Dog Goes Boating

This past weekend was a long weekend for Vicenza, celebrating the 300th-or so year anniversary of an apparition of the Virgin Mary in Monte Berico that ended a terrible plague.  Devotees walk from the base of the hill all the way to the Santuario della Madonna to offer their prayers.  Below, citizens flock to the city center to enjoy the luna park and the fun energy in general. 

For me however, the 8th and the 9th were workdays.  So the weekend had to be an away weekend to avoid the feeling of depression borne out of having to work when everyone else gets a vacay.  So, I packed a tent, some sleeping bags, and some meat for the grill and headed out to my favorite lake, Lago di Ledro.  Above was the pooch, enjoying a bit of sun while we rotate peddling duties for the boat.  I overly underestimated the pedal boat: mostly relegated to artificial lakes in city parks, I thought it would be boring and relatively limited to within a few meters from the shore.  But it was the little boat that could:  it chugged along effortlessly from one end of the lake to another and safely accommodated two peddlers and two sunbathers.  Mixed with a bit of sun bathing and swimming (not me—the water was too cold and I was born in the tropics), it was the perfect, relaxing weekend. 

New UNESCO World Hertiage Sites near Vicenza

This is kind of late news, but it is good news nonetheless.  Two new "sites" (both were really for a string of sites tied together by a singular theme or "significance") were added by UNESCO to the World Heritage Site List, both within driving distance from Vicenza.  One is hailed by the Italian press as more significant due to it being completely housed within the country's borders, the other scattered across six countries but no less significant nonetheless.  

Winter Blues

It's cold, I'm sick, and looking forward to yet another weekend of laziness, brought on by my inherent fear of misreading the weather and going out with one less layer than necessary. Although it has been--and hopefully, will be--a relatively mild winter, the cold still gets to me, and the short days make daytimes spent inside cold offices seem such painful wastes of possibilities. I'm looking forward to warmth, sun, green, and the outdoors again. To outdoor grills, shorts and t-shirts, and knowing that the solution to weather-related discomfort is simply to remove another layer. To restaurants setting tables in the courtyard, cafes lit by dappled sunlight, and bars that cannot help but spill out into the lively streets. To pleasant walks, fulfilling jogs, and looking forward to leaving the office, knowing that the day still leaves one three hours of daylight to enjoy. Spring cannot come soon enough.