Paris and Bologna

Hello again.

Given that it's been a while since I wrote a post here, I thought it was about time to say something - particularly as I've been away for a couple of nice weekends recently, so thought I could talk about them.

* * *

The first mini-holiday, albeit 2 days only, was almost a month ago now, and was in aid of my friend's 25th birthday - so, to celebrate, we went to Paris.  We are both huge fans of the city (I would probably put it as my favourite in the world), and are both fairly experienced in it, so it seemed the logical choice.

We left fairly early on the Saturday morning, to get to St Pancras International in time to catch the 11 AM Eurostar.  The weather, being mid October, was grey and cold.  We made it to the station in good time, and boarded the train without problems.  I always feel rather guilty on the Eurostar, because the wheelchair necessitates me to travel First Class (there is no available space elsewhere) even though we only pay for an Economy ticket.  Seems grossly unfair, but in this particular circumstance I usually manage to overcome my moral objections and enjoy the comfy surroundings and slap-up free lunch and bottle of (actually not bad) wine.

So a pleasant 2 hours passed, and we emerged at the Gare du Nord and easily found our nearby hotel.  This was basic, but comfortable - not particularly full of character, but certainly not as soulless as some of the places I've been to.  After a quick unpack, we went out.  The main planned event of the weekend was an evening in Montmartre - for those unfamiliar with this area, this is a part of northern Paris located on a steep hill overlooking the city, full of old narrow cobbled streets, restaurants, cafes, clubs and many famous landmarks - the Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge being two examples.  It was only a 20 minute walk from our hotel, and we caught the Funicular (sort of cable car) all the way to the top, to avoid the 300-odd steps.  The weather, by this time, had dramatically improved, and we were able to catch a rather impressive sunset over Paris from the steps outside the Sacre Coeur.  For some reason, and looking back I see how silly this was, I was rather surprised how busy it was - street performers, musicians, and crowds and crowds of people, all of whom seemed to have the same idea as me.  Who would have thought it?! 

Anyway, it didn't matter, and after watching the sunset we spent an hour or so strolling through the streets, stopping every so often for a Kir.  We (purposefully) came across a cafe called Les Deux Moulins, immortalised for being where Amelie worked.  Unfortunately, however, I didn't see her...

Eventually, after a couple of hours of wandering, we had dinner at Le Moulin de la Galette - one of the oldest places in the area and one of the original windmills in Montmatre - and somewhere I had (fortunately) booked well in advance.  The meal was excellent (see my food blog, The Peripatetic Foodie - http://theperipateticfoodie.blogspot.co.uk/ - for more details on this), and after a quick look at the Sacre Coeur by night, we eventually returned to the hotel (again via the superb Funicular) after a very pleasant evening.

The next morning we awoke to a slightly greyer and wetter day, but nevertheless we were determined to make the most of it.  Breakfast, unfortunately, was a low point - slightly stale croissants and, worse, surprisingly poor coffee - so we didn't delay and instead caught a bus straight down to the river.  After wandering around the Hotel de Ville and Notre Dame (both impressive, as always) we had a coffee overlooking the Seine before wandering the shopping streets south of the river such as St Germaine. 

Being Sunday, most places were obviously shut, so after crossing the river again and wandering around the grounds of Le Louvre (that wasn't really time to go in, and we were both regulars there anyway), we had a quick lunch in a nearby cafe.  Finding the relevant bus stop back to the hotel proved to be surprisingly difficult and slightly stressful, but eventually we did made it back to the Eurostar in good time.  The journey back was uneventful, again with a nice meal (which we didn't really want or need, but had anyway), and we were welcomed back to London by the pouring rain.  Despite that end, however, a great weekend.

* * *

 

The second mini-holiday, this time 3 days, was last week, and was a belated birthday present to me from my parents, for a weekend with them and my friend in Bologna, Italy.  My parents have some long-standing friends who live there, so it was really an excuse to see them.

