NEWS FLASH

Interview with the Americans in Venezia UNEDITED
(except for most of walterś comments)

1.) How many blisters do you have?

Ty: 5.
Rachel: "IIII don't have any."
Mere: "None. My flipflops are incredible."
Jenny: "Not many. But the bottoms of my feet are permanently black."
Rachel: "But my Chaco tan is working on building."
Laura: "Ummm.... ow?"

2.) How many times have you fallen down today?

James: "2."
Rachel: "I stitched up his face with superglue from the supermarket from the 2nd fall."
Walter: "Laura is keeping tabs. At least one in every major city, but I've lost count."

3.) Fav Memoire:

James: No Comment (humming the Chariots of Fire theme.)
Walter: The Coastal Walk.
Rachel: The one where Joey took us in the evening. Coastal walk in St. Andrews in the Evening."
Ty: Meeting Mr. Merkle at 12:00 without knowing that was the plan - by evolution."
Kathryn: "Probably finding GLORIOUS [with a tilt of the nose] Fraser plaid at the tartan mill right outside the castle."
Jenny: "Recognizing the Narnia lamp post before anyone told us it was the one."
Mere: "I don't have any memories. My brain is shot."
Laura: "My memory is stored under 9 different 4gb memory cards."

4.) Are my feet in your cheese picture?

Laura: "I hope not."

5.) Fav quote of the trip:

Kathryn: "Human dollars" [i.e. U.S. currency. snob.]
James: "Slainte. That's how you spell it!"
Jenny: "Americans are born on Pro-Plus [anti-depressent]." - Jonathon the ice cream man in Oxford.
Me: "I loooof you." - random Scotsman in Edinburgh.
Rachel: "What's on the American menu?" - Rachel.
Walter: "These ARE the public bathrooms." - Ty.
Mere + James: sausage!

6.) What's your favorite thing you've eaten so far?
-"A true Miltenberger question," - Walter.

Kathryn: "Shandy from Brewmasters!"
Laura: "DRINK."
Mere: "Digestives."
Laura: "Tea, tea, tea, tea, tea."
Mere: "Sausage."
Walter: "Fish n chips from the U.K.'s best."
Rachel: "those dry crusty cracker things we had last night at 1.30 in the morning."
Laura: "whatever that food was that we stuffed in our mouth at 2.00 last morning."
Kathryn: "the passion fruit gelato."
Jenny: "I'm waiting for my favorite food to appear."
Laura: "Whatever it was we ate in Great Hall of Hogwarts."
James: "Oh my gosh."
Molly: me too, prolly.
James: pizza.
Jenny: a sandwhich with fresh basil and cheese.
Mere: food food food food food.
[Rachel is practising eating tomatoes.]
Also, the 5 pound Mark & Spencer cooperative picnic feast near Trafalgar Square but greener in London.
All: blueberry cheese!!!!!!!! [screaming.]

7.) How many rabbits have you seen in Scotland?

Laura: "enough to make a giant's stew."
Me: "wallace & grommet's werebunny come true!"
Jenny: "enough to make the queen's cloak."

8.) What's your fav purchase?

Laura: original art in Venice.
Walter: the white hat and the blue sunglasses. Now, people will call me 'The Man in the White Hat and the Blue Sunglasses.'
Me: walter's hat. also, my fetching blue plaid beret."
jenny: original art in venice and...my designer gown from Scotland.
Me: Jenny's designer gown.
Jenny: my sister's birthday present. also...
Me: the Italian bag I haven't bought yet.
Jenny: the Italian bag I will buy tomorrow.
KJF: my dress.
Me: my ticket to Pocketbooks. Also, every taxi.
James: my sunglasses that age me five years.
Ty: gelato.
Jenny: my tickets to the Shakespeare play.

8.) WHAT is your favorite combination of gelato flavors?

Jenny: peach - all the way, right away, with a good attitude every day.
James: tuttifrutti - wait, no, tuttobosco, a frrruity flavor.
Rachel: chocolate.
Ty: lemon.
Laura: you think I can pronounce that?
Walter: strawberry and peach - MIXED. stirred, not shaken.

9.) How many scoops of gelato have you had today?

Walter: as a group?

...

...

51.

Jenny: "which is why we are still giggling at this hour."

10.) How many icecream men have told you that you sound like the queen?

All: sigh.
Laura: JUST one - - -.

11.) What is the best advice that you would give to someone going on this trip?

Jenny: cultivate a love for granola bars.
Rachel: bring 15 granola bars per person per day.
Walter: bring a roller suitcase.
Jenny: sleep.
Ty: yeah.
Laura: the way to cure jetlag is to sleep at least 6 hours immediately after you get off the plane.
Ty: walk it off.
Me: bring sunglasses that you LOVE.

12.) Do you know how to flush the toilet?

James: It depends in which country you're in.
Laura: flush? who flushes?
Mere: one of the funniest experiences was when a really well-dressed business man went into the women's and came busting out of the stalls.
... irrelevent.
James: I've done that before. It's really embarrassing.
Laura: buttons, light switches, what will they come up with next?
Ty: how many ways did you think there were to flush a toilet?

15.) Should you dip your feet in the Venetian Canal?

Jenny: only until a man tells you that rats and AIDS swim in it.
Me: I'm in trouble.
Laura: only in the moonlight. that way it's magical, and you can't tell what's in it.

16.) Which queue do you want to join?

Jenny: the one where you -might- escape a full-body pat-down.
Rachel: the one that has the most people.
KJF: priority.
Ty: I prefer to start my own queue.
James: if you see a queue, get in it.
Laura: I'm British now, I love queues.
Jenny: I must be British.

17.) What's your favorite foreign expression?

KJF: everything's going pear-shaped!
Jenny: POSH.
Laura: Cheers. It basically means whatever you want it to mean.
Walter: Prego. No one knows all the meanings of it.
Jenny: slainte!
Jenny: it's just spittin now.
KJF: I like ta!
TY: Cafe latte.
KJF: grazie!
Me: whatever I know how to say.
KJF: I like ciao!

18.) How many feet can you walk without taking a picture?

KJF: the world may never know.
Laura: it's never been documented.
Rachel: "where's meredith?"

19.) In what sitch can you not say prego/cheers/ciao/grazie?

Laura: when you want to offend someone.
Jenny: when a scary Italian dude is in your face.
Me: I haven't been in one yet.

20.) Where do you feel most comfortable using your Scottish accent?

Mere: in Italy.

21.) Who has the best Scottish accent?

Jenny: MOLLY.
Rachel: Gordon.

22.) Do you know what the exchange rate is?

Laura: uh-oh.
Walter: who's money are we talking about here?
Walter: "Sorry Dad - Molly."

23.) How many pictures do you have of you sleeping?

Rachel: ask James.

24.) How many times have you agitated the local officers?

Walter: gleefully raises a hand.

25.) How many modes of transportation can you take in one day?

Everything except apparition, obviously.