Some animal development lately!

Cat


We are going to the vet tomorrow night to remove the stitch that holds her nictitating membrane. Only then we'll know if she is healed or is about to be healed or shows complications. The only way I can judge her progress at the moment is by her behavior.

Two days post surgery, she started to ask for my attention again, instead of hiding in a box. A few days after, she climbed her scratch post for the first time in a month and gave a real good scratch to make up for the lost time, while purring like a 18-wheeler truck. I would say that the last week is the toughest. She is tired of the collar, of the stitch, of not getting to groom herself, of not being able to scratch her face or getting petted on her cheeks, of us annoying her with drugs all the time. 1 day now... :-)

Doggie!

On my birthday, I went for dinner with friends and Mr Coombs and during the meal, I shared my interest in adopting an Italian Greyhound with our friends. As we are exiting the restaurant, our friends point at us "Isn't it an Italian Greyhound over there?". Holy cow, it was!! I hesitated a second (didn't want to look like a freak coming out of nowhere, running after a scared dog to pet her), but they are so rare, so I went for it. I started chatting with the owner and it went on for a good while, so I gave my email address. The dog is LuLu and she is from a shelter in Ontario. I didn't know there was a shelter for sight hounds! Cool!


She even offered us to borrow her dog for a little séjour at our place, if we want. Wow! So days went on, exchanged correspondence, trying to set a date to walk in the park despite the horrible weather. Last Sunday, we saw LuLu and her owner again and we took the opportunity to keep her with us for 2 days at our place. Her owner is just simply put wonderful and generous to have done that.

So it allowed Dave and I to get to know more about the breed and also... to fall in love with it. :,-D We are waiting to hear from the shelter. We are willing to drive to the deep end of Ontario (it is near Detroit) to get our next family addition. We are so grateful to have crossed path with LuLu's owner as she is an awesome person in our lives.

Now, we are even thinking about getting a second one... for later perhaps.

So I was aggravated after a week of fighting for obtaining the proper care for Athéna for her corneal ulcer (calls back and forth) that I opted for more options. I knew she needed surgery, but couldn't wait another 3 weeks for it to be performed. So, I called her old vet, who is rather far, but very knowledgeable and equipped to inquire if he does that kind of surgery. He does and how!

We got an appointment with 2h of notice and 30 min after we entered the clinic, her surgery was done, ready to go home. I like when the vet knows what needs to be done and then say that he can do it right away. Now, that is efficient! Laser surgery on the fly!

The vet knew right away what it was and what needed doing. He has seen it before and is very confident she'll get better. We opted for the whole package: laser to remove non-adherent cornea with punctures to stimulate adherence of the new cornea cells + closing of the nictitating membrane with a stitch to favor healing (hence the plastic piece on her eyebrow). We have 95% chances everything will be fine in 2 weeks when she gets her stitch removed.

She just got home and still dopey from the anaesthetic gas, but all is well now; she can heal. Now, that is a *great* birthday gift! I feel much much much more relieved and relaxed now.

I think that the vet deserves a mention, since I always had great reliable service from him. It is Dr Michel Cosimano from Hôpital Vétérinaire de l'Est.

Something I wanted to do in a long time: catch a fat and juicy fly and have fun with it.

Aaahhh... feels great! :-)

More photos to come!

As I suspected and feared, Athéna is not going better.

Last Friday, the vet couldn't agree more that she is not healing as her ulcer got very big and she started to have heavy brown eye discharge. The problem with her ulcer is that the cornea regrows, so she is seems to be going better, but then those cells aren't properly attached or don't properly adhere, so the new growth front gets scraped off. All the progress she makes is blasted away within a week. You can even see the chunks of tissues washing away.


