madrigalis

Real Science

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:52:19 GMT

Clearly I am not the only person who wants to throw things at the screen whenever "science" is in movies or on tv.

Where the Wild Things Are

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:27:27 GMT

It was a warm one in Melbourne today and we gave our new evaporative airconditioner a bit of a workout. It seems to be doing a reasonable job - it's certainly much more comfortable inside than out - and the funny smell is just about gone. I do find it's not many degrees cooler than it would be with my pre-airconditioning summer strategy (close all the external windows, doors, and curtains to keep the heat out, as well as internal doors to as many of the high heat-load rooms as possible), but the air movement makes it much less stuffy, which is a good thing. MrM and I have different ideas about how to optimise the sytem in terms of how many external outlets we need to allow the air being blown into the house to escape (not enough and the humidity starts to rise, too many and the heat from outside gets in), but we're mostly managing to compromise.

We made a slightly frustrating expedition to Chadstone today in search of a couple of triangle pillows, which have been recommended as useful for putting across one lap while feeding babies, and also for sitting up in bed. They proved surprisingly difficult to source: we drew blanks in Myer, David Jones, Bed Bath n Table, Adairs, and a couple of other homewares shops of which I can't remember the names. We eventually found one in Target, although they didn't seem to sell any covers to fit, which seemed a bit silly (on the other hand, it is the end of the Christmas sale period, so it's possible they'd sold out). However, I did find a couple of covers in Adairs (although, as previously mentioned, they had no pillows: go figure). I popped into KMart on the way out to buy a fitball and some handweights - there are no PreggiBellies classes over the Christmas/New Year period, and I'm a bit worried if I do no exercise for 10 days my body will go into shock when I start again - and it turned out they had triangle pillows, so I bought another one there as well.

When we got home I pumped up the fitball using the handpump supplied - an arm workout in itself - only to discover that although the box said 65cm, the actual diameter of the ball when inflated is much closer to 55cm, and I really can't see the latex stretching much further. So they must have put the wrong ball in the box and I will have to take it back and exchange it. Grumble. (Although I've just heard via facebook that a friend of a friend has a 65cm ball that's too big for her; if she gets back to me tomorrow I'll just swap with her.)

Tonight we went back to Chadstone to see Where the Wild Things Are. It's been a long time since I read the book, but my memory is that the original story had much less plot, so the scriptwriters must have added a fair bit to make it a feature film - unlike most adaptations, where they have to cut stuff out. Our experience was marred somewhat by technical glitches - the sound went wonky once during the previews, and twice during the movie itself, so that dialogue was barely intelligible and the score degenerated into a whooshing, growling noise. It was an odd movie visually: opening in snow but moving soon to obviously Australian landscapes, with transtion sequences through what I suspect were CGI sand dunes. But the most interesting thing about the film was the insight it offered into my almost-forgotten memories of what it feels like to be a child: the joy of hurling oneself to roll down a hill without fear of what is at the bottom, the difficult understanding that just because you didn't mean to hurt someone doesn't mean they won't feel pain (and likewise, that other people can hurt you without intending to do so); the intensity of a mental landscape where bedclothes become oceans, a table both a fort and a rocket ship.

I think both MrM and I came away thoughtful, newly aware of some of the challenges of raising a child so he or she doesn't feel alone and misunderstood more than is inevitable.

Baby stuff

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:27:00 GMT

An email went around one of the worklists on Christmas Eve, saying someone was preparing to sell her house and wanted to get rid of her baby stuff for a nominal price. So I rang her up yesterday and arranged to come over today to look at things and take them away if we liked them. So we now have a Bertini pram with a bassinette and a stroller seat (as well as a matching nappy bag and parasol - she comes from an Italian family, who like everything to be matching and best-quality... hmmm, sounds familiar.) We also brought home a cot mattress and a change table mattress, as well as a stack of baby-sized towels, and one of those big rugs for the floor in what was the cat's room and will soon be the nursery.

