Aida at Arena di Verona

Aida at Arena di Verona
Originally uploaded by Greygriffin.

The opera is starting in half an hour, and we’re sitting above the left of the stage – much closer than we were at Savonlinna. There’s a great feeling of anticipation in the air. Vendors are walking round selling ice cream, bottles of soft drinks and wine, and renting out soft cushions which we’ll no doubt be glad of after hours sitting on these stone steps. It’s strange to think that two millennia ago, a Roman was sitting where I am watching gladiator matches.