In cases of non-healing ulcers, the surgery becomes an alternative to solve the problem. This is where more madness starts. The person performing such act is an ophthalmologist, as the vet doesn't want to touch such region (can't blame him...). After many phone calls, it would appear that there is only *1* ophthalmologist in the whole province of Québec (and I tried the vet school) and all she could give me is an appointment in *3 weeks*. In the meantime, Athéna is in pain and it's been already 2.5 weeks. Yup, the waiting is impossibly long and I haven't mentioned the fees yet! For a regular appointment, it is 100$ for 40 min (not including drugs, extra tests, surgery, etc!) and it'll be 160$ if I can make it to the very select and prestigious state of "emergency case". Whoa!

I had to have numerous phone calls back and forth with my vet and also with the ophthalmo and still, I don't know when I can have Athéna checked to finally solve her problem. They don't seem to have this sense of urgency at this specialist... The ophthalmo made me secure the July appointment, at which point I allowed myself to be openly sarcastic when the secretary asked if that time suits me by replying that anyway I won't go to this appointment, since my vet *will* contact them for a privileged appointment. God sakes.

So, after a day of struggling, fighting to get her to be seen asap, I still haven't made any progress. *sigh*

UPDATE: At least, the vet called (and will call again) to check if the ophthalmo called. But the ophthalmo didn't call... :-(

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." - Confucius

Thanks to the person who shared it with me today. You know who you are. :-D

A very inspirational piece of a site I just looked at:

Perhaps it's just the euphoria of feeling better after feeling ill. But maybe all these struggles to try to meditate, to try to get myself into a space, this simpler 'space through which stuff passes', are bearing some real fruit. If so, here are the things that I've been doing differently, that might be worth making more time for:

1. Deliberately doing less, just enjoying the passage of time, guilt free, lazily.
2. Long walks in the forest, in the rain, and in the moonlight.
3. Listening to favorite, well-crafted music.
4. Watching sunrises and sunsets, with a cup of tea.
5. Surrounding myself with lovely smells -- scented candles, flowers, spices.
6. Looking at flames -- candles and fireplaces.
7. Smiling and laughing -- at funny cartoons, poignant stories, playful kittens.
8. Eating simple whole foods -- berries, nuts, fruits, raw vegetables.
9. Dancing by myself.
10. Looking at things from unusual perspectives -- up close, in shadow, looking up.

These attentive, solitary, sensory pursuits slow my breathing, my heart rate, and silence the machine in my head. Perhaps this is my meditation.

After I've spent some time doing them, I seem to be more centered, more ready for social activities, more competent at them. I enjoy them more. I'm more present.

I'm more Me.

How to Save the World

Canada week is over. And I decided to give myself a little vacation, since I need a rest post-trip and I haven't done it so far. I just pause it and I'll resume from where I left off. If I wasn't going on any trip during the entire duration of the project, i.e. 52 weeks, it would have been another story. :-)

So no new theme this week. I'll announce it when I am rested! :-)

So Canada week took place as I saw a show from a band that couldn't embody Canada more, in my opinion. The Tragically Hip! If you're not from here, you may think of Celine Dion or Bryan Adams, but you'd be very wrong.

I generated a shitty iPhone photo, but I was willing to sacrifice the quality in order to favour the appropriateness!

I never cared much for their music and barely knew any, but God, they put one hell of an awesome show! The singer is just simply wonderful on stage!

Canada

The Tragically Hip, God save the Queen, CANADA . Ce billet a cou, Canadian Bear, 20.

Originally uploaded by diluvienne

In the meantime, I shipped my mark II to Canon Mississauga. It did cost me an arm to insure it to its proper value so it better be good service dammit *&&%?&$$#%&*. They received it today and gave a 15-20 business days before it gets back to me. I want to see a 'no charge' for all the things I asked service for. We'll see how that goes.

Last night, I was at The Tragically Hip show, at the Métropolis.

Really, I never cared much for their music, but I went as dcoombs's date. To me, this band was the band with the sweaty singer (he would start the concert dry, but end it soaked like he took a shower!), as I had seen on TV 18 years ago in circumstances I am still advising against telling my mom about. (!)

