How is This for a Press Office!

Klementina looking right at home

This weekend Klementina and I were in Bologna for a medical conference we were doing international press office for. One of our better work venues, I must say.

The conference and gala dinner were held at the Palazzo Albergati. Privately owned, obviously, because it was in perfect condition. Most castles and palazzos I have seen belong to the city because they were donated when the heirs couldn't afford to keep the place up anymore giant palazzos fell out of fashion. They usually have that sort of regal air of once upon a time, but are also a little decrepit so you have to paint the walls and renovate the furniture in your head in order to appreciate them properly.

This place, on the other hand, gives you the feeling you get when you get accidentally bumped into First Class. It's a sensation of "I don't belong here/I ABSOLUTELY BELONG HERE/WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO HAVE THIS LIFESTYLE ALL TO MYSELF?"

Riff Raff

We did our work, lived it up while we could, enjoyed ourselves even. But experiences like this skew your view of reality. At dinner, a Scottish doctor at our table looked around the place (we were on a balcony with views of a cupola above and the ballroom below where the conference took place before and a multi-media show would take place after) with a dreamy look in his eye and said:

"You know, I wouldn't mind at all coming to live, or at least retiring in Italy."