We went to Mothers Direct in Malvern on the way home, hoping to have a look at one of the Arms Reach co-sleeper cots that pezzae mentioned in one of her posts. But although they sell them, they don't actually have them on display, and the saleslady couldn't tell me anything more about them than I'd already read on the website, which was frustrating. I really like the idea of having the baby close and on the same level for night feeds (and probably day feeds as well, if what I'm hearing about "when the baby sleeps, you sleep" is true), while still having a bit of separation for safety (the link between SIDS and sleeping in the same bed as the parents in the absence of alcohol, cigarette or other drugs is pretty slim, but still) and convenience (not having to change our sheets as well as the baby's in the middle of the night) but I'd much rather see the actual item and get a sense of how it works before buying it. They did, however, have one of the My Little Beds, which seem to offer much the same advantages as the co-sleeper cot, so maybe we'll just get one of those instead.

So yes, we now have baby stuff. Not everything, but a lot more than we had this morning. I was starting to feel a bit worried that we wouldn't be ready if the Robin came significantly early, but I feel much better now that the baby has somewhere to be changed and a way to be moved from A to B. And sleep: we're still intending to get a proper cot too, but the Robin could sleep in the pram bassinette for a while if necessary. However, while the Bertini is spacious and sturdy and has inflatable wheels and adjustable handles, and would therefore be good for long walks, it is also bulky and heavy, which would make it annoying when getting in and out of the car and going shopping. So we'll probably get another pram/stroller too - something small and light. My favourite so far is the Silver Cross Dazzle; we've looked at the McLarens but they've so far failed the "must be able to figure out how to adjust, collapse, and reassemble in less than 10 minutes" test.

Then we had nclean and cuddlefairy over for afternoon tea; it was lovely to just sit and talk with them for a while, which is something I really enjoy. Parties and group gatherings are fine, but they're generally not the right environment to have a proper conversation. I didn't have time to make sandwiches, but I set up the cake stand with fruit cake and madeira cake and crackers and dip and chocolate truffles, and made a batch of scones with raspberry jam from Bright and fresh cream. MrM laughed at me for being Victorian, but I LIKE setting things up nicely. We do need a bigger coffee table for the back room though - getting everything on the existing one was a bit of a juggling act.

Now we're settling in to watch an episode of Farscape while sorting out one of the boxes MrM has brought in from the garage. We have a number of boxes that have been sitting there unopened since we moved two years ago: I'm rather tempted to just chuck them unopened, because if we haven't missed the contents in two years we can live without whatever it is just fine, but he wants to go through and check. Memory lane, here we come!

Avatar

Sun, 27 Dec 2009 11:55:28 GMT

Last night MrM and I went to see Avatar in 3D with Mr seagoon . As storylines go, it was pretty formulaic: if I'd seen it at 15 I probably would have found it inspiring, but not so much now. Still, it did have a plot with a beginning, a middle and an end, in that order, which is more than can be said for some movies!

And it was a very pretty movie - CGI in 3D has come a long way even since Beowolf a couple of years ago. I enjoyed the way James Cameron continued the trend that started with Pixar's UP of using 3D to add depth and intensity throughout the film rather than a gimmick: there was very little "throwing things at the audience to make them jump".

Twilight

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:52:25 GMT

MrM and I just got back from watching New Moon. I need to wash my eyeballs. And my brain.

Baby brain

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 08:56:44 GMT

I managed to leave both my car keys and my security pass on my desk when I left work this afternoon, and had to loiter about in the carpark until one of the cleaners left and I could get him to let me back into the building to get them. *facepalm*

I can't afford to vague out yet: I have way too much to do before the baby arrives!

