This is my third day in Milan and I must say that I love this place. It is a living city, where the modern sits perfectly with the past, ie the fascist era, Risorgimento, renaissance and medieval buildings. In many ways, it is similar to but classier than my home city Melbourne, which has a …
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Turin’s ‘Borgo Medievale’
When I was 6, my grade one class went on an excursion to Montsalvat, the artist colony in Eltham which looks rather medieval. I’ve never been back, although I occasionally ponder it – they probably have luthiers there but not coopers, and I have more need for a cooper than a luthier. I did not …
Turin’s Oktoberfest debacle
I went to Oktoberfest this evening in Valentino park. Whilst it was meant to start around 6.30pm (this is me giving benefit of the doubt as I suspect the advertising said 6pm but am not certain), the beer did not start flowing til after some inauguration ceremony featuring a band and some people addressed up …
Squirrels!!!!
In Valentino Park today, I saw squirrels! This is quite cool as I have never seen squirrels before. Sadly I think these are American grey squirrels, an invasive species. This is a positive mark on the ledger for Turin.
The trouble with Turin…
I’ve been quiet for a few days because I’ve been pondering about what I really think about Turin. Finally I’ve decided I don’t like it. Whilst Turin dates back to ancient times, being a settlement of Cisapline Gaul visited by Hannibal on his way to wage war on Rome, there are very few ancient ruins …
Church of St Luca
This beautiful church is subject of a pilgrimage from the city of Bologna up a nearby hill every Easter. The area commands amazing views of the city. It appears to me that green copper coated domes are a major thing here in Bologna.
The chalice from the palace…
Chalice is not really used in common parlance. It’s a quaint word from another time. If you’ve ever heard it, I bet it’s probably in the final act from the Danny Kaye classic The Court Jester: ‘The vessel with the pessel Has the pellet with the poison The chalice from the palace Has the brew …
Richmond supporters prove me right about not backing them…
https://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/swan-street-erupts-as-richmond-fans-revel-in-huge-grand-final-victory/news-story/18ce031e12e16691b7000fd7dcadd519 This shows how all class Richmond supporters are. The Western Bulldogs (aka Footscray) are also a club based on working class battlers, but we don’t behave like this when we have something to celebrate. Indeed, their behaviour Saturday night makes me grateful Collingwood didn’t make it through as well, and makes for a great …
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At last, I encounter Fosters Lager!
No one in Australia drinks Fosters Lager. That is mostly due to a marketing decision made about 30 years ago to gradually withdraw it from the Victorian market (back when we still had our beer allegiance on a state by state basis). So finding it overseas like this at Hamerica – a restaurant with an …
An afternoon stroll through Bologna
I occasionally have what I call ‘wow’ moments – when I see something that causes my jaw to drop. My first trip to Italy was like that when I saw Venice as my plane prepared to land. I think I had a few moments like that in Bologna this afternoon, when I saw some of …
Lost For Words! 