk if it wasn’t there.
Johannes had walked into the
hotel, went up to the front desk, and asked for the key, which wasn’t
there. The front desk people were alarmed and very
confused at this point. They
confronted Johannes suspiciously and asked who he was that he was asking for
John Butler’s key. Johannes
was forced to register for the triple room and make up an excuse about
leaving stuff in John Butler’s room. He knocked on the door to John Butler’s
room, and was greeted by a dark stranger. Johannes grabbed his stuff and took off
running. But who was in the room and had the key to
John Butler’s room? Apparently John had arrived in But we didn’t know it had been so
clear Rodrigo had left. We knew
that the front desk was waiting on John Butler’s roommate, whoever that
was, to register. We decided to come
clean, register me to the triple and switch Johannes to being John’s
roommate. We came down to the
front desk and explained the situation. Something didn’t
come out right in the translation. The
guy at the front desk, who was suspicious and angry because he had seen
Rodrigo and Johannes, was off his shift. He had left a note with the new guy
that John Butler had better register someone for the previous two nights or
else Interpol was getting called. The new guy thought I was “Rodrigo”
and he retroactively registered me for the previous 2 nights, but not for any
future nights. John and I were
left dumbfounded and decided not to get into it any further. Everyone was registered, albeit not all
to the same space or time. Johannes
didn’t have to be John Butler, Rodrigo didn’t have to be John
Butler and I didn’t have to be John Butler. It was truly “Being John Butler.”
The
next day I had to sneak into the conference to use the free internet. Security was high due to protestors
against a researcher who did animal experiments. I told them that I had lost my badge
and needed to get a new one. List
in hand, the security guard asked who I was. I told him, “I’m John
Butler.” We
enjoyed the rest of our stay there.
Oh and Anna and Heather didn’t pay for breakfast at their hotel
but snuck in to breakfast every day so there. |
Road
to Aqueduct
by the side of the road. Rolling
hills of Random
grapes growing by the side of the road. The
city walls. We
were greeted the first night with a banquet and show. The
horses definitely had minds of their own and would run off when they
weren’t supposed to. Jousting! Yummy
Tuscan food. We also ate gelato 3
times per day. Did I say yum? Our
last night was ended with an even more elaborate show. For
the finale they shot a ton of fireworks off of the church. |