27 May, Day 20, Stradivarius and Cremona

Saturday night’s surprise encounter
Night photos: Castello Sforzesco
Stradivarius
502 steps
Shaking spiral staircase
Mantova again
Mutant Clam
Broken Umbrella
Italian Rock Music: Binario 3

23 May, Day 16, AC Milan

I went to the Navigli with the Sicilians to meet their friend Luigi and watch the championship soccer game between AC Milan and Liverpool. I was surprised that the Sicilians seemed to be unanimously cheering for Liverpool. We ordered some pizzas and

Melee at the Duomo
Airhorns
Saw the Spanish crew
The drunken guy
Pink flares
Carrying the cow

21 May, Day 14, Story time

I had dinner with my neighbors tonight. Sometimes they remind me of my grandparents –when they were younger. I didn’t think the food was much to speak of, but I enjoyed hearing some stories about living in Naples during WWII until they got repetitive. They included: housing the troops in exchange for food and medicine, when the flying fortresses flew over the city and blocked out the sun, being rescued from the wine cellar when their house was bombed, the contraband markets, liberation by the Americans, and many others. Then the discussion shifted towards the predictions of a hot summer and global warming. I was very surprised to see Dante had a book about Entropy by Rifkin. I learned about this author during college, but was surprised to see one of his books translated into Italian, much less at the house of my neighbors. I guess they’re more educated than I first assumed…

20May, Day 13, The Warmth of the Sun

I feel like I’m due for an entry but don’t have many travel-adventures to try to poeticize. I’ve kept pretty busy through the week and had plans that fizzled this weekend. I met with the Fullbright coordinator at the US embassy on Thursday and then joined the Sicilians for dinner and then met a couple of their friends in Milan afterwards. Fabrizio cooked up a delicious mix of baked beef sprinkled with breadcrumbs, in a pan of tomato puree, buffalo mozzarella, and some secret herbs and spices. I admit that despite my acute schnozzola, I couldn’t identify any the fragrance aside from the oregano (which is easy).

It seems like learning English has become a fashion trend these days so I find I’ve been hanging out with the Sicilians a lot more these past 2 weeks. But they’re fun…

I met Emiliano and some other friends for an aperitivo at Piola on Friday. I was surprised to find Giuliana had returned from France for the weekend and made an appearance in Milan tonight. I met two of my French friends Alexis and Eric afterwards to go out to a bar. I feel like I relate to them better than a lot of the other people I’ve met here. I think being foreigners we have something intrinsically in common. I’ve also noted some interesting differences between Italian mindsets and my own, but I’ll let that discussion ripen a bit before posting.

I was planning to go to Liguria this weekend to visit Portofino or another beach. But the plans fell through. I saw Leonardo for a few hours in Genova. He’s a Brazilian classmate from the language school I attended in August. I returned to Milan Saturday night to go to a club with the Sicilians and a few of their pretty lady-friends. I had a good time until I got tired being extroverted. Then the fatigue began to weigh on me and I think I might’ve napped for a few minutes on a couch before the others were ready to go home. With the exception of last Sunday (12 hours), I haven’t slept more than 5 or 6 hours a night since I left the US. I don’t think I can blame this on jetlag anymore, but I haven’t found a cause for me to wake up early even when I’m staying up late.

I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve done any traveling. I think the last significant trip was to Spain: about a month ago. I’m attending a party on a tram on Friday. (I know that sounds bizarre. But it has potential to be good.) Maybe I can try for Portofino again on Sunday. I’ll look for a decent airfare tomorrow to get farther a field in June. I had big travel plans to see 4 big destinations in Italy before July, but the longer I wait the more appealing it becomes to string them together into one trip to waste less time going back and forth.

15May, Day 8, Looking back and forward

I sipped some Moscato D’Asti grappa on ice and read through the entries of my first 10 days. This grappa comes from grape skins used to make champagne and taste much less like JP8 (jet fuel) than some of the others, but I have no doubt that you could still use it as a degreaser. I still have a vivid recollection of those sparkly first days in Italy. Reliving the back entries was almost a spiritual experience. I’m glad I came here. But I’m reminded of a poem I read in high school by Robert Frost about, “Something golden never stays.” I wonder if rereading the poem will yield the same message as it did back then. I’ll cut the mushy stuff because I nearly fell asleep at the lingua bar this evening. I would like to suck the rest of the juice out of this experience and begin my next great endeavor. I would like something that can trump this experience. I just have to discover what it is… Suggestions?

