Last two days of the Autumn

Starting this week, I will be in Rome for job two days, which are the last two Autumn days. This morning I enjoyed two Philip Colbert's art works along one of the most elegant streets of Rome. They were made early this year with painted aluminium. Their names are "Lobster shark" (above) and "Lobster" (below).

I needed a hot lunch today in Rome, as weather was (and still is) cold. That's why I had pizza at "Crazy Pizza" (picture below) ... obviously, I also needed a jacket or a coat :-)

https://crazypizza.com/rome/

With regards to small town where I live (60,000 inhabitants, 70 km North from Rome), I noticed that long streets in the vicinity of the center are places about which city officials care most during the Christmas period.

The surroundings of the main buildings and the small urban green spaces are easy to decorate

Have a nice week!

Renault 4

In my previous post I mentioned Citroën 2cv after I had seen an old one while I was walking. This morning I saw another old one: it is Renault 4, which had been produced from 1961 to 1992 by the French car maker Renault. I was happy to see that old car, as it was the car I used to drive when I was 20 years old. 

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Renault 4, that's its name, the French manufacturer has created the "Suite N. 4" that has maintained the same dimensions and external lines of  the original model. 

While I was walking I also took pictures of two of the oldest stone fountains. These two small town's landmarks, which were both built in the late 16th century, provided water supply for horses and donkeys.  

At the local market I saw an easy way to enjoy fresh tomatoes in late Autumn 🍅

Have a nice Sunday :-)

Rome in late Autumn

This week, on a rainy thursday in late Autumn, I went to Rome for job once again. I hate wet socks, that's why I put in a change of socks while I was there. It seems people who live there are able to ride those manual scooters also on rainy days 🛴 ... but abandoned manual scooters along Rome's sidewalks were so dangerous.

I soon noticed that Christmas decoration were already there along many streets and squares. 

On the way back, while I was walking along an historical alley of the town, I saw a Citroën 2cv on the cobblestones. It's an old car manufactured in France from 1948 to 1990. In the late 1970s the Citroën 2cv was a very popular car. It has always been so colorful, al least two colours.

I also took the next two pictures in Rome:  refurbishment of a historical building (Ministry of Finance) and an urban green space, which provides psychological relaxion and supports physical activity.

The last picture above shows that on the 42nd parallel lemons are already on branches. Lemon is an excellent source of vitamin C.

Mid Autumn

 Just a pictures taken this morning on a sunny Saturday in mid Autumn.

The name of the tourist facility showed above is "Riva di Traiano". It's a port located in Civitavecchia (70 Km North from Rome), which is home to many cultural and sporting events that attact sailors from over Italy. Inside the port are numerous shops, coffees, restaurants, sailing clubs and leisure facilities in addition to parking for both users and visitors.

On Tuesday, 9th of November, I went to Rome for job. After I had finished the task, I walked through the oldest part of the Italian capital. 

While I was walking through the narrow streets of the most lively area of Rome, I discovered typical restaurants, cafès, art galleries and specialized shop.

Have a nice weekend!

In the hills on October, 31st

A few images taken on October 31st in the hills (Itri, 90 km South from Rome). This time there weren't many olives in my mother's garden. So we couldn't make olive oil. 

 

We also enjoyed chestnuts cooked in the fireplace.

Lemon flowers were blooming and the surrounding vineyards began to change their colours.

I hope you will have a nice week!

I took just two pictures

During the 1st week of October the weather was not on our side in Italy. Today at least it is a sunny Sunday ... after a rainy and wet week. The two pictures below shows the cloudy sky I saw on Thursday, 6th October  ...  the gateway to a modern designed harbour for pleasure boats, with its achitectures of historical works (1st pic), and an old Italian car built in the early 1970s (2nd pic): congrats to the owner, as it looks new 🚗

On the vaccine front, protests against Italy's Covid certificate grew violent yesterday, while thousands of people took to the street of the Italian Capital. As it is known, Italy's government issued a law requiring COVID-19 vaccine or negative testes for workers to enter their offices and workplaces.

Meanwhile, Supreme Courts in many countries have already ruled agaist using vaccine passport to restrics access to the workplaces.

In accordance with the principles of the Italian constitution, we see what the Italian government will be able to do. 

