Palette of the night...(6/9)

1. Santa Bernardita Chardonnay 2006, Curico Valley, Chile
2. Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc 2005, South Island, New Zealand
3. Haras Elegance Chardonnay 2003, Maipo Valley, Chile
4. Antoine Lamarcque Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, France d'oc
5. Bolla Valpicella Classico 2004, Veneto, Italy
6. Rosenvale Shiraz 2002, Barossa Valley, Australia
7. Paul Jaboulet Aine, Crozes Hermitage, les Jalets 2003, Rhone de France
8. Hetszolo Tokaji Aszu 3 Puttonyos 1996, Hungary

spqr...(15/11)

Pillars fall and columns stand, and then another pillar appears to be pulled off. There is never a stagnant stage of a civilisation; except the history itself that has not been interpreted, if yet, by the following generations...as a long life capital, the city opens up my eyes to the affluent past and present, quoted the spirit of senatus populus que romanus ('spqr'), and this is the one. Simply wandering everywhere and nowhere, the displayed carnival of endless extension of churches and statues fill up the memory of my mind. As a basic pilgrimage from Christianity to the Roman civilisation, from the unknown nature of the past to the Roman interpretation to our world, all are just stunning. The city, like many historic towns, overlaps layers of era at the central areas. The whirling shape of little streets and peddle roads tell a story themselves. Geographically, Rome is built on seven hill slopes and worship to every district requires a minimum demand to climb up the high ground to discover a different view of life and time...
*****************************************************
- Santa Maria Maggiore
- Piazza della Republica
- Colosseo
- Mercati Traianei
- Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II
- Piazza Campidoglio
- Musei Capitolini
- Area Sacra
- Basilica S. Pietro
- Musei Vaticani
- Piazza del Popolo
- Piazza Navona
- Villa Medici
- Fontana di Trevi
- Via del Corso
- Via Condotti
- Casa di Goethe
- Foro di Nerva
*******************************************************
Roughly scanned through several important buildings and features along the time line of Rome, I was told how minimal I know about the civilisation. It worths a more indepth visit.

Tartufi Bianco...(25/10)

The annual exhibition of Tartufi Bianco, or white truffle, was held in Alba, a city in Piemonte region in Italy in October...I attended the event and well, I discovered something new about the valuable white truffle. The story began in the 14th century when Lionel Duke of Clarence, the son of the King of England, who married with the daughter of Duke of Milan and moved to Italy, died later in Alba because of indigestion after eating the truffles, and with the special aroma of the truffles in the region, the precious fungi becomes more and more popular that an exhibition was firstly held in 1932 in Alba, now the capital of truffle. White truffles grow underground and tabui, a specially trained dogs, are responsible to look for white truffles for the farmers. Walking in the exhibition, one can easily find the display of white truffles inside a showcase, and it's amazing see the price tag next to each small potato like truffle. One white truffle with the size of a ping-pong can cost as expensive as 100 euros. Because of its aromatic nature and yet scarcity, products like truffle oil, cheese, jam etc. can be found at the booths at a more affordable price.

The soccer economy...(13/4)

050413 @ Stadio delle Alpi
Like the other 80,000 fans, I have watched a Champion League match of Juventus Vs Liverpool in Turin, the second major industrial city in Italy after Milan. As expected, the city is full of the sense of industrial emotion with a relatively tranquil atmosphere...... Not really a very hot spot for the tourist, the city was actually the capital of Italy before 1945 and it's the headquarter of the Italian giant Fiat. Again, the city resembles the basic requirement of being a major city by possessing a river bank at the city centre. I got a taste from the Mole Antonelliana the urban pattern of the city. Quite impressively to me, Turin is having a systematic building group outlook from the perspective of a height. Another important possession of Turin is its Juventus soccer club, and the stadium of the team is located 45mins by bus from the city centre. Because of the attraction of the soccer club and the physical location of the relatively remote stadium, it creates a commuter flow quite unique when compared with other industrial cities in Europe. Having understood more the local culture in Europe, you will find that soccer industry is actually quite a significant component to the economical development of a local city, no matter how the revenue can be gained from souvenir shops, advertising and boardcasting fees, tourist influx, licensing or any other services means. This forms also a basic social bondage to the community. The development is something I find quite amazing. The same experience has occurred in my other visit in Metz or Marseilles. The upcoming 2006 World Cup in Germany is believed to be another climax of soccer-tourism in the region. This is the same rationale for Turin in 2006. The city will be hosting the Winter Olympics Game, and due to the Committee requirements I guess, the local government has showcased from their every tourist spot in the city centre their accomplishment (or investment) on road construction, main spot revitalisation as well as other urban renewal projects. Well, there is no news in this World. We shall see more in 2008 at the Olympics Games.
...