Calculate YOUR Carbon Footprint

The results surprised me!

http://www.zerofootprintoffsets.com/calculator.aspx

12May, Day 5, Superbikes

I woke after 5PM today. I hope this event signifies the end of my jetlag…

Since it was way too late to do anything that I planned on doing today I decided to go for a long jog to try to make sure I was tired enough to fall asleep at a semi-reasonable hour. The destination would be the Monza racetrack: about ¾ hour jogging each way. They’re having the superbike competitions this weekend, and I thought I might try to sneak into the pits for a close up look at the racing teams like I did for F1. The races were over and most of the people had already left by the time I arrived. I perused the public areas for a while before convincing the guard to let me onto the track for, “just a minute.” –Which stretched into about a half hour. The superbikes are cool, but there was much less activity that when I was here after formula one. Each racing team had four to six bikes in their garage. Most of the bikes were disassembled as the teams replaced any worn parts, and cleaned any deposits from inside the engines, but they were not practicing changing the tires like they do for F1. I think if I got there sooner I might’ve been able to seen them practice refueling, but I don’t think they do the tires for motorcycles. I saw the pilot of Honda on my way out. A group of people gathered around him for autographs and photos, but I didn’t have anything to sign and wasn’t very interested anyway. I jogged most of the way home, but walked the last 10 or 15 minutes because I didn’t want my feet to get blisters in case there would be dancing later tonight.

Ricardo called a minute after I walked in. He was at my door to pick me up within 20 minutes. Tonight we would go meet a few of his friends here from Sardinia. I’m hoping to go there within the next few weeks, and hoped this might be a good contact to make. Unfortunately, the girls were some of the most lifeless I’ve met in quite a while. I was the one to have just run about 10k but they were the ones acting tired! To make things harder the two of them were notorious mumblers and I could hardly understand the few words they spoke. Too bad…

9,10 May, Ups and downs

Language partner, 8 months overdue
Turkish crew and Cameron Diaz
Dance
Cinderella nights
(The other 1/2 of the experience)
Stay?

Mark’s Local Tourism Recommendations

A few people have been asking about visiting, so I’ve posted some details on some of the local attractions.


Milan is a buzzing city with hidden charms to be discovered. Allow 1-2 days
Piazza Duomo: look to the ceiling for one of the nails believed to come from the original cross. Climb to the roof for a panorama of the city and Alps on a clear day. (Consider packing a picnic lunch.) Facing the cathedral, turn to your right, cross the piazza, and climb the steps for a view overlooking the piazza. Check for art show on display in the gallery near the Palazzo Reale while you’re there.

Brera: The pinoteca is my favorite museum in Milan. From here you can wander many small and cute streets where you may want to pause for a panino or café as you head east towards the fashion district centered at Via della Spiga and Via Montenapoleone.

Castelo: Milan has a sprawling castle filled with museums. Entrance is free on Friday afternoons. Otherwise I’d say it may not be worth going in. Behind the castle is the Parco Sempione where you can go for a stroll and watch the locals play soccer in the grass.

Basilica Saint Ambrogio: is my second favorite church in Milan. From here you can walk east on via de Amicis to the roman columns in front of the Ciesa San Lorenzo. You may want to wander south towards the Navigli (canals) but don’t expect to find Venice.

Cemiterio Monumental: The cemetery has an impressive façade, and some large mausoleums inside if you’re into that sort of thing.

The Last Supper: Leonardo DaVinci’s Cenacolo should speak for itself, but requires a reservation to gaze upon it for 15 minutes.

La Scala: I haven’t been inside yet, but it’s supposedly one of the best opera houses in the world.

Como is pretty posh for a lakeside town. Allow ½ to 1day
Trains from Monza take less than an hour to reach the lake. Get off at the Como san Giovanni station and walk down the steps towards the city center. Admire the duomo before turning left (north) towards the water. Stroll the boardwalk to the right and check ferry times to bellagio. Continue to the inclined railway (funivia) that can take you up the mountain to the village of Brunate for some spectacular views.

Brunate has 2 panoramic overlooks to get a view over the lake. If it’s a clear day you can get a view of Monte Rosa and the alps off in the distance. Although there is food for sale, I haven’t found a good restaurant that comes with a view so consider packing a picnic to eat while you admire the scenery.

