Birthday cake

First of all, Thanks to my blogger friends for the kind birthday wishes :) This week, after I had celebrated my 51th birthday (The photo shows the birthday cake), I was busy enough on the job front although it gave me the opportunity to visit old villages which I would have never see. Those special places are located in the hills among an amazing nature. The small church, which you can see in the photo below,  is located far from the villages. The building can show its secular history.

Meanwhile, Italy's economic weakness increases slightly and Italians are leaving power in the hands of an enderly and out-of-touch elite: only Zimbadwe and Haiti had lower GDP growth than Italy from 2000 to 2010.

I'd like to share with you the following joke about Italian politicians:

"One day a florist went to a barber for a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen doughnuts waiting for him at his door.

Then an MP came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The MP was very happy and left the shop. The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen MPs lined up waiting for a free haircut."

Tomorrow, Sunday, April, 1st, I'm running 16 km and it seems that Spring weather will be perfect for running.

Nice weekend to all my blogger firends!

51th birthday

Tomorrow, March, 26th, I'll be 51! It's my birthday and I've planned to stay with my family. Yesterday my mother came from Naples and she likely leaves on Tuesday, 27th.
This morning I did a pleasant 18 km run along the sea and the Spring weather was really perfect for running. I'm not improving my speed because the aim is to maintain the running shape. Unfortunately I have no enough time at the moment and, as a consequence, I'm going to run three times a week (Tuesday, Friday and Sunday). If I run four times a week I would improve the speed ... if I even try to lose weight :)

I hope all you will have a nice week!

Next to Vatican City

Hello my blogger friends! I haven't updated my blog since February 20th, although I have been following your blogs and have left comments. I'm sorry for that, but I've been crazy busy and I'm still working in Rome and Viterbo. That's why two weeks ago I couldn't run the Rome-Ostia 21 km, which is the main important half marathon here in Italy. Stefano didn't run it because, as he mentioned on his blog,  he has got problems with his knee and I hope to hear good news soon. As above mentioned, since about three weeks I have been working in Rome, and the office is near Saint Peter's Square, which is located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave within Rome. On Friday, 9th, While I was in Rome for job, I took these two photos. The first one shows a Swiss soldier on guard at the gates of Vatican City. Schweizergarde is the name given to the  Pontifical Swiss soldiers of Vatican City.

The second photo shows the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City.http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/swiss_guard/swissguard/storia_en.htm

On the economic front, although unemployment in America is almost back to pre-recession levels, showing more improvement in the labor market, in Europe there’s still an economic contraction: Italian and Spanish GDP is still decreasing and Europe's politicians are dealing with  Greece’s debt restructuring. In the meanwhile, young people are afraid they can't find full-time employment at the moment.  On the other hand,  I'm glad to hear good news about  the  U.S. strongest demand for automobiles since 2008 and the increase of retail sales overseas.

Nice week to all my blogger friends!