Kittens

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:13:37 GMT

As those of you who've seen my facebook will know, there are five gorgeous little kittens and their mother spending a lot of time in our backyard at the moment. The mother clearly has been domesticated - she comes over for a cuddle and a good scratch under the chin whenever I go out to her, but the kittens themselves are very shy, and scatter to hide in the shrubbery whenever they see me or MrM. I thought they belonged to the neighbour over the back fence, but I talked to her on the weekend and she says no, the mother cat isn't hers. Apparently there was an old lady a couple of doors down from her who used to to have lots of cats and who moved out a while ago - my neighbour thinks this could well be one of those that was left behind. Which makes mother and kittens strays. They're utterly adorable, but we can't responsibility for 6 extra cats right now, and they can't live in our backyard indefinitely - it's not fair to them or the local wildlife.

I just rang the RSPCA, who said they would take them if we brought them in, but they don't do pick-ups; that's the council's job. So I rang the council, who said they'd drop off a cat-trap and take the animals to the RSPCA to be vet-checked and put up for adoption once we'd caught them. I don't see that there's any other option, but I'm still feeling terribly guilty at the thought of trapping the little kittens. Plus I'll miss their little faces peeping out at me from under the lemon tree, and watching them scamper around the clothesline when they think I'm not looking.

Chicago

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:33:06 GMT

MrM and I went to see Chicago last night, and it was fantastic - one of the best musical productions I've seen.

The two leads were very impressive in their different ways: Sharon Millerchip was captivating as Roxie and clearly having a great time hamming it up (and she has a great face for it); Caroline O'Connor as Velma had fantastic comedic timing and spectacular vocal control. And they could both dance as well as sing and act - I think the first time I've seen that on stage: normally the principals do a few steps here and there, but the actual dancing is left to the ensemble, but not this time. And the chorus and swings were really strong, beautiful, fit dancers - it was even a bit frustrating in some of the numbers because I couldn't watch them all at once!

We didn't get to see Gina Reilly's interpretation of Mama Morton, which was a shame - I was looking forward to seeing what she did with a straight role - but her understudy, Caroline Kaspar, was fine, although perhaps a little overshadowed by the rest of the cast (or possibly by my memory of the fantastic performance by Queen Latifah in the movie). The actor who normally plays Amos was away too, and his understudy, Nick Jones, gave a great performance as the weedy husband who fades into the background. And I loved the set, with the musicians dominating the stage and the rest of the cast working around them.

And now it's time to go dancing myself. :-)

I know we need the rain...

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:53:10 GMT

... but it was lovely to have a warm sunny day today.

The courtyard at work is being relandscaped at the moment to get rid of all the old dead things that didn't survive the ferocious heat last summer despite the rainwater tank and staff's best efforts. There's no point replacing most of them with identical varieties since they were species that are unlikely to survive in our current climate, so they're being replaced with drought-resistant ones that will. As part of this the ~~dustbowl~~ grass has been replaced with fake turf. I wasn't sure that was such a great idea, but it actually looks quite good, and apparently it's comfortable enough to lie on - a couple of people were doing just that at lunchtime.

I went to Preggi Bellies again this evening. I'm finding it a challenge mentally as well as physically - I've never done aerobics or pump or any of the other "exercise to music" things before (dancing is different!), and the choreography is completely unfamiliar. I thought, with my dance training, I'd find it easy, but I was wrong! It probably hasn't helped that I've been to three classes now, at two different locations, and had three instructors, each of whom had totally different routines and used a different mix of equipment to the others: the core of each class is the fitball or whatever it's called, but we've also used weights and mats and bikes and today steps as well. I found the first two classes utterly exhausting; tonight's not so much, but I'm not sure if that was my body adjusting or whether the routine really wasn't as tough as the previous ones. I guess I'll find out next week.

Gloriana concert: Schnittke Choir Concerto

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:38:07 GMT

As per the blurb from the Gloriana website:

Schnittke Choir Concerto: Following our highly successful performance of the Rachmaninoff Vespers in 2008, Gloriana presents another masterwork from the Russian choral canon: Alfred Schnittke's Choir Concerto. Composed in 1985 and based on text taken from the 10th century Armenian poet Gregory of Narek's Book of Lamentations, this work runs the gamut from soaring climaxes to passages of meditative calm and profound beauty. The program also includes works by two Estonian composers; Arvo Pärt's celebrated Berlin Mass and the Australian premiere of Veljo Tormis's Incantation for a stormy sea. PDF Flyer (132KB) or more concert details.

Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) Choir Concerto
Arvo Pärt (1935) Berliner Messe
Veljo Tormis (1930) Incantation for a Stormy Sea

Sunday 13 September 2009 at 2:30pm
St Mark’s Anglican Church 250 George Street Fitzroy Mel 2CC9

Tickets $25 pre-purchased or $30 at the door

Dress rehearsal was tonight, and it's sounding rather nice - if you're free on Sunday, do come along.

Taste of Melbourne Festival

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 08:43:42 GMT

Last night MrM and I went with some dancing friends to the Taste of Melbourne Festival. It was kind of a cross between a degustation menu and a prgressive dinner: about fifteen restaurants had set up kitchens and were serving three small dishes from their menu, which you could buy for $8 -12. There was wine tasting too, lots of wines, but of course I had to forgo that.

Circa: steamed bun with wagyu beef, pickled carrot, spring onion and hoisin sauce. Imagine a cross between a duck pancake and a steak sandwich. I was a bit worried when I saw that it also contained coriander, which I generally can't stand, but it blended into the overall flavours. It was quite tasty, and I'd be happy to see it on a degustation menu, but would probably pass it over as an a la carte item in favour of something more interesting (which I'd expect there would be at Circa). David and I both tried it and decided we do need to go back there when they re-open in October following their renovations.

Fifteen:
Berkshire pork belly, du puy lentils & salsa verde. The lentils were a bit under-done for my taste, but the pork was very tasty. David ate most of this one.
Vanilla pannacotta with quince: the best dessert I tried. The pannacotta was beautifully creamy and delicate and not too sweet, and the quince gloriously coloured and fragrant. It would have been better on a proper plate so I could see the colours better, but still... Delicious.

Jacques Reymond:
Quail tempura with tajine flavours and whipped persian fetta. The "tajine flavours" seemed to mean a dense black something - not quite a sauce, not quite a vegetable, really not sure what it was, and it definitely wasn't my thing, but the quail itself was beautiful, with a delightul and surprisingly light texture.
Bittersweet chocolate martini with espresso jelly and bourbon vanilla chantilly. This was the better of the chocolate desserts we tried: a plastic wine glass filled with a milk chocolate mousse containing small cubes of coffee jelly, and topped with a dark chocolate sauce and a swirl of vanilla custard (can't say I could taste the bourbon, which is not necessarily a bad thing).
One of the staff serving here recognised MrM as a previous customer, which was impressive, given we've probably only been there 4 times in the last 5 years. It must be about time we went back, I think.

Hellenic Republic
Saganaki with peppered figs: this was almost a cross between savoury and a dessert - a triangle of crispy fried cheese with a few small sweet figs in a sticky sweet sauce with just a hint of heat. Very yummy.
Souvlaki: I only had a tiny taste of this, but it was an excellent souvlaki, with tasty and tender and not too greasy meat wrapped in lovely soft flaky bread. The inclusion of chips flavoured with wasabi was unusual, but seemed to meet with approval from the gentlemen devouring the dish.

The Court House:
Confit duck in puff pastry: was basically a sausage roll, but filled with deliciously falling apart duck meat rather than cheap and nasty sausage. It was glorious - best savoury dish of the night. Flaky golden puff pastry and a rich chunky tomato sauce (they called it a fondue, but it didn't come in a pot, which makes it not a fondue as far as I'm concerned!) rounded out the flavours, but the duck was the star.

The Brasserie:
Dark chocolate mousse with salted caramel sacue and Tonka bean anglaise. A very similar idea to the Jacques Reymond dessert, but without such skillful execution - the mousse was much too dense and heavy, verging on inedibility from chocolate overload after only a few spoonfuls. The anglaise helped to cut the intensity; the caramel seemed more of an afterthought. I'd never heard of tonka beans before, and couldn't really discern much of a flavour around the chocolate, but apparently it's a vanilla/almond sort of flavour.