But I got to see more than I came for. Honestly, they put one hell of an awesome show. Whoa! The singer sweats a lot, yes, but he makes an act of it too! He sweats charisma!

Sadly, tonight's show is complete.

I just realized that my birthday is approaching! And I already know what I want, but I need advice...

I do own a cheap 'Made in China' macro rail, which does it for the breezy Sunday macro photographer, but has become limited for me. See, with the heavy camera + heavy MP-E lens + heavy macro flash with the 2 heads + remote control, it had just become barely usable. Plus, I can't take portrait macro shots, since the rail just slides down completely to obey to gravity.

So, I need to know which rail would be the Ultimate macro rail. What model of what brand is The macro rail. I want locking in place that means it and real smooth, precise sliding back and forth, right and left. A real good bonus would be to be able to go up and down as well, but I don't dare to dream about it. :-) Money isn't an issue, I want a rail that I won't want to replace anytime soon.

Does anyone have a good model to suggest?

I had more difficulty finding the motivation this week and I totally know why. I should have thought of this.

When I come back from a trip, I need a little photo vacation. I typically have 1500+ photos to go through from a 10 days adventure and perhaps letting the camera cool down for a week or two is necessary. But then again, I never had Project52 to disrupt that rest before and I also never know about trips more than one month in advance. Ah well... It'll come back, I know it. :-)

So this week's theme is all about Athéna since she is my only readily available pet (for now!). :-)

Pets
Rosy, Smile, At work, I keep an eye on you, Guarding the neighbourhood from indoors.
Originally uploaded by diluvienne

Week 16 is here already! And the theme is...

O Canada

Let your Canadian patriotic fiber express itself out loud.

Or something. :-)

(I swear to God, the picture title is a perfect awesome coincidence!)

Camera saga continues!

Well, well... It'll be more complicated than I hoped/expected. Turns out that since April 1st (and it is not a joke), the Montreal Canon Customer Care Center has closed. They are redirecting all the clients to the Mississauga one. (Now, I could so bitch about how serious this company is to not have any customer care center in the whole province of Quebec or about the fact they are going for just one for the whole country, and also on how it'll impact on the rapidity of the service. But I won't. Perhaps for another entry when I'll have walked that path. :-) )


I wonder. It is because of the recession? Because they were incompetent? Because they were giving bad service? Because they didn't have enough demand? And now, Mississauga. I already know who to write to when I'll need to express my indignation! :-D

On the more serious side, I hate this news. It just means that I'll have to pack my camera myself (more trouble), and have it shipped, at *my* cost. I filled the repair request on their Online Repair System, and despite the fact that a computer told me that it would cost $0.00, I cannot shake off my head the fact that the system says that only based on the warranty check. It doesn't read the description of the problems. I listed 3 of them and I am waiting for an invoice from them as soon as a human takes some time to process the reason of my camera's presence. I cannot believe I won't receive an invoice from them and that they'll clean it for free without having me having to shout.

Stay tuned!

Tomorrow, I shall drop my camera at Canon, again. Again?!?, you might say. *sigh* Yes, again. I noticed a dead pixel in my LCD before the trip, but wanted to have my camera for it (fast as they are...), so I opted to wait until I am back.


In addition to this problem, I found a good amount of dust in my viewfinder which also lead to dust on the sensor that neither the camera's cleaning or my manual cleaning can get rid of. I know it'll be yet another debate with them in terms of what's covered, me not paying for what should be working and asking them to do their job in a reasonable amount of time. I surely hope it won't get to that. I still have the director's phone number for the Montreal Customer Care center and I am not afraid to use it! To follow. *sigh*

So, on a semi-related note, I kept pondering whether or not I should sell my 30D. Keeping 2 DSLRs seemed rather luxurious to me, but I doubt that it is worth much nowadays, especially since there have been 2 generations since mine. It has just reached its 3rd year, so really, perhaps, it'll be worth more in my hands.