Plan on a full day if you also take a ferry stopping at the villas along the shore on the way to Bellagio. From there you can walk through the fetching little town (going north) to stand at the notch of the Y-shaped lake to see water on 3 sides of you. Consider taking the boat to Lecco for different views on the way back. Trains from Lecco can bring you Milan.

Bergamo is a surprisingly ancient city to exist in this age. Allow ½ to 1 day
Local trains from Monza take less than an hour. Then buy a bus ticket to take a bus to the old city of Bergamo Alta instead of climbing the hill by foot. Your bus ticket is valid for an hour. If it’s a clear day take the funivia (inclined railway) to the west up to San Vigilio for a 360 panorama. If you don’t waste time, you can use the same bus ticket you took to get from the station. Then get lost in the old section of town as you work your way back east towards the fort. An alternative or addition to going out to San Vigilio is to climb one of the towers in the center of the city. Stop somewhere for a bite to eat. Bergamo has some of my favorite italian dishes. Polenta is common and a type of ravioli, (I think it’s called casonsei) are worth trying. Across the town is a castle that was used as late as the world wars.

Lago Maggiore uses a string of mountains to stitch the water to the sky. Allow 1 Day
Although Como is better known, I think Lago Maggiore is more attractive. But it is farther away. From Monze you need to change trains in Milano Centrale or Porta Garibaldi to get to Stresa or Arona.

Stresa:
Walk down to the water and stroll the shore. You’ll find captains offering you passage to the nearby islands. (I haven’t visited them yet.) But the cable car (funicolare) to Mottarone is worth the trip on a clear day. You may want to stop half way up at the Alpine garden, but be sure to continue all the way to the top. From here a short hike to the peak will take you to one of the best views combining water and mountains around. You may want to pack a picnic or snack on some local cheeses and other specialties at one of the refugios (ski lodges).

Arona:
Arona has some quant streets and cafes on the water. They’re worth including in your search for the perfect gelato while you admire the castle on across the water. Consider continuing your walk about a half hour past town to climb the rocca or colossus for a better view.

Monza is my little city. Allow a few hours
There’s a nice duomo with some sort of crown-relic that I don’t remember the history of. The quant streets lined with shops but attract crowds on weekend afternoons. A large park north of the center provides an opportunity to escape from the hustle of Milan unless they’re having the Formula 1 races there.

Farther away
2+ hours: there are many other worthwhile day trips including: Tornio, Genova, Sermione on Lago di Garda, Mantova, and Verona if you don’t mind spending more time traveling.

3+ hours:
In just over 3 hours you can be in Venice, Florence, or the beautiful Cinque Terre of Liguria. Each requires weekend or more to do them justice. A weekend in Florence could easily stretch into almost week in Tuscany to see Siena, Pisa, Lucca, and San Gimignano. Or you can go the other direction going under the Alps to Switzerland to reach Zurich. With a car you can head north or west to see some of the more famous mountains in the Alps. The Matterhorn is just over the Swiss border. (It’s called Cervino in Italy.) Check it out on google earth! Monte Bianco on the French Border to the west is just as impressive, and the drive though the Val da Aosta is dotted with castles.

4+ hours:
Rome is almost 5 hours by train from Milan, but it is worth the trip if you have at least a couple days. –Especially if you’re continuing south from Firenze or Tuscany. If not, I would consider flying.

8 May, Day 1, Season 3: Evaporating Daydream

I struggled to think of a title for season 3. After 234 days in Europe I’m beginning to feel that the freshness of the experience may be starting to go stale. It’s becoming easier to take the "charm" of living on the “frontier” for granted as I become more distracted by the scooters leaning on their horn and flipping each other the bird as they skip in front of the traffic jams by driving in the lane for oncoming traffic.

My return was uneventful aside from a foul smelling old man sitting across the aisle on my flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Philly. To make things worse he brought along a tin of malodorous chicken salad that took him most of the flight to slurp down because he didn’t have a spoon.