1 hour and 15 mins training on a cloudy afternoon

The last two weeks at the rehabilitation centre my mother has been able to recover slightly from her orthopedic injury, as she has been going out and working through the pain. She has been believing in her healing, so since 20th November she has walked about two hours a day with the walker. I can say that things are going better and she will come back to her home soon. I will probably take her to Naples by car next week. In the meanwhile, she is also enjoying the scenery (available through her window) and taking pictures of the sea as you can see above.
Today I did 1 hour and 15 minutes training on a flat track. The two  following pictures were taken while I was running in the early afternoon. The second one shows the flat track above mentioned and the cloudy weather. Unfortunately, that concrete path wasn't as soft as I can usually see in the hills which surround the town :) 

Nice weekend and happy running/walking to everyone!

Sitting in the air

I have been living crazy busy since the last week of October because of job issues and my mother's orthopedic injury. At the moment my mother is recovering slightly as she is in a rehabilitation centre situated here, in Civitavecchia, 60 km North from Rome. Its location is perfect as it is close to the see (picture on the left). I'm going there twice a day and this gives her motivation.

On the job front, I went to Rome three times last week and I was happy to see a lot of people, mainly from Japan, who were gathering the Vatican Square. This means that people around the world are still interested in my country. While I was walking next to the Vatican Museum I saw a particular show along the street: a Pakistani, who wore orange clothes, was sitting in the air. You have probably seen that in many different towns around the world. Here below there is a link of a Youtube web page which shows how those charlatans work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKktRZ9QEXE

The picture below shows the Vatican Square.

Of course, since November 1st I haven't been running three times a week and I've lost my training. At the moment my training in not adequate for a 10 or 21 km at a sub 5 min./km pace. 
Happy running, cycling and swimming to all my blogger friends.

Physical therapy

First of all, I would like to thank my blogger friends who supported me when my mother was operated. They were very kind and supportive through their emails and blogging comments. Surgery went well last Wednesday although she lost a lot of blood: about 700 ml.

At the moment my mother  is still walking slowly and of course she struggles. I hope she will go along the sidewalk soon and enjoy the fall colours of the town. 

Thanks again!

Too Busy

I wrote down my last post on October 18th and since then I have been too busy. Last week my mother fell while she was walking on  a sliding floor after she had done daily shopping. The floor of the entrance of the building where I live was too sliding because the women who cleaned it had left a lot of soap on the surface. Unfortunately, my mother had a fracture in the high part of her right femur. She wasn't operated immediately because her blood was too fluid. This morning the doctor said he planned to perform the surgery on Wednesday 30th. Stefano is supporting me as he knows the doctor who will perform the operation.

I hope everything will go well.   

Monterano Nature Reserve

Today, December, 8th,  it is public holiday here in Italy, as we celebrate the feast of the blessed virgin Mary. It is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church as well as a few other closely related Chistian churches. The weather here in Central Italy shows that Autumn is going to an end: this week, on Wednesday, 5th, I went to Umbria for job and the main part of the freeway was covered with icy snow. Really dangerous, as you can see in photo above. The weather changed gradually as we drove west, across the valleys, where there wasn't any snow and we could still enjoy an autumnal scenery as you can see below. that photo shows a very quiet place located 80 km north from Rome, where we could hear birds singing. It is the Canale Monterano protected area.

http://www.monteranoriserva.com/wp/?page_id=563

It's a beautiful valley without rubbish, advertising billboards, supermarkets and McDonalds. There are very few cars. Sometimes there is only one: yours! That place offers beautiful scenery, fascinating archaeology and, first of all, wonderful paths to run.

In the meanwhile, I am running three times a week and I haven't planned any race. I'll probably run the Christmas race on December, 16th, which will be held to help charities.

Nice weekend and happy running to all my blogger friends!

Downpours

I've just heard the  official weather information source  and I'm afraid I can't run this afternoon because of downpours. This morning the town is on its knees: roads closed and bridges under water.  Lacking light in two neighborhoods and a lot of children haven't gone to school.

I hope the weather will be better soon!

slow food

I've been working  in the port of Civitavecchia since Monday, 24th, and it seems that the air tells us that Autumn will be good. The weather is really sunny and hot as you can see in the photo below. Yesterday,  after I had run 1 hour I drank the same water as I drink in July and August:  a liter for an adequate rehydration,
considering these weather conditions.

The photo on the left shows the port above mentioned.

My 8-week training schedule goes well and tomorrow, wednesday, 26th, I'm running 4 x 12 minutes repeats after the warm-up.

In the second photo you can see two advertising messages which provide very different levels of food: fast food and slow food. People who walk along the port can see those two pictures and, fortunately, most tourists choose to support traditional and local trade.  They think and act for the benefit of local people, producers and the environment. In the town there is a market that offers visitors a selection of home baking, crafts and garden produce.

What I'm trying to say is that global branding causes damage to local trade and traditions!      

Do you like eating fast food when you're abroad?