Farscape

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:38:37 GMT

MrM and I have been watching Farscape on dvd tonight, with Leela curled up next to us. I can't quite decide whether I like Farscape or not. I want to like it, and it often feels as though it's just about to be really good, but something about it just seems off - I'm not sure if it's the writing or the direction or the perfromances, but scenes somehow don't seem to flow quite right - characters react too strongly, too fast, or not enough, and the dialogue doesn't sing the way it should. I suspect I've been spoilt by the Whedonverse!

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 13:31:16 GMT

We had a lovely relaxing and social Saturday today, starting with a late breakfast at Relish in Bentleigh. I do like their potato and ricotta hotcakes with smoked salmon and a poached egg on rocket. Very yummy.

Then we went to Bunnings and looked at powerboards - we made the slightly alarming discovery on Thursday that our tv/video/dvd/sound system draws 45W just on standby, so just leaving it like that accounts for up to 10% of our energy bill. Ouch! We're not going to climb in amongst the cables to turn it off at the wall each time we leave, but we also desicovered there's something called a green energy saving powerboard that detects when the appliance plugged into the master switch is turned off, and automatically turns off the other appliances plugged into the slave sockets, which could be really useful. But we didn't buy one today, because it wasn't entirely clear from the packaging whether "turns off" always means "really truly off", or whether it sometimes means "puts on standby". And since a six-socket one costs nearly $60, we decided to go away and do a bit of research before we buy one. But I've been having a look at the specs on the web tonight, and it looks like it might do the job.

After that we went to catch up with some friends, a number of whom had been on a longish bike ride this morning, and were feeling a bit stiff, so we ended up with 12 of us in an 8-person spa (we hadn't been on the bike ride, but the spa was too good to pass up!) I could have stayed there all afternoon, but we had plans to meet other friends to see Terminator Salvation at 4.30, so we got dried and dressed and drove off to Chadstone

Terminator was a very silly movie, and I did get impatient with the scenes that served no plot purpose whatsoever, and were solely there for the videogame tie-in. It's a pet peeve of mine, and it's showing up in more and more movies (the idiotic blue and red monsters on the ice planet in Star Trek also made me cross) I was a bit disappointed it didn't go further into the exploration of what is the difference between a self-aware machine and a human. But possibly that was expecting a bit much from an action flick! Overall verdict: not my kind of movie, but there were some very pretty CGI effects and it was a not unpleasant way to pass the time. We finished the evening with a group dinner at Safi in Brighton - good food and plenty of it. It took a long time for the food to arrive, but there were nine of us and the conversation was flowing nicely, so I didn't really notice.

It is nice to be home again after a busy Saturday and know that I still have two more days before I have to go back to work. :-)

Concert and party. Not in that order.

Sun, 31 May 2009 02:19:41 GMT

Big party last night, with lots of dancers, most of whom I hadn't seen since before we went away. It was an excellent party, although not as raucous as last year (and no swimming, since the pool heater wasn't working properly). I had my hair cut and recoloured yesterday, and had a very entertaining time watching people see me without seeing me (as they mentally processed the image as a blonde they didn't know) and then, sooner or later, realise they did in fact know me. It was a late night - we got home about 3 in the morning - but I slept in till 11, so I'm feeling okay. Which is just as well, since it's the DeChorum concert this afternoon:

Passion Fire and Fury
Melbourne’s newest choral ensemble, DeChorum, is pleased to present a concert of madrigals old and new, featuring works by Monteverdi, Janequin, Palestrina and Lauridsen.

Conducted by Trevor Jones

A Little Night Music

Fri, 29 May 2009 13:39:00 GMT

MrM and I went to see A Little Night Music at the State Theatre tonight. It was the first time I'd seen a live preformance of Sondheim - I know the music to Assassins and Company and Into the Woods reasonably well, but I've never seen any of them live.

