This one is for my parents. When I was a tiny tot my parents had a book on their shelf called "Gods, Graves and Scholars" and it was about major archaeological discoveries. The first part of the book was about the volcano Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum. I was too young to read so my mother described to me what happened.

Friends in Vancouver had told me that communication would not be a problem in Italy – we would always find people who spoke English. Obviously, none of these well meaning friends have been to Salerno. To be more precise, its train stazione. At 4 in the morning.

For someone totally illiterate in the arts as me, the sheer volume of magnificent work by Michelangelo, Botticelli, Ghiberti, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, etc. is overwhelming.

For the last several years Ariba has been accusing me of being deaf – or at least suffering from chronic selective hearing. I now I have a perfect excuse. Yesterday we were in the clock tower in Venice admiring a bird’s eye, 360 degree view of this picture postcard city, when without as much as by-your-leave, 2 of the 4 bells overhead began to oscillate.

Professors Stefano and Vera Zamagni laid out a lavish feast for us on Tuesday. Their summer home is in a small village in the mountains overlooking Bologna. A short distance as the crow flies; the bus required an hour to negotiate the steep switchbacks.

I now have a tan on my brown, bald head. Never did occur to me that it could happen. But the sun was merciless today and generally sapped the energy. So today`s blog is going to be short. I think. I need to get some sleep.

We visited another consortium and 2 amazing co-ops today. My caption to today`s blog refers to the first.

There is only one word to describe a Fiat Panda. Tiny. It seats 4 and has room left over for very small luggage. In my case the 3 other seats were occupied by 3 hysterical women. Hysterical because as we were tearing down an Italian highway at 150 kms.

Maybe Neptune went fishing in the nude. I can find no other explanation for the statue in the Piazza del Nettuno. At the top of the fountain/sculpture/monument stands Neptune totally naked, Trident in hand, stomping on a dolphin. It gets weirder after that. At the next level below, there are four cherubs.

A few of us ran more than 5 kilometers this morning. There is something awe inspiring about running on sidewalks that are under vaulted porticoes and periodically encountering a 12th century church or a tower, one of which is leaning. (Pisa’s tower is not the only one with a soft foundation).

The 3 hour drive from Bologna to Trentino in Northern Italy today was a feast for the eyes. Old homes and businesses on the outskirts of this medieval town gave way to fields and vineyards. Periodically a fast flowing river or stream carrying snow melt from the Dolomites would appear nearby only to disappear from view a few hundred yards later.