Day 12

The days of the free internet connection in the conference site in Venice seem so very far away, and right about now I'd pay double what I did to get the wireless connection I had in Bologna (and that was expensive as it was).
Thing is, I'm now in the hotel in Rome, it's about 00:15, Ohad and me are back from a very stylish pub we found in a neighborhood called Testaccio (after a small hill on which it resides), I fire up the laptop and lo and behold - the tech gods have smiled upon me and there seems to be a semi-stable and, above all, free wifi connection I can use. I don't like updating the blog from internet places because I need time and to feel relaxed to properly express myself, so for the past few days I haven't really told you about what happened in Bologna, or Firenze, or Toscana, and Rome (so far), and what's worse is I haven't even uploaded any pictures!
I'm sorry about that, really, but you're going to have to show a little more patience with me - the connection doesn't really allow me to upload much of anything, and I'll have to be a bit brief about what happened till now:
Ok, after that day in Bologna, which really was magical, I went to San Lazzaro the next morning. It was really weird - every time I am abroad, I feel uncomfortable until I come back to Jerusalem. It's more then feeling uncomfortable, it's feeling like a fish out of the water, a feeling of insecurity. And in San Lazzaro that feeling went away, I don't know, on one hand I wasn't really home, because Jerusalem is home now, and on the other hand I felt really comfortable: I knew were I was, I never got lost, I even took shortcuts I remembered. In any case, I got to see both our neighbors still alive and well, and even catch up with a friend and his family. Nothing has changed - they are all still there just the way I left them, as if they have been waiting for me, preserved in a big jar of formaldehyde.
That took two days, and on the spare time we had left, we got to drive to Maranello, where Ferrari's are made and tested, and where there's a big museum full of old models. It was very cool, since it all happened on the day of the 60th birthday of the Ferrari namebrand. A LOT of people where there, a lot of beautiful cars, and even 9 jet planes flew by in a whole bunch of formations. Quite the celebration.
Then, we left Bologna and we drove to Firenze. Driving felt great - I love our car (which we decided on calling Maurizio) and we got there through small back-roads in about two hours. Thing is, by then it was unbelievably hot and crowded, so we left pretty early after seeing all we could see in one day (which wasn't a lot, but it sure felt enough).
After leaving Firenze, we decided on settling in Montepulciano for the night - a small Toscan town, which is comprised of a small bunch of red brick-houses huddled together on quite a steep cliff-side. The next morning we toured a few of the local wineries, after consulting a local wine shop in town. Very, very cool endevour that is, touring local wineries - I whole-heartedly recommend it.
Well, after cooling off, we drove very fast on the autostrada, south, towards Rome. We found the hotel, which is very nice, and we've been doing all of the attractions for the past three days, trying not to miss any of the must see's.
I have to finish, I've rambled for long enough anyway and I have a busy day ahead of me.
Ciao!

Day 6

I've been staring the blank screen for the past 10 minutes, not nowing how to describe this past day. And to think it's all been just a prelude for what lies ahead for tomorrow...

In any case, Ohad volunteered to write for me, so here it goes:

I don't know what the procedure is for someone other than the blog-owner to write, but in this case I can best attest as to what happened. At first we went around town looking for the Cinema Roy's father worked in and Roy spent his days as a child. At the cinema he didn't know anyone but they directed him to a woman called Cinzia (I couldn't pronounce it with a gun to my head) who now worked at another cinema. So we went to the other side of town to meet this woman and to be honest I was a bit skeptic, 15 years have passed, and she might not even remember him. I didn't want to rain on his parade, even though it was really hot outside, and so I tagged along to the other side of town. When we got to the new cinema, he took a deep breath and went to the cashier and introduced himself with "Cinzia? I don't know if you remember me, but my name is Roy" (both you and I don't understand Italian, so I'm translating). It took her a second, but than she started with an ecstatic voice, RRRoy, RRRoy (In an Italian accent). She ran from her both and opened the door to hug and kiss him, as even I got some kisses and excited unknown Italian words. It was a reunion like a reunion ought to be, that's why he had a hard time putting it in words. It was one of the moments you see in movies. Then they reminisced for a while, and she was overwhelmed with how time had passed and how she remembered Roy as a little boy and all of his family. It was really moving, and so I can only imagine how it was for Roy, but I'm sure he'll be more expressive with a bit more time to digest and rethink that moment.

Day 5

I'm just gonna put it out there – I still don't have the suitcase. This is ridiculous. For now I'm managing, although the charger for the camera is in there, so for now, no more pictures. Only for now, I hope.

Up until yesterday I had been quite the good boy: I went to most of the lecture sessions, and the poster session. That might give you an idea of why I haven't posted anything - I didn't think you'd be interested in spin-chemistry. Yesterday, however, I decided to skip everything and go to Murano. I wouldn't have had time to do that otherwise, and I really wanted to go. It was nice, the island is quite small and peaceful, and when you scratch the surface nothing is as big as a tourist trap as it first seemes. The same goes for the main island of Venice – at first I really though there wouldn't be much of anything besides piazza S. Marco and a gazzilion of tourists, but after coming back from Murano I managed to get lost in the northern part of the main island, crossing the Rialto and going into the more quiet part of the city. Very, very nice - more of an ambiance-soaking experience then sightseeing, but I really enjoyed it, just as much as the visit to Murano.

In any case, today Ohad will get here and god willing the suitcase will too. Tfu tfu tfu.

Next update will be from the hotel in Bologna, I hope, so check back tonight.

update #1: We're not in Bologna yet, but i think the news merit the update. The organizers of the conference went t the airport and found the suitcases there. They are on the way back here, and after I get them I'll leave to meet with Ohad. Oh, and I managed to squeez a few minutes out of the camera's battery... Good update, right?

update #2: Bologna. Suitcase. Fresh Underwear. Alfa Romea 159 1.9 TurboDisel. And to top it all off - a belly full of Pizza Rustica (tomatoes, mozzarella, salsiccia , potatoes) . Goodnight :-).

Day 1

Ok. About three quarters of the first day have passed, and right up until about an hour ago I was about to give it a 2 out of 10. Since I had time to cool off a bit, I'd say the day is up to a 5.

I decided to not go into details here, no reason to bum anyone out; I'll just say that Alitalia left my luggage in Milano while I'm in Venice. In any case, I hope to get my stuff back by tomorrow morning, so no biggie.

Update: had pizza prosciutto and gelato. The day is officially ended as a 7.

Two videos and a site...

...to kick-start the morning!

1. A new trailer for the Simpsons' movie.
2. Highlights from the Pistons vs. Cavs playoff game.
3. I know cat-pictures site are a dime a dozen, and I even linked to two of them in past posts, but here's another one. All I have to say for myself is that they are possibly the greatest past-time on earth. God save the internet.