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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Merry Christmas!















Wish you very happy holidays, if you have them, if instead you're working like me wish you to have fun with your workmates, eat and drink till you drop! :-)



A thought for all the people that in this period will not have a great X-mas:













people from Abruzzo that still waiting for their new homes;

everyone that lost his job, or is working without getting paid;

everyone that doesn't have a house, a job, or even a family...

Merry Christmas to you all

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Umbria Tai Ji 3

Yesterday we went for a private workshop at Anthony's place.
Altough we didn't have day off, but both me and Lele had to work afternoon shift, we decided to go at least for the morning training, leaving immediately after to run back to Rome.

At the beginning I was not so enthusiast cause I don't like tight schedules very much, but the thing with Tai Ji is that when you're training you start to put things in a different perspective, in a way that make you accept Anthony's invite for lunch, with obviously being late for work after..

In the measure of the Universe, a couple of hours is pretty much nothing, and that's maybe one of the best lessons that Tai Ji can teach :-)

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Lost in Switzerland

Since I came back from this trip I was thinking to write a post to put together all the impressions and stories about this week..

There would be lots to say, from reunion with part of my family, to discover a new world just near ours, made of different countries all mixed together with languages and uses..

An explosion of chocolate that can knock you off with hyperglycemia just stepping into it..







Best Bratwurst in Zurich, and maybe in the world..





Stefano, my cousin that after twenty years that we didn't see each other still looks the same, apart that now speaks four languages.. but swears in Italian at hockey games





Getting lost during my walkings trying to reach city centre, with the amazed looks of my pics and the comments: "Did you arrive here BY FOOT?"




Learning a language that is spoken but not written..

The love fot the unknown, for the discover, for the travel...

And, most of all, the Love itself, in all is power and in the nostalgia for the object of yours...

See you!!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Holidays!

Today last day of work, a double shift night-afternoon and then I'll be off for a week.. Yay!

Because November is a quite month in tourism industry, usually we can easily get days off from work, also in this way we can rest to be prepared for the craziest month of the year.. of course December and its holidays!
That's one of the things of this job, you rest when everybody's working, and work when they have holidays, but I like it this way :-)

I think next week I'll have the time to keep update this blog, otherwise keep a look for the news after 24th.

Zurich, ich komme bald ;-)

Monday, October 12, 2009

La Mano di Ferro nel Guanto di Velluto

Last Sunday we had a Tai Ji workshop in our hotel here in Nemi.

It was directed by Anthony, holding the students with his usual mix of music and martial arts, even after several times it's always a new discovering, really awesome.


It was a very pleasant day, altough I didn't sleep at all due to a party that we had in the very same room, which ended around 5.00 am.

I'll spare you the description of how was the room after 300 drunk people danced for 6 hours, only thing was that we had to rush to clean the most we can until workshop started.


We had wonderful meals at the restaurant, people were really happy of the day so I think we'll having another one next year :-)

Friday, October 9, 2009

Ahh, Cymru!

I'm back from Wales (Cymru in Gaelic) from two days and I've just the time to write few lines about it, cause today Anthony is coming here in Nemi for tomorrow's workshop, plus there's full booked for almost ten days from today so we're quite busy here.

Cymru is one of those place that change your state of mind, whatever happened to you before: got evidence of that this year especially.

We left Rome almost in a hurry, cause for the days before departure both me and Lele we were quite busy at work, so when we got our way out of Stanstead terminal and discover that our confirmed car to rent was not available to us, cause we had both prepaid credit cards which Hertz doesn't accept (obviously nothing was wrong when we booked the car!) our mood was quite not good, all the accumulated stress was flowing out in a continuos series of deadly attacks to all those car rental clerks (luckily for them only in our minds).
After this shocking moment, thinking about going to Leicester by train or bus, we found another company whom accept our money straight away, in 20 min we got the car.

Only thing was that despite of its name (Budget) they charge us something like triple the price of Hertz rental, so from now on this company will be known as Awesome Budget, or Blow Your Budget.

Our budget was then put enough down to let us think about eating only apples for the following days, but there was not much time for thinking, cause we had 100 miles driving on unknown streets up to Leicester, with already almost one hour delay for the beginning of the workshop.

This vacation must be a sort of lesson from the Universe, cause when we got to the place we discovered that no one was there, and at that point we realized that we forgot to write down Eli's phone.
After a trip to around the city, looking for a Internet cafe, we decided to check in first in the hotel, then we write an SMS to Eli and we tried to get to the workshop after lunch.