I feel like there should be more to write, but I’m tired. Maybe later…

27April, Day 108, Return to the USA

I’m on my way home again for a week to catch up with the family, attend Eric’s wedding, and have some time for reflection on my priorities. I feel like this discourse on life goals and direction has been nagging at me more than it should. I would like to clarify my vision and take action to modify my position and actions. I saw a visionary opportunity to compete in the new X-Prize to design and build a commercial-ready passenger vehicle that can achieve 100 mi/gal. This could be a chance to make history. It is a project lofty enough that it could transcend mundane motivation of working to pay the bills by working instead to achieve a worthy goal perfectly aligned with my manifesto. This is a challenge that I could attack it with passion until the trials in 2010 and maybe beyond. In spite of these great motives I certainly don’t have the capital to undertake this endeavor alone. Who can I find with a pocket deep enough to sponsor a team before I dust off my thermodynamics books?

My departure from the old country today has been emotionally bland. I didn’t feel the mysterious regret that took me by surprise last time I left. Maybe because I know I’ll be back soon and all of this deliberation about moving on has me looking farther ahead.

Travel has been surprisingly smooth. I had some concerns that a 1-hour connection in Rome could be a problem if I had to retrieve my luggage and revisit security, so I arrived an extra hour early hoping to get on an earlier flight. I did, but it was unnecessary anyway. One point of interest is that a guy next to me looked like an aged Marlon Brando. I felt a slightly chagrined by the other Americans in the airport but don’t really have an explanation other than that some of them must be here on an AARP trip and loud old people aren’t my preferred company. I can’t wait to be home!

April 23, Day 104, To Move? (Addendum)

Emiliano’s friend has already rented the apartment to someone else. However, I’m beginning to evolve a new strategy towards the coming months. I think I’m going to give up my apt in Monza anyway in June. I will either move to the center of Milan, or move somewhere else. I'll leave the motivation, criteria, and strategy unpublished.

I’m happy to feel that I have reached some sort of internal closure after the discordant thoughts of last night.

22April, Day 103, To Move?

Inter, one of Milan’s soccer teams won the Italian championship today so people have been waving flags and beeping their horns for hours. I’m pretty tired to join in the festivities tonight.

It’s been a good weekend after a pretty monotonous workweek.

Antonio came to visit from Florence, so we went out in Milan both Friday and Saturday night. We pretended to have a tropical happy hour in Monza before meeting Lucy and a couple others for an hour before going to a party at NABA in Milan. I had hoped to see some girls at NABA that I met there Thurs, as well as some others that I’d met when I studied there in August. I ran into one of the girls that had invited me to the party though we only spoke briefly as she appeared to be leaving. Antonio and I roamed the grounds scanning for a familiar face, or other people that looked interesting to meet. I ran into Katerina just as we were pondering leaving to find Emiliano at another design-week party. She’s a girl from St. Petersburg, Russia that I met in August while I was studying Italian. We had been in touch briefly this week. I think there was a mutual happiness in actually seeing each other although we soon went our separate ways.

We found Emiliano and a few of his friends that I’ve been getting to know amongst a mob of partiers in the street. One of the first things he told me was that he found an apartment for me in Milan. (!)

17April, Day 97, Finding Ravioli

I cooked fresh ravioli from the super market today that could rival the best ravioli I’ve ever had in the US. (Maybe I’ve had better stuff in the restaurants here in Italy, but that’s mostly because the sauce was probably also home made.) Go Italy for having superb pasta!

On another note, I’ve put fly screens on two of my windows today. Just like my apartment was lacking a shower curtain (or shower for that matter!) I also took it upon myself to install fly screens. Unfortunately, my landlord has asked that I don’t poke any holes in the wood frames, so my screens are secured by strips of velcro.

16April, Day 96, Spring has Sprung

Everything has taken on a new shade of green. This is a color of spring that I have not seen in Florida or California. --The pollen may also have a more detrimental effect on the cough I’ve been fighting, but I have a feeling that this is less related to the seasons because it started a while ago and did not subside in Spain. I’m hoping a good night of rest will trigger improvements.

13April, Day 93, Barcelona

I had a lot of time waiting in the airport to finish this old entry. I think Mark Twain’s said, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter essay.” However, this did not seem to come into effect today...












The kidney is not for sale
I had booked a flight to Barcelona about a month ago because I’ve never been to Spain, and some of my Italian co-workers have suggested that I might really like it. I picked the weekend after Easter because I figured Easter would be more crowded. The city was pretty crowded anyway, but I guess high season is beginning soon.