The only downside to the whole idea was the necessity to fly.  I wouldn't say I was afraid of flying - I would much rather go that way, in a ball of flame, than the way I shall probably go - but I just really don't like it.  For me, it is a necessary evil, and something to be got over as soon as possible to allow the holiday or trip to properly begin.  Although I fully understand the science of air travel (i.e. why a massive metal object stays in the air), at the time it is always feels downright wrong.

Anyway, despite my misgivings, we left early on the Friday morning and made it to Heathrow in good time.  In fact, way too early.  Checking in was uneventful (we are not novices these days!), and we were ushered through security and passport control with embarrassing speed giving us a good hour's wait by the boarding gate.  Time passed, and we boarded the (worryingly small in my mind) plane without incident.  Once everyone else had boarded, there was then a long delay while they announced the plane steps couldn't be retracted, which did nothing for my nerves.  It was eventually sorted, however, and eventually we took off and landed a couple of hours later in Italy without incident.  Our Italian friend met us at the airport and, after a quick turnaround in the hotel, we had a wonderful meal at their house - again, see my food blog for more details.  Despite not doing a great deal, it had been a long day so, after quite a late dinner we returned to the hotel, tired but nicely full of pasta…

The hotel, being one of the NH chain, was again very nice but not particularly full of character.  It was, however, perfectly comfortable and suited our needs well.  We awoke reasonably early to hazy sunshine, and after breakfast (which was impressive, albeit very busy and a bit of a bun-fight to get to any food) we walked into the main square, the Piazza Maggiore, to meet our friends by Neptune's statue. 

The square was amazingly busy, with street performers, dancers, musicians and hundreds of people.  There was some sort of parade going on, resembling our Remembrance Day ceremonies, so we watched that briefly before having a guided tour of some of the older buildings.  Our Italian friend is a full-time tour guide of Bologna, so we were given the star treatment - she took us into several churches, cathedrals and some of the older University buildings (I gather the University is the oldest in Europe, being founded in 1088, which *I think* predates our Oxford). 

So we had a very interesting (and academic) morning, before being taken to her favourite deli for a "free" lunch.  I say "free" - they gave us ample tastings of meats, cheeses and wine which was easily enough for a light lunch, however the deal was clearly that we would buy stuff afterwards.  Of course, we did.

Our Italian friends had to return for the afternoon to look after the dog (a lovely old black labrador called Pixel) and to have their usual siesta, so we spent a pleasant afternoon wandering the city before returning to the hotel to change.  The weather by this time had clouded over, but it didn't rain and, actually, it wouldn't have mattered if it had.  One of the things Bologna is famous for is miles and miles of long colonnades or porticos - covered walkways (ranging from modern in style to incredibly old and ornate) on usually at least one side of the street, sometimes both, meaning it is possible to walk much of the city undercover. 

We left the hotel in the early evening, returning to the Piazza Maggiore for an evening drink - the place was still bustling, and despite being early November it was still warm enough to sit outside. 

We had a cocktail and shared a plate of cold meats and cheese (tapas style), before meeting our Italian friends and walking a short distance to a nearby restaurant.  They had arranged a winetasting for us before our meal, which was superb - we tried a local lightly sparkling white and a full-bodied red, both of which were excellent.  We had a superb meal (again, see the food blog for details), and once stuffed we eventually returned to the hotel - or rather, my parents returned to the hotel and my friend and I went for a final alfresco drink.  The main square was still busy, with many of the bars playing music and clearly full of students.  My sort of city.

Incidentally, at the restaurant there was another bottle on display that we saw (but didn't taste) - the only notable thing about this was its label.  I took a photo of it, but dare not show it here as it's possible children will read this.  Suffice it to say it was one of the most pornographic wine labels I've ever seen.