Now a praise for this message, first of a long serie, with which our teacher Eli explained directions to two Italian blokes at their first driving experience in UK: "Le12 8tz. It's a community hall, give me a call if you want."

Needless to say that we got to the place after sunset and after have looked in every house or hall in the hood, finding no one, so for that day the only right thing to do was having a fish 'n' chips and a movie at the local cinema, before driving back the 25 odd miles to our hotel in Leicester.
Next day we start from the morning, we even bought a UK Sim card to try to talk with him or with someone there at the workshop who could explain us something about directions, for us is still hard to believe that someone that lives in a place is not able to explain how to get from one place to another in his neighbourhood.
If you want to find an excuse you can say that Central Midlands is packed of towns and cities full of roads and buildings pretty similar to each other, but the thing is that we asked them 10 odd times before finally get there, just one hour before workshop finish.
Along the way we managed to flat a tire, so inside that hall last thing we wanted to do was relaxing doing Tai Ji.

We changed the flat tire in the car park and after we drived all the morning to get there, without lunch we start the 180 miles driving to Wales.

Thank goodness we stopped to fuel and toilet along the way, this vacation was starting to look like a working trip..

And then everything changed when we got to our hotel in Llandovery: we start to chill out immediately, and after few hours, a steak and a couple of faboulous Welsh beer those two days of nightmare were over.

We spent wonderful days visiting some towns around the area, this year with the car we enjoyed a lot the contryside, although I didn't took lots of pics cause I think most part of this place you can't just see with your eyes, you have to be here to understand it.

If you want to see them you can go on my facebook account, and that's all folks! Today it's a working day, this afternoon Anthony and the other friends from my town are coming for tomorrow workshop, so next post will be more "martial" :-)

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Lessons with Anthony Walmsley - Tai Ji Matrix Exercises 3

Last clip of this serie, that's all for now.

Hope to find the time to write about my trip to Wales when I'll be back on 8th October, see you soon!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Lessons with Anthony Walmsley - Push Hands 3

Another video, waiting for the workshop on October 11th here at the hotel..

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Fit-walking

Last week my friend Giorgio came from Udine to take a five days holiday here in Nemi.
Since that he visited Rome years ago, but never went to Castelli area, he took advantage to fill this lack.

On Monday I went to Rome to catch him in Termini Station, where he arrived from Fiumicino Airport with that "Leonardo Express" that takes only 45 minutes to make 30 Km, when is not getting delay (usually around 15 minutes, to make 1 plain hour).
After a flight nothing makes you feel better the Roman summer than 1 hour trip inside a steel can that moves 30 Km per hour without air conditioned and with perfectly sealed windows. From there it's only 25 minutes on Metro to get to Anagnina Station, where you catch the bus to Genzano, which is about another hour trip, obviously without air-con.
From last stop in Genzano there's about 1 km to the hotel in Nemi, and someone can assure you that there's a bus stopping right in front of it, however since that bus is also known as "ghost bus" or "the uncatchable" you better start walking before summer sun start melting the shades on your face.
So, after last 15 minutes of steep slope walking you arrive in beautiful "Al Rifugio", ready to.. take a shower and a nap, sometimes at the same time.

As you can easily discover, even if is your first visit in Italy, especially in the South, moving without a car from one place to another out of the big cities makes you wonder if maybe you are in Cambodia, or some other "not-civilised" place.
The thing is: yes, you are.

In the evening when the sun stopped melting the tarmac we went to Nemi town, which is about 15 minutes walking from the hotel. Is a nice walk along a road inside the woods with the lake appearing between the trees and briars on your left, dodging cars coming on your way because, I forgot to tell you, there's not a trace af a sidewalk.
Most of the road has not even lamp-posts, so after sunset we decided to walk back to the hotel using our mobile phones as guiding lights, also to avoid to get smashed by a car, that here they pass you by millimeters at a speed that makes you see your entire life like a movie.

On Wednesday we went to visit the Museo delle Navi, which is not far from the town on the lakeside, apart if you are by feet.
There are two roads to get down, one in tarmac for cars and one stone paved for pedestrian and bikers, however since both are large enough cars use both of them, and walkers none.
Along the way we could see surprised looks from inside cars passing us on this "pedestrian only" road, perhaps wondering about two crazy guys WALKING DOWN to the lake in such a hot weather day.
After one and half hour under a dazzling sun we arrived desiring more a swim than a visit inside a museum, which by the way has not a trace of air conditioned, but in place of that has an interesting collection of wall stains, poorly hidden by some white curtains, besides of course of reproductions of Caligola's ships (originals burned down with the museum during World War II) and lots of statues and other Roman archeological findings.

