A Sustainable Train of Thought

So now I’m posting to my blog from Rome. This is pretty cool!

Aside from the shenanigens this morning, the rest of the trip was fine, if not long. Finding a hotel for the evening was a bit of an adventure, as the guidebook’s prices are somewhat out of line with what places are now charging. And I think it’s kind of busy this week (still), so there aren’t that many choices available. I managed to find a dorm this evening for 30€, and tomorrow I have a reservation for a room for 60€. The dorms seem to all be filled right now, which isn’t surprising considering they’re significantly cheaper than private rooms.

Anyway, after I sorted the room situation out, I went for dinner. When in Rome, do as the romans do: I went to a restaurant called Africa for some Ethiopian/Eritrean food. This is the first non-Italian food I’ve had in a while, and it was a treat. It’s been a while since I had Ethiopean in Berkeley, so I am not in a position to compare, but the food was pretty good!

I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep tonight so that I’m ready to check out Rome tomorrow! I stopped by a grocery store this evening for some apples and some water, so I should be all set snack-wise. Oh, and the place I’m staying at tonight serves breakfast with the room.

Well, off to catch some sleep…

I’m heading off to Rome today. I’m not sure where I’m going after Rome, but I should have lots of photos to share!

I was actually supposed to leave earlier this morning, but….

I woke up around 7am to get to the station and buy my tickets before 8:35, which is when the train left for Chivasso, where I’d transfer to Milano. In Milano I’d transfer to Rome via a Eurostar train, which left at 11. I bought my ticket around 7:45, and I noticed a train was leaving for Chivasso around 7:50 or so, but I decided I should get some sandwhiches and water for the trip. So I ended up back at the station around 8:20, with plenty of time to spare. Or so I thought.

When 8:35 rolled around, lo and behold the intercom announces that the train is 20 minutes late. Which means I can’t make it to Chivasso in time for the connection to Milano, which means I certainly can’t make the 11:00 Eurostar to Rome.

So now I have a ticket for the 10:56 train to Chivasso to Milano to Rome via a 14:00 Eurostar. Originally I planned to get into Rome around 2-3 pm, but now I’m getting in around 6:30. Since we’re on Daylight Savings time (we switched on Easter), it will be light out and everything should be fine.

Everyone I’ve talked to says Rome is absolutely amazing, and I’m looking forward to exploring it!

Yesterday, the day after Easter, was a warm and sunny day, and I couldn’t resist the urge to take a spin around town on my bike. The spin around town quickly turned into a jaunt across town followed by a meandering tour of the countryside and hills in the vicinity of Ivrea. I took a couple of photos and posted them in the gallery.

I haven’t been on a serious ride for quite some time, and it’s always interesting to remember how curious I can be. What’s around the next bend? Where does that road lead to? Half the fun of riding a bike is exploring new places and finding new routes to familiar destinations. Exploration can have a toll, though, when the road leads upwards, so my journey into the hills around Ivrea will have to be continued at a later (more physically fit) time.

Just a quick note:

IDII is running a summer camp for students who are between 18 and 20 years old. The ten-day course is intended to give participants an overview of interaction design in a learning-by-doing process. More information is available here:

http://www.interaction-ivrea.it/en/education/scamp2005/

Perusing the cereal aisle at the local Sigma, I ran across these cereal boxes:

Shopping in Italy can be quite entertaining at times…

So, you may ask, what have I been up to lately? Well, term just ended, spring break has begun, and I’m working on a variety of projects: my school portfolio, looking for internships, finishing several books, catching up on course reading, preparing for our next project (which involves Mattel), learning Flash, and several other things which I’m probably forgetting at the moment.

Also on my list of things to do: catch up on lots of sleep, visit Rome, head down to Pompeii, check out a nice beach, and … who knows?