One of friends called a couple weeks ago to invite me to some sort of yoga conference that I didn’t go to, but this led to a conversation discussing plans for the next couple weekends. I mentioned I’d be going to Barcelona. (I think this was around the time I wrote the “Hotel Barcelona” entry but never got around to mentioning this conversation at that time.) She suggested that she had a friend living there and that I might be able to stay at her place instead of renting a room. So over the next few days I began to establish contact with her friend. She sent me her address, directions, phone number, photos of the apartment, then photos of her visiting Rome, and then Germany. Things seemed to be going a little too fast and were falling into place a little too easily that I began to get suspicious. I discussed these developments with a few friends and arrived at various conclusions. In the worst case this could be a setup to steal my kidneys to sell on the black market. In the best case I might make a new friend in Spain, or even get to stay the weekend without paying rent. The general Italian consensus seemed to be that this was a set-up opportunity to sleep with this woman. But they tell me that the other girl also wants me, which I find absurd to consider because she’s more than a few years older than me.

Yellow Flowers
There was a train strike on Friday so I decided not to go into work that day because it was going to take me even longer to get to the airport. I left at noon for a 4PM flight because I had to take the bus into Milan, wait a while, and then take another bus to the airport. Although the travel went smoothly, it still took more than two hours to finally get to the airport. (At least I was in the pleasant company of two girls born in Hong Kong that were studying in England.) I would have to take another hour-long bus from the Girona airport to Barcelona. This made the trip a total of about 4 hours dealing with busses, about 1 hour flying, and 1 hour waiting for my plane to leave bringing up a grand total of 6 or 7 hours traveling. –Funny how flying was the shortest part…

I left Italy on a warm sunny day that had me wondering if I should be wearing shorts, but arrived in Spain to find a grey drizzle. Soon after leaving the Girona airport we passed vast fields of bright yellow flowers that brightened the day despite the gloom. I’d made it to Spain and was excited to continue my adventure! But I was still unsure what I might be getting myself into, and since I had been unable to make contact by phone, I wrote down a few phone numbers of hotels before leaving just in case something was awry.

Tapas and internationals
I was feeling rather soggy by the time I arrived at the apartment. I sounded the bell unsure what to expect, but a sweet voice on the other side welcomed me inside. There was a moment of awkwardness in figuring out which language would be most comfortable. I think I saw a flash of disappointment on her face when I said I am not Italian. But after living in Italy nearly 8 months, I can see it would still take quite a lot more before I might begin to think and act Italian.

I got a quick tour of the apartment complete with narration of the decorations that included some of the photos, various artifacts, and souvenirs from around the world. I felt comfortable here, and was glad that my hostess was so welcoming. She even invited me to go out with her and her friends later, but I explained I was getting hungry and was thinking about going in search of dinner. So she offered me some Spanish antipasto at her house, and suggested that I could get some tapas later. This sounded great, as I wasn’t looking forward to going back out in the rain. We shared some red salami, cheese, bread, and a cup of hot tea made my sore throat feel much better while chatting through some more introductions.

The tapas bar was an interesting experience. I didn’t know what I to really expect but was anticipating a sit-down place like the Spanish restaurant we used to go to in Mountain View. Instead almost everyone was standing around high tables or near the bar littered with plates of colorful snacks. We found her friends who had already amassed quite a pile of toothpicks. Evidently they had been there for quite a while already. I was surprised by the mix of people: an American girl who had been living in Spain several years and married a Spanish guy (who was not present), an outspoken American guy on vacation from Japan with his two children, and another visiting for a month from Ft. Lauderdale. I was expecting to exercise my Spanish, but instead, found that more Americans than I’d ever gone out with in Milan surrounded me. (Although this was not really a typical group. Even the two kids were already talking politics at the age of 12 and about visiting countries that I don’t think I could find on a map.)

Barcelona is…
Barcelona took me by surprise as a clean, orderly, cosmopolitan contrast to the cluttered mayhem of Milan. The wide tree-lined boulevards make for pleasant walking and bicycling, and there were a considerable amount of tourists doing just that. The beach reminded me a bit of Las Olas, Ft. Lauderdale, while the numerous piers converted into a shopping mall was reminiscent of Darling Harbour, Sidney. However, everything is colored with a greater or lesser sprinkle of Spanish flavor making it unique in a way that could be the basis for some of the architecture sets used in Pirates of the Caribbean.

