A break from everything

Oh yeah, I'm so looking forward to the summer break! can't wait. In the meantime, I'm working at home :-(

Last week was quite busy as we had friends from the US who stayed with us for a few days and then I went to Sardinia to attend a meeting. 

There are still things that need to be done BEFORE leaving but a) it's too hot to work b) I need a break.

I had a break from Pilates though and I'm not particularly happy about it as I put on 2 kilos. Well, perhaps it was the delicious Sardinian food?! Ricotta and honey soooo yummy. Not to mention the seadas (the region's most famous cheese and honey dessert).

Anyway, I've booked my 2 hours of Pilates before going to Tuscany in order to get back into "shape" hahhhahh ;-).

I did have a great time last week. It's always good to catch up with friends and colleagues. The first meeting was held .... on the beach. How good was that? 

I'm struggling concerning the summer readings. I need a break (apparently "break" is the word of the day) from English as I've been reading & writing in English since last September BUT if I read in Italian it'll be too difficult to switch back to English to meet an important deadline at the end of August. I must admit (blame on me!) that I've just finished Acciaiao by Silvia Avallone and I do have another Italian book that I'd love to read in the coming weeks. Mumble mumble... I should stick with English books, really. However, have you ever seen someone reading stuff on military urbanism on the beach?!

We'll see.

I'm back

Scotland in a month and Sardinia in July. No, I'm not going to Sardinia on holiday ... believe or not, I'll be there for a meeting. This will be a first for me: a meeting in a warm place :-) I don't think I'll be staying there just for a couple of days.

And then Bulgaria in September (not my fav.place) and Scotland again in December. And perhaps somewhere else in October but I still don't know about it.

These are all biz trips though, we don't know if and when we're going on holiday this summer. G's contract will end in July. He is quite concerned but I'm pretty sure the contract will be renewed. However, one never knows and, understandably, he is not thinking about summer holidays too much. Neither am I, to be honest. I'll be VERY busy until the end of July.

As far as Barcelona is concerned, we had a great time. It's definitely my favorite European city. We wandered around the city for 3 days and walked for hours almost everywhere and even spent a few hours on the beach at Barceloneta. Great weather, delicious food and nice hotel. However, if you happen to go there, I wouldn't recommend to stay too close to the ramblas for at least a couple of reasons. First, it's a noisy neighborhood and second it's the paradise for pickpockets. A Spanish friend recommended us a hotel which was not on the main rambla but in the heart of the Raval anyway. The hotel was lovely and quiet (except for the first night when Barca won the Copa del Rey) but the neighborhood was not ideal, especially at nights. 

I feel exhausted. This was just a quick update. I'm alive! I'm just busy at the moment but I'm planning to catch up with the blog.

p.s. by the way, along with the book mentioned in the previous post, I'm reading this which is very good. I've just started, but it seems an extraordinary piece of non-narrative fiction. On the contrary, I don't know why this is "the book everyone was talking about" as it is quite ridiculous. I read a free sample via amazon and I had enough. It speaks to certain female readers, I think.