It was a great show, with some fantastic lines and situations, and farcical while not being cringe-worthy: I was never afraid that the characters wouldn't be able to talk themselves out of trouble, and quite looked forward to seeing what they'd come up with, whereas I watch most farces thinking "this is just going to be embarrassing for everybody" and wishing they would end.

We booked very late, so had tickets in the second front row, just below stage level, which wasn't the best angle for listening, but was great for seeing all the little facial expressions and details that aren't visible from further back - particularly for those of us, like me, whose eyesight is far from perfect even with glasses!

The performances were good; the women perhaps more than the men, although Ben Lewis as the Count was delightfully appallingly pompous. I enjoyed Kate Hoolihan as Petra, especially her physical comedy (although the fast sections of her solo felt a bit frantic) and Katrina Retallick as the Countess with her beautifully dry delivery. Sigrid Thornton was good as Desiree, although having seen her so much on tv it's a bit difficult to "buy" her as a character - she doesn't have the knack that some actors have of inhabiting a persona and making themselves unrecognisable (Paul Bettany is a stand-out at it.) But tonight Nancye Hayes as Madame Arnfeldt stole the show.

Driving a hybrid

Tue, 26 May 2009 02:38:21 GMT

MrM and I love our Prius - it's a great car to drive, as well as making us feel less guilty than if we were still driving a petrol-guzzling Commodore - but there are drawbacks.

And the big one is needing to be super careful around pedestrians when we're driving slowly, because they will just step out in front of us without looking, assuming (presumably) that because they can't hear an engine, there is no car. Pedestrian crossings are okay - I expect people to step out there; it's all the people milling out in all directions from a tram stop or train station that scare me. And clearly we're not the only ones to notice this issue, although the idea of replacing actual engine noise with speakers that play a recorded sound just seems silly.

Werribee Gorge Walk

Sat, 23 May 2009 10:43:36 GMT

We drove out to Werribee Gorge State Park (which is actually just outside Bacchus Marsh, and not particularly near Werribee) and did the Circuit Track today with some friends from dancing.

We actually set off up the wrong trail from the Quarry picnic area at the start and found ourselves slogging up a hill along a couple of sheep tracks before we found the path we were supposed to be on about a kilometre later. Oops. But once we were on the right path, we walked along the ridgeline for a while, enjoying some great views over the surrounding countryside. I must admit that, although I love Australia, I do have to work at enjoying the scenery - I find the green softness of the English and European landscapes we've seen recently so much easier on the eyes. Then we went down a very steep and rocky path and found ourselves in the gorge itself, although there wasn't much water to be seen. The path opened up after a while and we stopped for a lunch break and was laughed at for having included an icepack to keep the sandwiches cool. What can I say? My family takes picnics seriously!

After lunch we resumed our journey, and soon found ourselves walking quite close to the water. It wasn't flowing particularly, but it was nice to see the variety of flora and hear the birds. We had to have another stop when one member of our party realised he'd lost his thermos and had to go back for it, and then another person's left shoe fell apart (the sole parted company with the upper). I cannibalised a bandage from the first aid kit (aha!) and tied it around the middle of the shoe to hold it together, and had to do the same with the right shoe about 10 metres further on. We eventually got under way again, and soon found what would have been a much nicer picnic spot at Needles Beach (and if the day had been hotter, and the water a bit clearer, I might have been tempted to go for a swim!) There was a bit more scrambling after that, across and down a scree slope, and then we had to manouevre our way around the base of the cliff, which was made easier by the thick wire rope that had been strung along the cliff face (it would have been doable without it, but it provided some extra security).

We eventually reached Meikles Point picnic area and carpark, but had to slog up a hill back to the Quarry. Note to self - next time, park at the lower carpark and do the climb first! We had to take a couple of breaks along the way - it was a rather steep hill - but eventually we made it back to where we'd parked our cars, and could take off our backpacks with a sigh. We finished the day with coffee at Frango's in Caroline Springs on the way home.