In a couple of hours we finished the visit ad the possible photo-ops, also because we saw a "no-photo" sign, so we decided for a well deserved swim in the lake, which is just outside the museum.
Only thing is that even if you are about 20 m from the water you can't reach it due to the fact, as we discover there, that public access is prevented from fences, houses, fences, houses, fences..
all of them abusives (we're in Italy, remember?).
The only place to get access to the water is on the other side of the lake, another hour and half walking dodging cars, scooters and sometimes bicycles.
However when we got there we dived immediately, water was wonderful and not even cold as such in lakes in North Italy, where after a dive you risk hybernation even in summer.
We wondered if could be possible that the ancient volcano is still warm under water surface.
After one hour, despite the clear and nice water we took our way up to Nemi, to avoid walking in the dark; in one hour of speed walking on the steep road, dodging cars, scooters, bicycles and now with cool weather, also joggers and runners.
We got up in Nemi just at sunset, enough sweated and stunned to almost forgot one hour inside the lake, ready for well deserved aperitive, or better two, and much needed dinner in a local restaurant where we enjoyed a wonderful steak and a bottle of wine amongst the looks of other customers, in a way that could resemble the famous scene of the movie "Blues Brothers":


After dinner I called my friend Armando to pick us up, from Nemi it's only 15 minutes but in that conditions seemed like crossing the Alps.

On the next day we decided for a much more relaxing day at the local swimming pool, that is only 15 minutes walking from the hotel.
After all this walking we could sign in for a marathon.

The fact is that nobody can fix such a big problem as traffic and public transport in Italy without changing first the way people think about cars and transport, but that's another story..


Thursday, August 20, 2009

Trip planning

In these days me and Lele are planning another trip to Wales, to visit our teachers and friends.

It's been two years since last time we went to visit the Montaigues so I had to look to find out planes, transport, accomodations etc. which is not a big deal respect moving in, say, South East Asia, but maybe because it's quite a bit that I'm just sitting on my ass, so to speak, I find myself eager to leave, even if only for few days.

This time we decided to rent a car, both to save money from UK Railways, which would need to put EXPENSIVE in front of his name (but also OUTRAGEOUS would fit good for me), and also because this time we'll move a little bit more, due to the fact that the first two days we'll attend a workshop in Leicester.

Although in Australia I drove with right-hand drive, it's been a while since then, so would be funny to move in UK by car, which by the way is much more populated and so there will be more traffic.

Ok, got to go, got to download some maps :-)


Saturday, August 15, 2009

Listen to some good vibes


I was listening to this song during my night shift, while some of my guests were drinking all the beers from restaurant cooler.. :-)



Buon Ferragosto!

Wish to everybody a great Ferragosto!!!
Even to that friends whom don't know what it is!

I'm not having party tough, cause for us public holidays are more work than usual, at lunch we had full booked restaurant, and also the hotel is almost full.

So go to the seaside, get a sunburnt and have fun for me too!!

Ciao!



Monday, July 27, 2009

New Videos

I just finished to upload the videos from our last private lesson at Anthony's place.
If you want to check them click on the link "My Videos" on the right banner,
or go to

my YouTube Channel

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Umbria Tai Ji 2


On Friday I went with Lele for training day at Anthony's, was a very beautiful day, even if in the afternoon there was a storm with lightnings and everything, but passed very quickly.

I took some pics. Here you can see one of our training partners, Ciro, which is very Tai Ji.

In the garden lavender is in bloom, a wonderful sight.


During the training we did some clips with Lele's videocamera, and so after the editing you'll see Anthony's training on live action!

It's very interesting, also because we did double language audio, Anthony explained the lessons in English and I translated them in Italian.

So keep an eye for the clips, they're coming soon!


Thursday, June 18, 2009

Castle by the lake

It's quite obvious for everybody (apart our government) in which kind of situation we're into with the appearing of economic recession, people is scared and it'getting harder everyday to find new customers, there's no money to spend for unnecessary things, and among them training respond perfectly to the description.

With this I don't want to say that is impossible, but for the moment is better to put my project on hold, especially now that with the good season most of the people prefer to save the little to go on short holidays.

In any case we're all used to organize courses from September or October, and to leave summer to amusements and landscapes.

So for this summer I choose to help my friend Elena with her project to run an hotel on Castelli Romani "su li castelli", that is a nice area about 35 Km south east of Rome.

