Tuesday, June 29, 2004
I'm settled now in Prato - it's pretty bloody hot and my nose is sunburnt. Yes, I had sunscreen on, but it sweated off.
The flight wasn't too bad. It certainly improved markedly once I got off Qantas and on to Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong. (The little telly in the back of the headrest really make a difference!) I only managed to catch a few hours sleep from India to Turkey, but not feeling too jet lagged. My program of pre-departure sleep adaption has worked well - and you all thought I was just sleeping in until 11!
I spent Saturday in Pisa, checking out the tower (hasn't budged in the four years of my absence) and the thronging crowds. Sunday was in Prato (about an hour from Pisa). It's a cute town, very Tuscan. Palace Hotel is a bit dodge, but okay. Certainly not four stars, as claimed. :-(
Yesteray I popped over to Florence (Firenze) and just wandered about. Went up the top of Il Duomo. The view is just amazing: windy streets, red roofs, piazzas, skyline punctuated with all manor of bell towers and domes. Inside I got a close up look at the paintings on the ceiling of the dome. Devils shoving hot-pokers up the arses of sinners is a wonderful motif for Rennaisance humanists, and they really brought the full brunt of their aesthetic sensibilities to bear on the job. The illiterate medieval peasantry couldn't help but get the message loud and clear: do what we say or else.
Fashion Observation. I always look to the chic Italian youths for a heads-up in what we'll be wearing in the near future. For the fashionistas reading, here's the skinny. Cargos are huge. I thought that was so 1999, but no. They're everywhere. Three quarter length, camouflage, heaps of zips. For the ladies, tanned is big. Very big. Some of the brownest people in the world are here. Twice yesterday I thought I was in a leather jacket shop, but it was just a piazza with stationary tanned people gawking at a monument. Very disorienting.
Lots of people doing the all-white cotton outfit thing with white belt and shoes. I think Italians have been doing this for centuries with no sign of let up. Probably helps accentuate the tan. But, white and red is very popular too (fortunately my complexion). White cinos, red top with white piping. Is that a football team or something? For the men, haircuts are getting decidely mullety. Kind of square, almost boxy hairdos with short straight fringes. No goatees or sideburns.
Sexually aggressive catchphrases on T-shirts has been de rigeur for the ladies for a while, but it seems the men are about to get in on it. Most egregious example: one young gentleman had "Fool. Fuck. Forget." emblazoned across his chest in 20 cm letters. What a charming sentiment. Strangely though, it was painfully obvious to everyone in the restaurant that he was in the very early stages of wooing his date. Why he thought that motto would help his chances I cannot understand.
Anyhow, enough reportage. I've got my DC tomorrow (that's what we're calling the doctoral consortium now, apparently) but we're having informal dinner and drinkies tonight. I'm going to go through the materials once again this arvo to make sure I've got intelligent things to say about other people's work.
Now, I'm going to find a breezy piazza and sip on a macchiato.
--- posted by Greg 8:42 pm
Friday, June 25, 2004
Today is departure day. Flying via Syndey, Hong Kong and Rome I'll end up in Pisa about midday Saturday - some 36 hours from now. Got all my marking done and my presentations ready, got some plane reading ... all set to go! (Passport, tix, credit card, glasses - the rest can take care of itself.)
My German teacher has set us homework over the semester break - we have to write a page about what we did over the winter break. Hopefully I'll be able to get some help :-)
Strangely, while I'll be away less than a month (back on the 18th), my pack is just as full as when I've headed off for twice as long. I guess it's all to do with washing cycles.
Weather's looking good - 25 degrees when I get in, ramping up to 32 throughout the week.
Just to really rub it in, compare and contrast:
Ciao!
-Greg.
--- posted by Greg 9:14 am
Friday, June 11, 2004
Yep, I'm looking forward to a trip in July. I hope you guys have a good time in the wilds of Spain and are looking forward to enjoying the coffee and culture in Berlin with me.*** ADV *** Just a quick plug for Rickie's new business doing geogspatial application development - creating systems to track vehicle GPS data for clients in Melbourne. That's Rickie Makin at www.makinsoftware.com
And believe me, that's just what he does!
*** ADV ***
Re: Luka-sitting. Yeah, we had a great afternoon playing and eating and visiting the park. He's such a good little fellow and a pleasure to spend time with. (That said, I was very relieved it was only a wet nappy, not a dreaded dirty one.)
-Greg.
ps. Yes, it would be good to drag the old bones around a bit before they seize up completely!
--- posted by Greg 7:51 pm