Melbourne

Fri, 15 May 2009 14:07:34 GMT

We're home!!!

It's very good to be back in our own house and see our little cat again. Thank you so much to mawaridi for looking after both while we were away.

Homeward bound

Thu, 14 May 2009 20:11:33 GMT

We're in Dubai airport, with three hours to wait until our flight leaves for Melbourne, but at least they have free wifi, and also laptop charging stations, which is very civilised of them.

It's been a strange day - walking round the Roman Forum this morning, then off to the airport (negotiating Rome airport was a bit of a saga, and despite arriving more than 2 hours prior to our flight time, we didn't make it to the departure gate until after boarding had started, which was a little nerve-wracking), then flying into the night. The time zones are messing with my brain - it's 10pm in Italy, midnight here, and 6am in Australia.

Last day

Wed, 13 May 2009 22:07:38 GMT

Not quite such a busy day today.

We started witha late breakfast on the hotel rooftop terrace, overlooking the Colosseum . Then we went and walked around it for a couple of hours (staying under cover as much as we could, because the sun was baking.) We had thought of doing the forum in the afternoon, but decided it was too hot, so went back to the hotel, wrote postcards, and slept. After an unsuccessful hunt to buy stamps, we wandered around the outside of the Forum (it was after 6.15, so closed for the night), then caught the metro to the Spanish steps, took some photos there, then walked up to Via Veneto of La Dolce Vita fame and had dinner in Cafe Veneto (which was delicious - truffle pasta) and came home again via Giolltti, which makes truly excellent icecream. I had blueberry, amarena and marron glace, MrM had chocolate, lemon (which will surprise noone), and fruits of the forest.

We fly home tomorrow. I'm sad at the thought of our holiday being over, but I am looking forward to being home and seeing my cat and sleeping in our own bed, and knowing how the shower works, and catching up with friends. Possibly not in that order.

Rome

Tue, 12 May 2009 16:55:01 GMT

A full day of sightseeing today:

Basilica di San Pietro - climbed 551 stairs (we could skipped the first 230 by taking the elevator, but we are made of sterner stuff than that!). Almost no graffitti this time, unlike Florence, although I suspect that was mostly due to the large signs saying "You are under video surveillance" with cameras at every turn. Fantastic views over the Piazza and the rest of the Vatican from the top, although we had to share them with rather a lot of other tourists.

Castell Sant'Angelo
Bakingly hot, and we were approached by a pair of young men in gladiator costumes who posed for photos with us and then wanted E10 each (Au$40) for the privilege, somewhat to my surprise. MrM laughed at me, but I didn't really expect them to want money - I thought they might have been a public service. Naive of me, I suppose. Rome isn't exactly short of tourists! As it happened, we'd both run out of money, so scraped together E7 and gave them that. They were disappointed, but I felt there was a measure of poetic justice since they hadn't specified in advance that they expected payment...

Piazza Navona
Full of fountains and tourists and portrait drawers. We got money from an ATM and had a drink and slice of cake each in a cafe overlooking the Piazza, which was rather expensive but is one of those Roman things one just has to do.

Pantheon
I was tired and cross and my feet hurt by this time, so didn't go inside. Turned out MrM had been mixing it up with the Parthenon which is why he'd been so keen to see it. *giggle*

Fontana di Trevi
Another of the Roman things one just has to see. It was crazily over the top and bigger than I remembered. We took a couple of photos, waiting our turn on the fountain's edge between the other tourists.

And of course the Colosseum, which is one block from our hotel, and which I can see from our bathroom window. The view from the bedroom is of the Domus Aurea, which used to be part of Nero's palace and is a hillside garden where we went walking yesterday. This is a great hotel.