I like Spain’s Spanish
I didn’t get out the next day until almost noon because we had been up pretty late last night and I was still fighting the tailing end of the cold, so didn’t want to push it. I took the metro to Gaudì’s unfinished church-monument to the Sagrada Familia. Between the tourists and locals, I listened to the people around me speaking a potpourri of languages. I’ve noticed the Spanish here is markedly different from the Cuban and South American accents that I’m more used to hearing. They sing it more as though it may be influenced more by a French or Italian timbre. I still struggle a bit more to pick up some words, but I’ve decided that I definitely prefer the sound to what I hear back home.

I exited the metro and did an about-face to find the church towing behind me. I think its tall ornate spires have a strangely organic posture that I would later find is typical of much of Barcelona’s Gaudì-influenced architecture. I opted not to pay the 8-euro admission because the line was long and I didn’t feel like waiting. Instead, I began to make my way across the city with the eventual destination of reaching the beach.

I stopped for a few empanadas about half way across the city when it began to rain. I wouldn’t have picked this spot if the rain didn’t push me inside the first available door. The empanadas were good, though priced about double what I would’ve considered reasonable. After lunch I backtracked to the Pedrera, a museum famous for more of Guadì’s works and roof with panorama of the city and some very unique chimneys.

Surf: missing cali
I continued my jaunt stopping in the cathedral, and taking time to wander though the Barrio Gothic before the streets suddenly opened up to the harbor. I saw a monument to Christopher Columbus and a cable car stretching over the water to a nearby hill overlooking the city to my right. While an oversized mosaic head and a boardwalk leading past the piers ending at the sea were in front of me. I chose to walk straight and return via the piazza of the monument. I passed some loud Brits making an ass of themselves. Their faces were rosy from the recently glaring sun or the sangria. I guessed the sangria.

I crossed the piers and finally reached the sea. Big choppy waves had attracted some surfers, but the wind and the cold gave them exclusive use of the water. I took my shoes off and touched the water to trigger a flashback of Santa Cruz. I felt remorsefully far away from my days of surfing and windsurfing in California. When will I be back?

Multinational dinner
My host had suggested that we might go to dinner together if I wanted. I enjoyed the company of her and her friends the previous night, so I agreed to meet her at the apartment by 8. We went to a vogue hotel for a drink where we would meet some of her other friends. We searched for the others but didn’t find them so took a seat on a couch to wait. I had a strange sensation that the waitress treated us as a couple.

Late like a Latin
The group eventually assembled shortly before midnight (for dinner!). It was a diverse bunch of professionals. Some of them had done an executive MBA together others were random acquaintances. Out of 14 people, we had 12 countries represented. The median age was probably close to 40. I soon became disinterested by most of them with the exception of the Brazilian, the Filipina, and Flemish. The oil tycoon sitting next to me nearly put me to sleep, but he paid for everyone’s gourmet dinner so I guess I shouldn’t complain. Although in hindsight I would’ve preferred a smaller group of the people I felt more compatible with.

Club cuties
Then we went to a club around 2. I couldn’t really picture this group dancing much. And apparently the bouncers had some reservations for certain grey-haired members in our company as well. But eventually everyone got in. The tycoon bought a round of drinks and then the group began to spread out. I think some of the others went home, or went looking to meet new people in the club. I was very impressed by the clientele. There was a great female/male ratio with a median age closer to me than I typically find in clubs in the USA. I think I could’ve had a lot of fun meeting people here, but I felt it would be wrong to leave my host since it was nice of her to bring me along. I like her company though, so I didn’t feel that bad about not trying to meet some more of the clubbers.

Love lost
We left around 4 or shortly after even though the place was still hopping. It had been a long day and it was about to get longer. She saw some friends of her recently separated boyfriend on our way out. They spoke for a few minutes before she got emotional. They went back in the club and we started back to the apartment. This was not drama that I wanted to be a part of. --Especially at this early morning hour. As we walked home she explained that there was a guy she thought she was going to marry and have a family with, and now he was getting more and more distant. I guess I was taken off guard because I associate girls crying over boys with middle school and movies, but this was a grown woman in tears. I felt genuinely sad for her, but had no idea what I could say or do to console her.

