A VCN week-end, part II

I can't believe it's sunday already. And yet it is sunday, as the loud (so much I could hear them at the fourth floor with my windows closed as clearly as if they were indeed inside my room) and over-excited people who gathered under my building at 9 am before going to a wedding proved by yelling, several times, that getting married on sunday is boring (why, I have no idea).

Anyway, the VCN week-end has been a success. After the night volleyball of thursday (which, again, was simply fantastic, the Happy Hour of friday saw about 40 people in this very cool place, called Oppio Caffè directly overlooking... well, let's say facing, considering how tall it is... the Colosseum's side on Via dei Fori Imperiali. Rarely, I must say, I had enjoyed so much a happy hour location, even if my mood was probably not the best one that evening to start with. Anyway, at some point Alessandro joined together with a couple of friends, we did chit chat a bit (which led me to disappear from the VCN group altogether) and then the plan was to move at an "Afro" party organized by the WFP on a barge on the Tiber. But Gods laugh about the mortals' plans, as we say, and i ended up meeting Liesbeth and talking with her until late in the night about many and varied things. Note for everyone coming to Rome these days: go to the Tiberine Island, they organized a very cool place to hang around in summer with bars and stands selling a bit of everything. Very relaxed atmosphere and, unless the river decides to produce un-nice smells, fascinating in its own way.

Yesterday was the the VCN barbecue day, an experiment that risked to finish even before starting given that as we gathered near the EUR lake some nasty dark clouds gathered over the city and started to move south, promising nothing less than a summer storm. Yet we were lucky and a first group of about twenty people, which would had grown over the evening to maybe forty, moved towards the sea without even finding the feared week-end traffic along the way. Also finding a parking place turned out to be easier than expected as we arrived at about the same time normal people were leaving the beach to return home. And we also got a great light, eventually, and a wonderful sunset with it.

While some attended the barbecue, others played volleyball and then ran in the water (for my first summer dive in the sea this year). Bruschette with tomatoes and pepperoni followed and then hamburgers and hot dogs as Dario "Adam" and myself alternated at the grill. Relaxed chats (and, I think, the beginning of a couple of romances) followed with the occasional drink as new people and new faces sort of appeared (lights were a problems, as even the torches we had brought proved not so suited for the task with the wind that was blowing).

Even in this relaxed environment I managed to somehow get hurt, as it seems the norm over the last week or so, as the dog someone carried along at some point became too friendly (or rather, was aiming at my hamburger eventually managing to get a bite out of it and winning the whole thing by it) and jumped on me, resulting in a red and pretty painful claw mark all along the left side of my chest... that, and working with the torches produced a variety of cuts on my hands... all that, giving to be disinfected with pure alcohol, known for its not exactly painless effect.

But anyway, seriously, the whole thing was pretty cool and will probably be repeated over the next weeks. For once I took my camera with me so you can see some pictures (click to enlarge them). The evening was completed a couple of hours later when, finally, at 2 am I managed to talk with Susanne.

Oh, for the ones who asked over the mail, I know I haven't got back to the Israel statement I made a couple of days ago but I didn't have time and besides, now i know that I shall have to discuss about it with a given someone so, I better be careful. I will get back to it anyway.