Pavia - Day 11

I almost feel guilty because today was such a lazy day. We decided to let Baylie sleep in as long as she wanted and she didn't get up until after 10 a.m. Then at about 12:30 she took a 2-hour nap. I think we all needed the break. When she woke up we went for a walk along the river until we went to hear one of David's pieces performed.

This piece was written about a poem by an Italian poet. All the composers at the festival wrote a piece about the same poem. I know I'm biased and have no musical knowledge, but I thought David's piece was the best (of course, I'm his wife, so that's my job). Seriously though, it was very different from all the other pieces. I thought it was original and emotional. He got lots of compliments about it, so it wasn't just me that liked it. I think he's very talented and can't wait for him to make us rich (just kidding...sort of).

Baylie continues to be a big hit. People we don't know ask permission to take her picture and everyone stops to talk to her and ask about her. She is getting to be more and more outgoing and flirtatious. She's also becoming more and more headstrong. On the trip she's been held so much and had her pacifier 24-7, that I'm sure we'll be in for some hard adjustments once we come home.

On another note, we have been having major stress with our home in Houston. We had hired a management company to look after the home, collecting rent, overseeing repairs, etc. They have been really good in some ways and just awful in others. Their communication skills are the worst. I get e-mails from them with bolded text, exclamation points and basically chewing me out on a regular basis. (Hello! They work for me, not the other way around!) They'll give me advice and when I take it, they'll ask why I've done what they've advised me to do. Well, while we've been in Italy, our water heater broke. We tried to have them find a plumber who would take a credit card so we could get it repaired. But no, they want us to overnight them money so it can be paid in cash. Like there is no plumber in the city of Houston who can take a credit card. Give me a break! Our renters went a week without hot water until our management company finally said we were in breach of contract and they would no longer work with us. HALLELUJAH! We were finally able to reach the renters directly and get everything resolved. Of course, now the management company has sent us a final invoice with all these charges for the past two years that we have never heard of. I think I'll just pay them if only to get rid of these people. Nothing like a nightmare to make our vacation complete. I truly love our little home in Houston, but sure wish we could sell it. It's hard to continue to pay for a place where we don't live anymore.

Anyway, other than that fiasco, things continue to be good. We're looking forward to coming home, but are also enjoying our last few days in Italy. I didn't take any pictures today, so I'll post some from earlier days in the trip.