Berlin 2008

On Thursday, Feb 27, Ale and I met up in Berlin for a long weekend. I had to attend a conference during the day, but in the evenings we had a chance to be tourists. Unfortunately the conference hotel was about 1 hour from the centre, but we still managed to do a few things. On Friday evening we met up with Michael, Marta and Cord, and dined together in a fantastic Japanese restaurant. Udon with tofu for me, and chirashi-zushi (mixed sushi over rice) for Ale.

On Saturday afternoon we visited C/O Berlin
(http://www.co-berlin.info/co-neu/web/CO_Berlin/start.php) to see an exhibition entitled 'Assorted Cocktail' (http://cgi.kunde.inter.net/co-berlin/user-cgi-bin/news/inhalt_en_neu.php)
by well-known British photographer, Martin Parr (http://www.martinparr.com/index1.html). His social commentary through images is extraordinary! After the exhibition, we did a spot of shopping, and then indulged in some hearty German fare - wurst, brot, sauerkraut und salat. The waiter was shocked that we ordered water rather than beer, and I was worried that we may be asked to leave! Sunday was spent on trains, in airport lounges, and on planes... not much fun. However, all in all, it was a wonderful weekend!

Christmas in Pisa 2007

We drove from Waterloo back to Pisa - via Luxembourg, France and Switzerland! It was minus 6 when we left Waterloo, and the drive, especially through France, was a snowy one. We spent the night in Lugano, Switzerland (Ale was exhausted from driving!), and we enjoyed fantastic pizzas for dinner. Ale was surprised by everyone speaking Italian outside of Italy! By the time we arrived back in Pisa, Ale was terribly ill (I think that I'd passed on my germs from the previous week!), so we had a very quiet Christmas together - we couldn't attend any family or friend events as he was simply too ill. He eventually recovered, and we enjoyed a lovely meal with Peter, Mary, Nonna and Antonio in the newly renovated Meucci apartment - che bello! The weather over the three weeks we were together in Pisa was very cold... so we enjoyed spending time at home, curled up with a book next to a heater, or in bed watching DVDs! The hot water bottle came in handy - and thank-you to the Wray-Browns for sending us two new hot water bottles for Christmas! - they have been put to good use :)