Festa degli Asparagi - RT21 & Club41 n.3 Bassano del Grappa

Festa degli Asparagi - RT21 & Club41 n.3 Bassano del Grappa, a set on Flickr.

pictures of the "Festa degli Asparagi" yesterday (Sunday, April 17th 2011) organized by RoundTable 21 and Club41 N.3 from Bassano del Grappa

Venezia 16-4-2011

Venezia 16-4-2011, a set on Flickr.

pictures, impressions of our trip to Venice

SPQR II: Sono Pazzi Questi Romani (Saturday 16 Oct)

Saturday morning we woke up, took a shower got dressed and into the bar for a Cappuccino and Brioche. The B&B provided for coupons to be used in the bar next door and really we do not need any more in the morning. Since we were so close to the Vatican which we only saw from outside we decided to go there first and have a look inside, inside the St. Peter's Basilica. Although I've been in it before I got goosebumps again, so big, so beautiful, so ... (words can not describe my feelings). I can really understand people in the past, but also today are so impressed by it's greatness and beauty that they feel closer to God, or whatever they believe. In one of the chapels I took a moment for myself to pray for my mother; she died last July, only 60 years old, because of cancer.

After the visit to the St. Peter we walked in a straight line to the Castel Sant'Angelo. Walking down the Via della Conciliazione you keep a fantastic view at the St. Peter and it's square behind you (one has to look around though). Nowadays the Castle is maybe best known for it's role in Dan Brown's Angels & Demons in stead of it's original role as mausoleum for Hadrian(us) and later as Papal fortress, and even prison. Since we did not want to drawn our kids with too much history, culture and musea on their first city trip we moved on.

SPQR I: Sono Pazzi Questi Romani (Friday 15 Oct)

the Colosseum

This weekend my wife, our kids and I visited Rome. For them their first visit to the eternal city, for me the second real visit. I already visited Rome in May 1989 with the entire fifth grade of the RK Gymnasium Rolduc and for work I've been there once or twice, although those were typical business trips, from the plane to the meeting and back into the plane.

Ever since her classmate held a presentation about Rome my daughter Giulia (the oldest of 9 years old) wanted to visit Rome and the Colosseum in particular. So Friday morning (October 15th) we flew with EasyJet from Milan-Malpensa (MXP) to Rome-Fiumicino (FCO) where our B&B arranged for a taxi to pick us up at the Airport and drive us to our B&B near Vatican city. After we dropped our luggage in our spacious and nice room of B&B Sweet Vatican we walked to the Ottaviano metro station, just 50 meters from our B&B. From there it could've been a 15min drive to the Colosseum, changing lines at Termini if it wasn't for an illogical deviation to get from Line A to B at Termini station. Apparently the Termini station is being renewed but the deviation is ridiculously long: climbing stairs, walking through small hideous tunnels, exiting the metro station, walking through the train station, enter the metro station again, descend some stairs, walk through tunnels again and finally arrive on the right platform. In the evening the trip back in opposite direction was just one stair down, around the corner and there we were.... they are crazy these Romans!

About Me 2.0

My first "About Me" in this Blog was written in Dutch over a year ago so it needed both an update and a translation.

I am Dagmar Sporck, 39years old, married to Maddy (Maddalena) and father of two fantastic girls (Giorgia of 7 and Giulia of 10 years old). I represente Dutch and German companies in Italy and Ticino-Switzerland with my company Sales4Italy. And for the German readers: Yes, I am a male Dagmar!

Since 1996 I am a proud member of the Round Table, first in RT171 Kerkrade, NL and since 2008 in RT64 Varese. Last year as IRO, this year as Vice-President and as of June 2011 as President. I hope to be able to attend some interesting RT-meetings in the next two years: the Gala in the Academy of Siena in November this year, the Italian AGM in Taormina, Sicily June next year and various international meetings as well. In Switzerland I try to visit as much RT's as possible, combining the business trips with visits to the local RT-meetings.

to be continued...

More then 10 months ago I wrote my last blog-entry, how to get more out of your iPhone. Surprised by its success, it got over 1000hits within 2 hours after iPhoneclub.nl tweeted about to it, I didn't know how to continue. Should I focus on iPhone related stuff? A personal nightmare, my mother's cancer and her death in July this year, a new job in Switzerland I started in March, and lots of other less important things dragged my attention away right at the moment  my blog had gotten some attention. I don't mind. There are more important things in life then MY Blog.

I decided to restart blogging and to write about anything that I feel the urge to write about. About life in Italy, work in Switzerland, gadgets I use and the stuff (apps) I put on them, what I cook and what I eat, and God knows what... I also decided to switch to English in my blog. I started in Dutch, since at that time I saw my blog as a way to inform friends and relatives back in the Netherlands about my/our life in Italy. But on Twitter, where I have become pretty active lately, I currently have quite a variety of nationalities following me, mostly from the Netherlands and Italy but also some Swiss. In order to avoid spending too much time writing my blog in Dutch, Italian and German I'll stick with English.

Keep in mind: the fun of social media and blogging is not in the writing and reading alone but above all in the INTERACTION. So please respond, react, interact and whatever; in a reaction under the blog or in a tweet!

break-a-leg

Vandaag hebben we weer een nieuw hoofdstuk aan ons Italiaanse avontuur toegevoegd. Een harde kennismaking met het Italiaanse rijgedrag. Maddy is op haar fiets aangereden en heeft daarbij haar been gebroken en een snee in een arm opgelopen.

Op weg van de supermarkt naar huis op haar fiets stak ze de weg over, een auto die achter een afslaande auto reed zag haar te laat en reed haar aan. Maddy op de grond op haar boodschappen, waaronder een aantal kapotte glazen potten. Gevolg een flinke snee in de linkerarm en een gebroken scheen- en kuitbeen (thv de enkel).

Ambulance, carabinieri, polizia locale iedereen op de been (behalve Maddy dus) en ook een aantal buren waren meteen ingelicht (toch fijn dat we ondertussen bekend zijn). Ik was net 2uur op het werk in Zwitserland toen ik door een buurman gebeld werd. Maddy lag toen nog op de grond en werd van nekkraag voorzien. Spullen bijeen geraapt en weer terug door de tunnels en de Alpen naar het ziekenhuis. Toen ik aankwam was een buurvrouw nog in het ziekenhuis om mij op te wachten. Maddy werd nog onderzocht (volledige CAT/MRI van haar hoofd en buikholte, Xrays van zowat alle beenderen en in ieder geval vd benen en ruggegraat).

Conclusie:
een gecompliceerde been-/enkelbreuk en een gapende snijwond (die was inmiddels al schoongemaakt en gehecht). Operatie was al ingepland.

Rond 16:00 ben ik vertrokken omdat Maddy naar de OK ging. Giorgia was door de buren vd bus gehaald en opgevangen, maar wist nog van niks. Dat heb ik haar verteld. Om 19:30 waren we terug in het ziekenhuis en gingen we op zoek naar Maddy, ze bleek over 5min opgehaald te kunnen worden van de recovery en naar haar kamer gebracht te worden. Goeie timing dus!

Ik schrijf dit aan haar bed en Giorgia zit erbij. Alles gaat -naar omstandigheden- redelijk goed. Het been is voorzien van wat plaatwerk en verzegeld met een laagje gips.