Here is hotel's website: www.alrifugio.com

I'm leaving next week, so for the news just wait and I'll put some pics here on the blog.

Ciao!


Friday, May 29, 2009

Republic Day

On 2nd of June here in Italy we have the Festa della Repubblica (Republic Day), a public holiday that at alternate periods was putted on and off from hoidays calendars, depending on whom side was on Government.
Last time was putted off on 1977, the excuse was economic recession (is it only in Italy that you can claim the fact that you can't have an holiday if you don't have money?), then was again on calendars from year 2000.
On 2nd June 1946 Italy decided to change Government, from monarchy to republic, with one of the most attended votation in country's history.

Someone could think that after 63 years we're not passing a great period, having a so-called "President", as our Prime Minister like to call himself, that act as if he's a sort of absolute monarch, and I'm actually thinking if we really changed government mode or only the people that is ruling the country.

Apart that, this weekend wil be the occasion for many to have a 4-5 days holiday, because 2nd is on Tuesday, and is possible to stay away from work (for those who still have one, of course) from Friday until Wednesday.

If you are around Friuli Venezia Giulia, that is the region where I live, you can take advantage for wine tasting during Cantine Aperte, which is very dangerous tough, especially if you don't have a "designated driver"! :-)

As for now is all, have a nice weekend and careful with the drink!

Ciao!


Monday, May 25, 2009

Udine workshop


On Sunday 23rd we atten
ded a Tai Ji and internal arts workshop, held by Anthony Walmsley.
We were hosted by Mario Antoldi in his gym, which is a nice place in Udine.

As usual we trained not only in the gym, but also in restaurant, even if the training there was not quite "martial" :-)

Anthony is more an encyclopedia than a master, with plenty of notions and interesting info, even if you're not practicing Tai Ji or Chinese martial arts I would recommend a training day, just to "widen your angle"!





Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Big news!

Hey everybody!

It's been quite a while since last post..

This period I thought a lot about what I want to do after the year spent away, and
I realized that if I keep to do jobs only for money while I'm trying to get the big shot as
fitness adviser, I'll never do it.

So I decided to come back home and start working on it, seriously.

On 8th I did my last work shift, and on the very next day I went to give my resignation.
I came back home just after Easter, cause I spent my last days in Rome with Lele and his family.
I'm sad about the fact that my friends there will not so easy to catch up with, as it was before leaving Italy on 2007, but here in my home town I can work easily on my projects, I don't have the nightmare of a rent and I can concentrate better without going in jobs only for money.

Hope that I can first change this blog in a work tool, so there will be also some posts in Italian, when I'll write about martial arts and about my future projects.

Keep in touch!

Ciao!


Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Keep going!

That is my advise for this week, after troubles at the workplace, after a depressing mood that kept me away from training and going out, I start rise again..

This doesn't mean that troubles are over, because "difficulties are not in your life, they ARE your life", so it's better to act like they're over, smile and keep going!

Did you notice how poor my posts are after I stop travelling?

Maybe cause nothing much is happening at the moment, or perhaps my expectations are a little too bigger due of my trips last year, and now everything seems so boring!

I'll think about it..


Sunday, January 18, 2009

Keep a plan B!

Last weekend was not as I expected, cause my friends got a problem with ID card, so they had to cancel the trip to Rome for this weekend, hopefully they'll come later.

I canceled all the other options for the weekend, to stay with them, so I stayed at home almost all time.

That's the problem when you put all the eggs in one basket, so to speak..

And that's also the reason of the post title, that is also my motto, and that so far always worked in every aspect of my life.

At least friday I went to Lele's with our friend Sandro, was a training night on Tai Ji, cause we need to keep up for February workshop in Avigliano; as for me I can say that I need more training, cause I feel like a mozzarella :)

Ciao!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Waiting for the weekend

Hi everybody!

One of the few good things of this period is that I have Fridays and Saturdays off all January, due to the fact that I have night shift on Wed and Thu.

So it's nice to enjoy weekends like normal people, I can even see my friends and go to the movies, hurray!

This weekend in particular one of my friends that I met Oz is coming to Rome, I'm quite excited cause I didn't see her since I left Oz last year.

Still don't know what to do and where to go, but we'll figure it out :)

For the rest is pretty much the same, I don't want to bore you with workplace troubles..

Ciriciao!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Happy New Year 2009!

Wish to everybody a wonderful 2009, even in these hard times of recession..
The show must go on!

Ciauz!