Just had dinner, had a sleep earlier, mark called me about 10:30am and we had a good chat.

Well anyways back to rome, turns out there are a few people here that I know, my friend Sue of course who is the assistant director. Also one of the artists is still here (I think he has a two year fellowship which is amazing), his girlfriend and research assistant Amy and another assistant called Ellie. And of course Reno who serves the dinner, he must be about 70 now, he is so funny I love him. When we have fruit after dinner he builds beautiful towers of fruit with a pear balanced on top, then you have to try to extract the fruit from underneath without toppling the pear (ok well you could just eat the pear but my way is more fun). Sue told me off for sleeping all day, but I am still buggered, I had a coffee at dinner and will try and stay up till maybe 10:30, 11pm and then hopefully sleep through the night. Hmmm what else. Do you like this pretty lady?



1960s Italian actress/model Adriana Fiorentini, I think she is gorgeous, plus I love the way she is on some Roman balcony with random antique busts strewn around. That is my idea of how I am in Rome, apart from it being too cold, lounging in pretty underwear on a roman balcony. Well one day perhaps. love to you all.

Roma roma

Here safe and sound, but very tired. I hardly slept at all just watched movies, (crying way too much, plane journeys always make me emotional) so now it is 9:05 am and I am exhausted, hello jet lag. Ah well maybe just a little nanna nap at lunch and I will be alright.

Nothing really eventful, though I think my driver from the airport was trying to chat me up, kept asking if I liked to go dancing and whether I had any friends in Rome, haha. I was too tired to chat properly. It feels quite surreal being back here, this trip has been one of my most 'off-the-cuff' as it were and in the absence of all my usual stresisng and frantice organisation I feel as though I shouldn't actually be here. But I am and the day is clear and cool, but not too cold, a nice 11 degrees, can pull on my opaques and winter skirts and little jumpers and off I will go into Roma. Well maybe tomorrow, today will be pajama pants and mooching.

What the weekend was for me.

friday - hot, grr, met lizey in the park after spending the day translating. We blobbed and waited for Sian who is coming to Italy with us. Lizey is worried I think, that Sian will 'invade' our trip and wanted to make sure everyone knew where they stood. PLus Sian is going ot be travelling with this guy who apparently loves to stay in 5 star hotels which we WILL NOT be doing. Then mark was sending me mesage sbaout the wine he was drinking so I wsa forced, forced I say, to go and meet him for a drink. On the way I got drenched running a block and a half, no shoes, willling myself not to slip over on the pavement, skirt went transparent So i arrived, dripping in the bar, amongst all the friday suits, and mark laughed but sweet phillipe bought me a big serviette to dry myself.

saturday - got up and went for breakky with lizey, ate pancakes, mango, nectarines, coffee, icypoles :ssh: sat outside, listened to nick cave, felt hot. Went home, drank some beer, then took inlaws to the rialto, then to mecca bah, so eating was in order. Went home and put my feet in cold water as they were swollen slept downstairs.

sunday - mucked around lying on our makeshift bed downstairs, finally got up and had a shower (sauna) in the bathroom, so bloody hot. Mark wne t and bought breakky, bless, read paper, read Zadie Smith, translated Italian, read book, sudoku, translated Italian, read book, paper, compained about heat, drank beer, watched cricket, got sick of translating, just read book.

Last night was funness at Katie's, though they were late getting home so I was stranded outside calling their home, and both mobiles with no answer! haha anyways a picture tells a thousand words.

We missed bribri so we made our own.


I made a crown for Carla.


then everyone had to wear it.




I look a bit angry, hmm, anyways I wore it out to the Nightcat.

where.....

Carla and Sam had not been drinking...


THere was no kissing....


and certainly no dancing



and an absolute ban on foolishly clumsy self photographing in the middle of the dance floor....

Had a lovelytime at Daylesford, my friends are minding my supervisor's house whilst he is in Rome so they invited us up. We caught the train to Woodend on Friday night armed with a few bottles of booze. Had a gorgeous dinner, minsetrone and then spnach and ricotta cannelloni DRank heaps of wine, finished the wine, me and Jarrod ate a whole panforte, then had three shots of San Benedictine. Sat around by the fire (it was quite cold). Stumbled into bed. Slept soooooo well, it was completely dark and so quiet, yay for the country life. Eventually got up and had coffee in various parts of the garden.
My supervisor has an amazing garden, really beautiful.

Dragged MArk out of bed after making their dog wake him up, actually the dog was more gentle than I would have been. Jarrod cooked us breakfast Walked down to the lake, spent about an hour in the bookshop there, had lunch by the lake, walked back into town and annoyed the fancy lady in the frangos and frangos shop by trying on her panama hat, she told me my head was too big and that it was a *cue snobby pru and trude voice from kath and kim* 'a maaaans haat' haha Bought supplies, walked up the bloody big hill home. Then sat around reading our books in the cute living room with dark green flowered William Morris wallpaper Jarrod's friend arrived, Rob, we went to look at the springs at hepburn Springs but you can only go in if you pay, so we tasted some spring water then went for a beer. Went home, started drinking again, Rob cooked us fish (he is a chef), soooo good. We all got drunk again, woke up late the next day, mucked around, went and tried more springs out, went canoeing, and for a walk. Went out with the boys to drive really fast in cars, hmm probably a bit silly of me. Tried to make MArk love the bush, I think it might be working a little bit.

Had a siesta then came home. Lovely weekend