Tue, 12 May 2009 08:39:49 GMT

We’re on the train from Firenze to Roma, travelling through the Tuscan countryside. I’ve been taking photos through the window of the train, but they only show the facts: the geographiccal arrangement of trees and houses and fields, which is deeply unsatisfying. They give no sense of the truth of this place, the effect of the creamy white and buttery yellow stucco of the villas topped by their terracotta tiles, the vineyards and olive groves, the fields of grass and young crops undulating over the landscape to the deeper green of the hills, the lines of tall narrow trees marching along a ridge. I know it’s all been said before, and by much more skilled writers than I, but Tuscany has a magic unlike any other place in the world.

And the strange thing is that although I can see power lines, and microwave repeaters and other signs of 21^st century life, they seem irrelevant and utterly superfluous, not disturbing in the slightest this landscape dreaming in the sun under a perfect and hazy sky.

Florence Part II

Sun, 10 May 2009 22:44:19 GMT

A lovely day today. We began with breakfast in the hotel restaurant, which was a combination of English/American ( cereal, bacon and eggs) and continental (croissants, cheese, chocolate and other cakes). I had my first Italian cappucino in years and enjoyed it very much.

After breakfast we called my parents via Skype to wish Mum a happy Mothers' Day, then went to the train station and bought our tickets for tomorrow's journey to Rome (from a machine, since the ticket staff were on strike). Then we walked down to the Uffizi and queued for about 40 minutes to buy our tickets and took three and a half hours to go through the galleries - unlike the Louvre, it is actually possible to see all the rooms in one day. The Botticelli's are the highlight of the collection for me.

By thetime we'd finished at the Uffizi it was after 5pm, so we came back to the hotel for a rest then went out for a quick dinner and to watch a free concert peerformed by an organist, a countertenor and an oboist in one of the local churches - a mixed program , including (I think) Handel's "Lascia ch'io pianga" and Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D minor". The organist was good, the oboist okay and the countertenor a bit dodgy (annoying glottal stops everywhere!). We followed the concert with tiramisu (yum!) and wandered home, stopping to listen to a couple of girls, presumably Florentine singing students, busking in one of the covered walkways. They were pretty good, particularly the alto (the soprano was clearly getting tired and losing a bit of her vocal control).

When we got back to the hotel we went up to the rooftop terrace and enjoyed the full moon rising above the Palazzo Vecchio, which was a very picturesque end to a lovely evening.

Florence

Sun, 10 May 2009 09:05:13 GMT

We left France on Friday evening and caught the night train to Florence, which was interesting. We were sharing a four-berth sleeper with two French women, but niether of them spoke any English or Italian, and neither of us spoke any German or much French, so communication was a bit limited.

We got to Florence about 8am and made our way straight to the hotel, where we were intending to leave our bags, but it turned out the room was ready already which was great. We went and saw the Duomo, then came back to the hotel for a nap (I only got about 2 hours sleep on the train), then back to the Duomo to climb the cupola (463 steps). After that we went down to the river and saw the Ponte Vecchio and did some shopping. Two leather jackets for a very good price and new shoes and handbag. Then we found ourselves a busy Italian trattoria and had some dinner. My Italian is rusty - the discussion with the guy in the phone shop about how to configure MrM's iphone for internet access was a bit challenging - but good enough for ordering dinner and asking directions and basic shopping.

Today we're going to go to the Uffizi and maybe catch a train to Pisa. Tomorrow we're off to Rome, the last stop on our trip before we come home on Thursday.

Paris continued

Tue, 05 May 2009 22:03:00 GMT

I seem to be finally over my jet lag, which is kind of nice, but also means I no longer have three hours each morning to write updates and upload photos before everyone else wakes up, hence the lack of updates.

Today we went shopping, and I confirmed yet again that I'm not at all good at it - we went through Au Printemp, one of the major Parisien department stores, and came out empty-handed. There was a Chanel blouse I liked, but I flatly refuse to pay $3000 for a shirt.

This evening we got ourselves across town (the metro is becoming almost familiar) to the Moulin Rouge for dinner and a show, which was fantastic. Despite only booking yesterday, we were lucky enough to be placed on a table right at the front (although quite a bit to the side), so close that MrM could feel the brush of the feathers on the girls' costumes as they ran past. It was great fun.