I guess that I was so upset when I read O2K's post this morning that I forgot about those who will also be there early. My apologies if I offended anyone other than the Dovster, who can stay offended if he so cares.
To soothe his feelings I will buy him a real chopped liver sandwich in South Florida, where they really know how to make it. I have never seen the fegato chopped either in Italy nor in any Italian restaurant I have visited.

I can get really good chopped liver in Tel Aviv, so how about a Nathan's hot dog instead?

We can do that, altho it is quite a long drive to Coney Island from where we are going to meet up and the hot dogs at the satellite locations, although good, do lack the je ne sais quoi of having one at the original.
I will go over to http://www.nathansfamous.com/nathans/coupon.html and print out a bunch of the two for one coupons in anticipation of your November visit to Florida.

Monitor: Re your edited addition. I will have 1 hour, 50 minutes between flights. During that time I will deplane, go through Passport Control, hopefully get my luggage (shouldn't be a problem as I am not going through FCO or CDG), go through Customs, re-check my luggage, run out of the terminal to grab one or -- with luck -- two cigarettes and meet with Mary2E and possibly Analise, get through Security, and get to my flight while it is still boarding.

Unfortunately, I think Nathan's in EWR is out. :(

Dovster is hard to offend. I try on a daily basis and AFAIK I've yet to succeed. :)
I am sorry about the opera tickets as I know many were counting on this. But having said that, I'm not feeling sorry for myself. I don't know which I was dreading more....the RT coach flights from CDG/VCE or attending the opera.
Now I only have one thing left to dread....;).

I am in mourning
 

I am so bereft upon hearing the sad news about the opera, especially after seeing the glorious pictures of the renovation at La Fenice. :( Frankly, it is no surprise, as this is such an anticipated event in VCE.

Monitor I will be happy to go to the box office with you to see if we can get any last minute tickets. Leonard will forego the performance, but I would settle for any seat I could get.....preferably one of the cheap ones.

Belle , you must bring your C.D. of La Traviata!!

Belle actually has the DVD of La Traviata. And I'll have my PowerBook which has a 17" screen. Those who can't go to the opera can at least watch it....

Unfortunately, I did not expect to do my scrounging at the box office (altho one never knows about late returns). I will be looking for a secondary source, hoping that the markup is not too extreme. Therefore, I would need to know exactly your spend limit before I bought anything.

We enjoy opera, but not getting tickets won't ruin our trip. I am sure that there are plenty of other things to do in Venice. Without tickets to the opera is there a possibility of touring the opera house?

I was thinking we might need to become opera buffs, because we have a grand-nephew who is studying voice/performance art at CUA and participates in operas. He spent one summer touring with a opera group based out of Amalfi and thought it was a wonderful experience. I am thinking now, however, that his first love is leaning more toward musicals and that is probably where he will end up. We are flying to D.C. in a week or so to see him play the lead in "The Secret Garden".

One of the most thrilling things I have ever done was to stand next to him on the field at a Mariners game as he sang the National Anthem. It is an astounding thing to hear such an amazing young baritone voice over the speakers in front of a roaring crowd. After that 7 Mariner runs in the first two innings was boring. :(

When I checked in for my AS flight the next morning, the agent looked at my reservation and said, "Oh are you Gabriel's mom?" Just a great-aunt, but a very proud one.

It is a wonderful thing to know that Dovster, is hard to offend. I love people who are hard to offend. Those who are easily offended always end up looking a bit immature and silly. Oh dear, I hope that didn't offend anyone. :D :D

I would like to get one of the least expensive tickets...I think they were in the $60 - $70 range.

Does anyone know if they offer tours of the opera house? If we are unable to get tickets, it would be nice to at least see the interior.

Punki...I'm looking forward to meeting you and the other FT'ers I have yet to meet. I've sincerely enjoyed the company of all the FT'ers I've come to know. In fact, I'm meeting a small group on FT'ers in LAS over the next few days and am looking very forward to that.
But I digress. I'm also looking forward to you meeting Dovster. I consider him a very good friend and ours is a friendship that has mostly existed via cyberspace.
Dovster has many, many fine qualities and I don't want to embarrass him by listing all of them. But one of his best qualities is to battle-harden fellow FT'ers against the ability to be offended. Dovster and I have traded good natured barbs to the point that I seriously doubt ANYONE on FT can say or do anything that would affect me in the slightest.
I'm sure you will learn to love Dovster as have I and that once you leave VCE, you will be able to give and take with the best on FT.
But, wait, I've read your responses in the ORP Forum. Maybe you're already there....;).

Yikes! There are opera tix on eBay???

Seriously, I'm sorry it hasn't worked out yet for those who sincerely wanted to attend. Good luck, monitor! ^ A tour of la Fenice is VERY attractive, if at all possible, however unlikely.

While I'm here, do you think we should all write Marco Musco to make sure Punki and Hunki's gym is on the ground floor? Or at least not above our rooms?

My sister and I will be flying cattle class from California on three different flights and not arrive until Saturday :eek: (Sounds like we're really desperate to meet new people, but it's la Serenissa that calls.)

However, we would like to be happy cows, and would appreciate any small kindnesses you care to bestow on two strangers ... an extra smile, special consideration for the door prize drawing, a hand up the steps for our Y class crippled bones, special consideration for the door prize drawing, upgrades for our non-upgradeable fares, special consideration for the door prize drawing, the leftover water in your Evian bottle....sob...whine....well, wine would work. Quite nicely, actually. :)

I would like to correct something.

It is true that Cholula has never said anything negative about me that was serious (How could he? I am perfect) but the same is not true in reverse.

Every nasty comment I have ever made about him (and they range in the thousands) is Revealed Truth.

That is not an exaggeration. Keep in mind where I live.

A little over a year ago, I was walking through the hills of the Galilee when there was a sudden thunderstorm and a small voice said, "Thou shall not suffer a witch to live nor a Cholula to go without his evil revealed."

Never one to argue with Him, I immediately got to work letting all of you know that Cholula is Satan Incarnate.

I gotta stop typing now...I have just been told by those nice people with the white coats that they want to give me my meds.

Monitor I think that the opera-lovers are all equally-distressed. I really do trust Marco when he says that he did his best. My feeling is that the opera in VCE at Fenice is not a tourist event; it is an event for Venetians who have been looking for this jewel-box of an opera house to re-open. My husband and attended a concert at Fenice, prior to the fire. It is not a large opera house. I think the best chance we have is going to the box office on the day of the performance. At least, that is my plan.

lili-dui...we'll take great care of you, trust me! ( Actually Dovster is in charge of meeting, greeting and other official stuff. To be honest, I'm on vacation while in VCE...;) )
Don't tell anybody in this Forum but...if I get elected to draw the door prizes...I'll make sure to "palm" a good prize just for you and your sister. Perhaps a Maine-Tree-In-A-Box might be fitting. Or a Turkish One Million Lira note.
Just let me know what will restore your spirits and it's yours..... :)