The next morning, we again awoke fairly early (or at least it felt early after all the wine the night before) and, once we had checked out of the hotel, we had a long walk to the bottom of San Luca (a cathedral at the top of a large hill overlooking the city, accessed by yet another 300-odd steps under a long portico).  We didn't climb this.  In fact, we didn't actually make it as far as the bottom, walking miles and getting a little lost on the way.  But we saw it in the distance.  For the rest of the day we parted company - my parents had lunch with our Italian friends, while we continued to wander the city.  The weather, by this time, was remarkable - despite being early November, I would estimate at least 20°C in the sun and easily warm enough for regular coffee stops outside in just shirtsleeves.  We found a lovely little place for lunch, and spent a very relaxing day.

Finally, however, the dreaded moment arrived, and it was time to get back on the plane.  Our Italian friends took us to the airport, and yet again we arrived way too early and spent a good couple of hours sitting by the boarding gate.  The flight back, fortunately, was again uneventful, and yet again we returned to the UK to be greeted by torrential rain.  Not quite as bad as the gale the week before, but not far off.  Nevertheless, the rain clearly never made it to Italy (that weekend at least), so all in all a complete success.

Boating on Thames

Thought I would just write a few words on a recent trip on the Thames, for a week in July 2013 and which was designed to coincide with my birthday.  Perhaps not as glamorous a holiday as some, but I have been boating pretty much since birth in vessels ranging from small sailing dinghies, larger ocean-going yachts and, more recently, river boats.

Our boat, called 'Wind over Willow' (or WoW for short), is a 32 ft Linsen - a Dutch built river boat that is neither a barge, nor a canal boat, nor a plastic white motorboat.  We think she's rather attractive - photo below.

Having had the boat for 2 years now, we have obviously covered the full stretch of the Thames, going as far upstream as possible (more or less outside Oxford) all the way through London and to the mouth of the River.  Although we have already covered the same ground many many times, it never gets boring - the River is always different and constantly moving, with all the wildlife changing as the seasons progress.

On this trip, it being summer, the River was in full bloom.  Ducks, geese and swans of various varieties everywhere, not to mention countless other birds - coots, herons, kites to name but a few.  Most ducklings and goslings were, by now, mostly fully grown, although we did see several new hatchlings - very cute as ever.

We didn't go far on this trip, leaving Reading at the weekend and spending 3 days getting as far as Wallingford, before returning.  Life on the River is very slow, but in a good way - to drive the same distance would probably take no more than 40 minutes, however when you consider locks, queues, frequent coffee and lunch stops and the fact that we are limited to more or less walking speed, going any distance each day is virtually impossible (and in fact undesirable).  So we spent a very relaxing week - slow breakfast, little potter up the River, stop on the riverbank for lunch, another little motor, then around 4 PM start to look for a suitable riverbank to stop for the night.  This was not always as easy as it sounds, as often certain stretches of the River are either private or do not allow overnight mooring for whatever reason.  Therefore, the places that are available (and are free) are often taken by someone else, especially later on in the day.  However, it was never a problem, and we always found somewhere in the end, with a bit of planning.

Other than pootling around, we didn't do a great deal.  Spent a fair amount of time reading, which made a welcome change.  We managed to have a couple of barbecues, but the rest of the time we eat on the boat using our galley area.  The weather was mixed.  Unfortunately, or possibly fortunately for those who don't like the heat, the heatwave of 2013 had well and truly ended by the time we left.  That being said, it was never cold.  It was overcast some of the time, but rained only on one or two occasions - the rest of the time was patchy cloud and hot sun.  Actually, the worst evening in terms of being uncomfortable was on the 2nd day, when it had been raining constantly all afternoon so we were confined down-below.  Clearly we didn't want the rain coming in so had the hatches shut, meaning the temperature and humidity inside was not pleasant.  Fortunately, however, it didn't last…

My birthday itself was, as with the rest of the week, relaxing.  We had found a restaurant called The Beetle and Wedge - a 'beetle' being a small hammer often used to knock 'wedges' in - which allowed boats to moor outside, if they were eating there.  We had a very good meal, and it was very pleasant.

So… Not a particularly adventurous or exciting holiday by some people's standards, however it was very relaxing and certainly made a change from the busyness of Reading.