Especially if I keep having to drop my mark II at Canon's every now and so often... *sigh*

And so I haven't taken a single shot for Week 14, Things that fit together but are out of place. I reserve myself the right to pass when I judge really necessary and this week is one of them.

Life has been crazy since our return from Italy and lack of proper time to do this combined with a persistent total lack of ideas for this theme (let's face it, it is nice when you can get shots for this theme, but having them done on command is a different matter) lead me to do the right thing to keep it sane. I don't want to lose sight of the goal: fun and creativity!


But let's not be sad, there is week 15! Here it goes!

Pets

This week's theme features Timin Lavoie! What a cutie!

Even if pictures of our favorite pets have been done over and over again, come up with a different angle, a different perspective on them!

Due caffè per favore

During my first Roman stay, I have learned the hard way that Italian caffè is quite potent. I made the mistake of using my not-past-5-pm rule for tea. We're not talking about the same beast here. On my second night here, I slept 2 hours, got up, spent a good stretch of the night up, then went to bed for another 2h. So, a total of 4 non-contiguous hours. Yup. I revised it and made it a not-past-lunchtime rule. :-)

Latin experience

Leaving Rome on Saturday morning for a week-end in Bologna. Boy, oh boy. We arrived with our big bunch of suitcases, heavily geared, in this crammed train. It allowed to discover the Latin nature. I gotta say, it was rather frustrating for both of us.


As we were trying to get to our seats and cram all our luggage somewhere (the luggage rack at the end of the car was already full), people weren't being helpful at all or patient. All they wanted is to get to their seat and they would cut you. If you are polite or nice, you'll get screwed, it seems. Wow. No decision or suggestion made was done to help/optimize/look after the overall's benefits, but rather so the person saying something could get what he/she wants.

We had no less than *3* trains to take to get to Porretta-Terme. It was quite the adventure! A certain chaos, it involved. :-)

Where it gets pretty sweet

One can wonder why the hell did we do that to ourselves and not stay in Rome instead. Well... there are 2 great reasons.


So, after carrying our luggage like this in and out of so many trains, we were rather sore. And it was raining/gray all day. It is just as well, because the hotel we chose in Porratta-Terme has a really nice spa. That is the fortunate consequence of having rooms in Bologna costing 300€ for that week-end (what is happening in Bologna this week-end?). For less that that, we also have the spa! Win! So we went and I booked a massage the same night, booked one for the next morning. (Reason no. 1: the spa!)


What a really nice spa! There was a hot whirlpool connected to a nice pool, which has a nice flat cascade of water falling from the wall for a great neck massage. Also, there was a warm water bassin with water jets in which you walk through, followed by its cold counterpart, for improving leg blood circulation.

But what I found really neat is the grotta, a cavern you walk through to get to the Turkish bath. The ambiance and look of the place is really gorgeous! We went to the Turkish bath, which was a really nice room filled with steam and has a ceiling covered of LED lights on sticks, for a star-ry sky ambiance. The air was filled with some essential oils and we had gloves and muddy scrub mixture for exfoliating our skin superbly. The pampering was gloriously welcomed!


I met with my masseuse and, as we found out/suspected, outside Rome, most people speak at best an extremely rudimentary English. Even the younger ones. I have been given a single-use tiny string for my massage. Here's one difference that doesn't surprise me at all in Europe: their relationship with nudity. I was given the string to cover my genitals, but they have no problems with naked breasts. In North America, when your turn on your back for the frontal massage, they hide behind the towel and the first thing they do is use it to cover back your chest. No boobies must be exposed! Here, breasts are like any other parts. At home, they really don't tend to massage the frontal upper part, that includes the belly. Here, she did the whole thing. Cultural differences, even in the massage department. :-) Little discoveries!