Touched, Vulnerability
I put my arm around her as we walked trying to think of something to say. Nothing came out. I guess in a situation like this the better thing to do is listen then speak. After all, who am I to give advice about love? It has been a long time since I’ve had a girlfriend. (Some people have me thinking that it’s been too long, but that’s a different story.) So I offered to listen if she wanted to talk. I felt this was also a moving experience for me, -glimpsing into the deeper emotions of another person and force myself to consider some questions that I’ve been avoiding. I think this dialogue brought us closer together.

A global problem?
I woke late again and only had time to visit the Guell park before I’d have to leave for the airport. The park is beautiful, though crowded with tourists. It’s heavily influenced by the Gaudi style with points of interest along a path weaving though scattered groups of trees and open areas. I reconsidered some of the events of last night, and began to wonder how we have allowed modern society to appear to work against natural selection. It seems the poorest and least educated sectors of society seem to be breeding the most while less professionals appear to start families.

Benvenuto a Italia
I got off the plane in the Bergamo airport and asked the kiosk for a bus ticket to start my journey home. They only had tickets to Milano Centrale, and pointed me towards the tourist office. The tourist office was closed for dinner so I walked to the other end of the terminal looking for another ticket salesperson. I found a tabacco shop (which usually sells bus tickets) but they were all sold out. I returned to the tourist office. The clerk was back, but did not have change for a 20. I asked a café for chance, but they could only give me two 10’s. I went back to the tourist office, but this was still not small enough denomination. I walked to another café, but they did not want to change the 10. I started yelling after a third café began to balk at changing the 10, but they finally agreed. I walked back to the tourist office to get the ticket. But by now I had missed the bus and had to wait 40 minutes for the next one. It took me to the train station where I would catch a train back to Monza. But the train was leaving in 1 minute and this ticket machine had a line of 10 people. I found another machine across the station, bought my ticket and ran to the train barely catching it. Phew! What a way to be welcomed back to Italia…

8,9 April, Day 88,89 Big Fat Greek Easter

Tag-a-long-friend
Florence was packed
No bus
Apt with a view
Greek food and dance
The cherry affair
Boboli
Train joyride

7 April, Day 87, Last Snow

I went snowboarding with Paddy and Michael one last time this season. We picked Monte Rosa, (the highest mountain in Italy) in hopes of finding some traces of decent snow. Once we got off the autostrada, the drive turned into a beautiful winding road though increasingly steep valleys. Halfway there we passed the village of Varallo where I could see the Sacre Monte perched up on a mountain that I hoped to visit a few weeks ago. We continued into the mountains without seeing many traces of snow as we drove alongside a river beckoning the kayaker in me to try to navigate its waters. Later we passed signs for a rafting camp verifying that the water could be piloted.

We finally arrived at Monte Rosa to find it packed with people there on Easter holidays. But it’s a huge mountain, and though we did wait on a few lines for the lifts, they weren’t too bad. The snow was heavy and grainy in the blasting sunlight. In spite of using sun block, I got a goggle tan-line on my face. But I guess that’s OK because it says I probably had more fun this weekend than anyone else that doesn’t have one.

Early in the day I really started cruising down the mountain until taking a violent tumble that left long a skid in the snow behind me. I shook myself off as I began to rebuild my confidence taking it a little slower as the snow continued to soften. We had a great time exploring nearly the whole mountain that day going on and off piste. By the afternoon the snow was pretty much slush so I began looking for jumps off the growing moguls and various rocks and lips beyond the confines of the trails.

It started to rain as we got to the bottom after the last run, but everyone was content to end the season on such a beautiful day. I’ve been to the mountains 8 times this winter. I started off struggling to remember how to snowboard and finished being able to hold my own on some of the expert runs. I’m not sure where I’ll be living next winter, but I’ll be sure to take a few days to go snowboarding.

2April, Day 82, Brighter Outlook

After two consecutive days of snowboarding at La Thuile, a fun time Saturday night with Emiliano and some spanish guys, good dinner with Paddy and co Sunday, and meeting a new girl, I’m in much better spirits than I was before the weekend.

We had a sunny powder-day Saturday. It was a 10. Sunday was greyer, but still a good time. I’m really getting the hang of snowboarding and can go down most of the black runs without being fazed much.

I’m looking at the full moon tonight and am wondering if is connected to the way I was bouncing around pretty chipper in the office today,

New Global Warming Evidence

New calculations show that sensitivity of Earth's climate to changes in the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) has been consistent for the last 420 million years, according to an article in Nature (March 2007) by geologists at Yale and Wesleyan Universities.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070328155540.htm