Neapolitan Interlude.

La Bella Napoli : world famous for Pizza.

Of course, because of my desire to loose several inches from my thigh, I am restricting myself to seafood !

I am REALLY enjoying the Archaeological Museum here with all the statues and mosaics from Pompei & Herculaneum.

Today saw the grand opening of 400 frescos not seen since 2003, now restored - I managed to get myself invited to the press showing at lunchtime AND also to a special reception this evening !

Met all sorts of interesting people / restorers / archaeologists ! Was even invited to visit the excavations for a personal tour ... but that will have to await another time.

I did find time to visit the Chappel of SanSevero in which there are a couple of veiled statues from the mid 1700s: this one is called Modesty (although it can be hardly that !).

Rovigo is a very Italian town.

It's nothing to wander in and out of shops, offices and cafes housed in buildings which are hunderds of years old, with carved wooden ceilings and frescoed walls.

Even with Mediaeval Watch towers, Rovigo has few Tourists having little to offer compared with Padova ,Ravenna and Venice. [click to see more]

There are some lovely facades and a mighty bronze statue of Garibaldi

A Little Culture

Verdi's Requiem was performed in Rovigo's 200 year old, gilt and red push theatre with a chorus of a hundred and an orchestra of sixty.

My First Home Cooked Italian Meal

Fresh, local Scallops (with the roe) ... too delicious ..

forgot to photograph them !

Local mussels: tender and flavourful.

Octopus salad - alla Mamma - scrumptious.

From Nice to Rovigo

The train journey along the French Riviera never fails to delight me with picturesque glimpses of coves, beaches and villages.

This is Villefranche sur Mer.

I had 3 train changes on this trip: amazingly all ran to schedule !

Milan's station, with Alberto Favi's impressive arched iron canopy (1930) covering over 66 thousand square metres, has little changed since I was using it as a child: only then steam trains took me away.

Finaly a warm, present-full, welcome including, "Gods, Graves & Scholars": C.W.Ceram's Story of Archaeology.

A Green and Pleasant Land.

Neil and Alyson's house is set in a park

full of spring flowers

and abundant wild life:

a cheeky squirrel

and even a cock-fight.

Thursday, 16th April 2009 ~ This Day May Change My Life.

All set to go, beside one of the lovely gardens around Lucy Cavendish College.
My first 30 minute interview was with the Admissions' Tutor and a colleague to determine my suitability for admission to Cambridge, what I could bring to the course and generally about me.
The second 30 minute interview was with my prospective Director of Studies and a colleage and centered around my interests in Archaeology & Anthropology.
Following a brief tour of the college I wrote the first of two 90 minute essays: "The trade in antiquities - should it be banned ?". After a 15 minute break I wrote for 60 minutes on "The job of schools is to prepare a child for the world of work" and then 30 minutes summarising what I had written.
I spent several hours going over the interviews in my mind thinking about what I could have said ... I did my best: in two weeks we'll know if it was good enough.

The Joys of ...

and then there is ...

Spring.

No Contest.

"... and you want to swap living in the the TCIs for this ?"

Absolutely !

BTW : AA landed 90 minutes late - and at the very end of the terminal; yet I made it through Immigration and out to the central area in 26 minutes ! I would have missed the coach had the driver not left a few minutes late !!!

Healthy Flying

Deep Vein Thrombosis is a hazard for those who fly long distances. In F, AA have this handy seat on which one can elevate ones feet without going into flat-bed mode. Thank you, Peter !

yet ... is it a Madhouse ?

High Finance :

the absurdity of having to provide easy-chairs where clients have time to read and work while awaiting a First Caribbian Bank teller, is inescapable.

Dawn ~ Another New Beginning

Such an inspiration !
How can I ever leave ... ?