The Helvetia Hotel is a really nice one. Pretty modern. For example, it had *free*, *non sucky* wifi internet (a rare thing in Europe, sadly). The thermostat knows when you open a window and displays "FI" when it happens ("finestrina"), which impressed Dave. :-) That and many other commodities. And hey, second room, second time we get a bidet! :-D

Heavenly food

Reason no 2 for being in Bologna: the fooooood! Had dinner at the hotel and wasn't disappointed. I discovered a to-die-for cheese! Scamorza affumicata! A really awesome smoked cheese. I want to find it when I am back home. I gotta!!! 8-D

Week 13 was entirely achieved in Italy, so this week's batch is heavily influenced by my geographical location!

Being intensely in photo mode and in awe in front of the beauty, this week's theme happened naturally. I loooove those waves of inspiration! The zone!

Seasonal
Love is in the air, Grounded, Sloth impersonator, Quick snap, Caffé gelato.
Originally uploaded by diluvienne

Love is in the air is a shot that begged to be taken, it seems! Christine spotted this couple on the way to lunch, but I didn't have the proper lens for it. When we came back, they were still there! Without hesitation, I went back to the hotel, grabbed tripod and macro lens and voilà! Christine even helped me find more subjects in this prolific bush!

Grounded is from a really gorgeous park in Rome, called Villa Borghese. Since we've been on our feet a lot and been walking several kilometers a day, we had to find ways to be nice to our sore feet. With the really nice central Italy weather, an afternoon in the park is a genuine treat at this time of the year!

Sloth impersonator occurred as we were climbing the stairs up to Chiesa La Madonna della Grotta, in Praia a Mare. This chubby fella was very co-operative with the camera, so I managed to get many shots out of him. This moment of fun made me realize that I never had any attraction to bugs. In fact, I would shiver at the thought of touching it or squishing it. I have a disdain for bugs, especially the big fat juicy ones like him. But, in front of a macro lens, I am fascinated - they are the most awesome creatures, with lots of details, textures. I guess that I can toss aside all disdain because my love for macro is stronger than all! A pretty insightful moment. :-)

Quick snap is one of the shots of lizards I took during our stay in Praia a Mare. I didn't know that the South of Italy had lizards! They are pretty small and extremely fast creatures! I managed to get closer and closer to one without scaring it too much. I love the texture I managed to capture on this one!

Caffé gelato is from a mandatory stop at a gelato place. The weather being just so simply wonderful and warm in Praia a Mare, gelato simply fits well. So tasty gelato... :-D~


Week 14 is here already! And the theme is...

Things that fit together but are out of place

This one seems challenging!

Happy week 14!

Just a quick word to say that I am alive!

I was in Porretta-Terme when the earthquake happened. It is 300 km from the epicenter, so too far to even wake us up. It goes without saying that we are super fine then. :-)

We are now back in Rome and our new hotel only offers ludicrously expensive internet. I am there until Thursday, so let's cross finger for the last part of the trip!

Sadly, the lack of internet capability coincided with the post-earthquake, so despite my trying to calm down my mom, the lack of my telling her thousands of times per day that I am fine, alive and kicking allows her to freak out nonetheless. *sigh*

I have all my limbs and none of them are bleeding! Although, I am too full... My stomach is definitely being submitted to stretching! But besides that, we are A-1!

Week 12 is over!

And it was entirely done in or on my to Italy, which I say, brings a nice breeze of renewal in the Project! Neat! Some kind of challenging and fun at the same time!

Transportation
Treno, Super fast, Walking, Parking, Leaving.
Originally uploaded by diluvienne

Treno was taken as we arrived at the train station (to get to Rome), after our overnight flight. Furthermore, it was taken in a hurry, as the train was to leave within the next 4 min. But I really wanted that shot. In the end, the shots one likes the most are, not as often as we think, the ones we spend lots of time and work over. One of the things I have learned doing photography. :-)

Super fast happened out of luck, since we know for a fact that about 10 min after we used it, the walkway was out of service at the Pearson Airport, in Toronto. Pat and Christine had a flight right after us and they didn't have the chance to experience the speed.

Walking was a contribution from my personal photo director this week: Christine! She gave me this idea while in Rome and I executed it while killing time waiting for the train from Pistoia to Porretta-Terme. The model is, as usual, my dear dcoombs.

Parking is another contribution of my personal photo director. She advised me that the scooters/motorcycles must all be facing the same way, so I had to walk by a few rows of scooters before I could find one that is interesting enough. But really, I didn't need to be terribly patient, they are just about everywhere in Rome!

Leaving was done at the metro station near our hotel room in Rome, after spending a day at the Vatican. We all had sore feet, so walking back another 2-3 km wasn't very appealing. But really, for 1€ the trip was worth it! (BTW, uscita == exit, in case you didn't figure out already.)


Week 13 has been picked before leaving and it is...

Seasonal

Anything that speaks of the current season, wherever you are!

Cranking up the challenge a smidge for me! :-D

The problem with being Canadian in Europe

Is that you are automatically and without further investigation tagged as American no matter what you do. As a result, it comes with an obnoxious set of stereotypes, such as:

- You drink Americano coffee. You can't possibly want an espresso.
- You eat your steak well done, or medium if you feel adventurous.
- You have lots of money and as a result, you scream wanting to get screwed by outrageous scams and tourist traps. Usually set by other Americans living in Italy.
- You are an obnoxious traveler with a lack of manners.

I swear to God, next time I go to Europe, I'll have a Canadian flag on my photo bag. You can have my word for it! I even learned how to tell them that I am not what they think I am. As a Francese Canadese, I am far from being an Americano. Hell, English is not even my first language!

Speaking of which, I have been rude with an American and I have not regretted it. We were approaching St. Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican and this is where a good number of Americans living in Italy act. They approach those who speak English and try to sell them a package with a tourist guide along with the appealing advantage to not have to wait in line at all to visit. The lady did put a lot of emphasis that the line was *at least* 2 hours long. She asked us if we were Americans, to which I heartily and spontaneously replied word for word "God no!". Shortly after she mentioned that she is from New York. Anyway, it is just as well that we didn't fall for the said deal, because we saved 25€ each (so 100€ total) and ended up waiting in line only a mere 20-25 min. What a scam! I have no patience or sympathy for people trying to scam people like this. So yeah, I don't regret it.


Religiosities

No, I have not become a fervent believer. Yes, visiting the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica, the Popes' tombs (I saw John Paul II's tomb!), the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum leaves you with lots of respect for all the grandeur and magnificence, but it also left me with more certainties about religion. Let me explain.

*The up side*

So much richness. It is more impressive than I thought. Especially the Vatican Museum. Seeing in person that famous piece from Michaelangello is quite surreal. And a few Dali paintings. All the ceilings are mind blowing. This museum is just so packed with really ancient objects. A completely different scale than what we call 'old' in North America. A must in a lifetime.

*The deeper side*

Seeing the St. Peter's Basilica and all the nuns who go there as a must in their religious life left me rather unimpressed. I mean, don't get me wrong, I had a rather religious upbringing, with the forced church attendance until I was an adult, but I always found that the Christian message is completely absurd because, among other things, those who preach it the most, observe it the least. "Do as I say, don't do as I do". So basically, all that luxury and heavy rich decoration inside the Basilica (gold paint, thick marble just everywhere, fat wood posts, etc.) just didn't seem appropriate with the said humility and poverty help values. I was rather indifferent before visiting, it left me turned off after.

Epilogue

Tasty food... I am developing a pasta craving!

More later!

It's like Summer here!

Day 2, no rain. A few clouds, then bright blue sky. So, what happened to the umbrella sellers? As Christine very wittily pointed out, they turned into purse sellers. Although, it is not quite the same, as they were really not that many in the end. Still wondering about the umbrella business...

We had lunch by the Pantheon, in the bright warm sun. I might get back home with a tan!

We visited some more, various places, the Trevi fountain and the Colosseum again (but with photo this time!).

Touching man

As we were taking a copious amount of shots of the Colosseum, we encountered a begging man. He is not the only one around. In fact, they tend to operate around the very touristy places, such as the Colosseum. And, as opposed to the dirty bums with dogs we have in Montreal, the beggars here are very religious and ask for mercy and inspire pity/ sympathy, kneeing on the ground, often face down. Somehow, that man on our way to a broader view of the Colosseum got my attention. I wanted to take a photo of him and felt it wouldn't be fair/ would be rude to just go ahead and take pictures without asking. I also felt that I should give him a donation in return. He inspired sympathy in me, for some reasons, my heart bled seeing him. He looked pretty sincere. I wanted to do this.


I wasn't sure if he'd speak English or not, so I went ahead and tried my best. He gestured that he speaks very little English. We managed to convey a small conversation. My donation (2€) melted him. He was genuinely grateful, thanking Mary or God above for me, allowed me to take a photo of him (he even placed his hair quickly for the shot!) and asked me if I was Americano. If I understand correctly the discussion we had, he was telling me that Americans pass by and never leave anything. He excused himself for not being able to speak to me in English, I excused myself for not being able to speak in Italian (I felt that is pretty fair, I am in *their* country after all!)

It was a special moment.

Italian blood

As we were walking from Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum, we heard a man yelling. I wasn't surprised, in fact, I was kinda expecting witnessing an outrage scene at some point. The man was boiling mad because his car had been booted. He was gesticulating with passion, showing his parking receipt, and lots of yelling. Basically, making a big scene and not even calming down one bit after at least 10 min. A policewoman tried to control the man by using words, which is when Dave asked me "Is it his girlfriend?". To which I replied "With a uniform?" Duh! Dave was having a case of the dumb. :-)

We couldn't stop watching the scene, we were hooked! When we finally managed to leave, there were *6* policemen on the case and still no sign of usage of strength, despite the really loud yelling at them. Man, in North America, it wouldn't take 5 min for the man to be arrested - pick up an excuse, any will do: public disturbance, insulting a policeman, etc. Or all of the above.

Italy is different. Being angry isn't a disease or a taboo thing. It is part of life and being human.

Physics, in the real world

I heard afterward that our plane got hit by lightning, not too long before landing, hence why the captain asked the staff "Please, sit down now, regardless of what you are doing." When I heard about the lightning, I instantly thought that we are all good, because the plane acts as a Faraday cage and it was immediately followed by thinking that lutinsolite would be proud of me! ;-D

A first taste of Rome

Today was rainy in Rome. It is just as well, because anyway we just wanted to wander around, take it easy, sample the city and perhaps go to bed early. The first day is the hardest. So I didn't really take any photos during the day, but used today as a repérage day. :-) And perhaps, since I didn't take many photos, I was less awake. :-)

The major thing I noticed here is the amount of really old ruins. I didn't expect there'd be so many well preserved ruins. There are really old columns everywhere! And the architecture is really gorgeous. Oh my!

Language funnies

When we arrived at the train station, there was written in a sign "multipiano car park", which amused C. and I. Turns out that 'multipiano' means multiple floors. Whoa! Sometimes, Italian really isn't similar to French!


Later on, while walking by the Colosseum, we noticed a certain agglomeration of food kiosks for American tourists (hamburgers, fries and hot-dogs. WTF?!) and they were advertising selling "Bibite". In my Québécois head, it got immediately translated into 'bug'. It took me some research to find out, since I really couldn't figure out what it could be. It actually means 'soft drinks'. Good to know. :-D

The umbrelli, a very strong market in Italy?

dcoombs was right, on rainy days, there are so many umbrella sellers on the street. We all know London's reputation for being rainy and yet I have still failed to see a great number of umbrella sellers there. What is the reason behind this ridiculous amount of sellers?

Food and edibles

First meal, we had to have pizza. You see, pizza in Italy is more savory, less heavy than in North America. Let's put it this way, you can place the Chicago style deep dish pizza on one end of the pizza spectrum, and Italian pizza would at the other most extreme end. :-) Yummy!

Coffee by the Colosseum is great!