Trip to Vienna, Part 2

As promised, now for the 2nd part of my recent trip to Vienna.  Sitting at my computer on a Wednesday evening and looking at the Tupperware-coloured sky outside, Vienna seems a long way away, even though it was only last week.

As an aside, one morning in one of the hotels (I forget which) I was watching a snippet of a documentary on travel blogs and bloggers on CNN.  I should point out that all opinions here (and in my previous post) are my own, and I have not received any offers or bribes from any hotel or restaurant.  On the other hand, on the off chance that any hotel or restaurant would like to offer me a free night or meal in exchange for a favourable review, I'm sure some arrangement could be made.  My moral compass is somewhat flexible on this front.

Anyway…

The week in Vienna was good, even though the majority of it was spent at the conference.  That was, after all, the main reason of going, and so a lot of time was spent in talks, in meetings and presenting my own work.  I took one full day off, to go sightseeing and to continue my hunt for good pastries (see separate section, below).  We had a number of good meals in the evening, including an excellent night in a large, very busy Austrian restaurant not far from the hotel (called Zur Altern Kaisermuhlen).  Superb food, albeit very busy and fairly poor (slow) service.

We left Vienna on the Friday afternoon, slightly later than in previous years because of work commitments.  Because of that, we only drove a couple of hours, stopping in a small village near the Austrian/German border called Enns.  Found a lovely little family run hotel just on the edge of the town, and had an excellent meal.

The next day we awoke to bright sun, which continued all day and was the first day of the trip we were able to picnic outside.  It would seem that the bellboy from Vienna had been right, albeit a day late.  We had quite a long drive that day, covering a large amount of Germany, however it was very nice to stop for lunch and not be cold.  Eventually, we decided to stop in a very small village called Duhren, just outside the larger town of Sinsheim.  Again, purely by chance, we came across a small hotel on the outskirts of the village which, although not particularly full of character on the outside, was nevertheless reasonably comfortable inside.  Again had a very good meal, although my local (apparently) fish was served with so much butter it was virtually swimming.  Not a bad thing from my perspective, but not a dish for those watching their cholesterol.

The following morning, after an excellent breakfast with numerous choices (both hot and cold, including a vegetable mixture which was unashamedly and blatantly leftovers from the night before), we had another fairly long drive into France.  The weather was still much warmer than the trip up, but colder than the previous day.  We arrived in Reims at around 4 PM, stopping at a hotel Mercure on the outskirts of town in the middle of an industrial estate that we had booked in advance.  I should point out that this was not my choice, and had I known what it was like I might have objected more beforehand.  It was, being honest, pretty grim - slightly prison-like on the outside, and lacking any soul on the inside.  Comfortable enough rooms, but completely devoid of any character.  Plus there were multiple steps to the restaurant, the rooms weren't particularly cheap and, being in the middle of an industrial park, there was nowhere to go for an evening stroll.  Nevertheless, even I (eventually) admitted the evening wasn't a complete write-off, and we were able to have a nice evening drink (on the grass outside, in the car park) and then a surprisingly good meal in the restaurant.  So not a complete disaster, but I might not go back there again.

The final day was fairly uneventful, driving through the rest of France and doing some shopping at a local supermarket in Calais before returning via the Tunnel.  It all seemed to go very quickly and, as I said, now seems a long way away.  Never mind…

Sachertorte and apple strudel hunt

Following my recent exploits into the world of baking, last year I was inspired to go on a Sachertorte hunt.  For those not in the know, Sachertorte is a rich chocolate cake normally covered in chocolate ganache and served with whipped cream.  The primary place in Vienna is the Hotel Sacher, an extremely expensive hotel and restaurant that also has an excellent cafe.  Its main rival, apparently, is the Cafe Demel, and a 3rd option is the Cafe Central.  All of these are extremely established and extravagant places, with the latter apparently being the preferred coffee house of academics, poets and musicians of the 19th century.

So, last year during my day off, I visited each of these coffee houses, comparing their own versions of Sachertorte.  It obviously had to be a controlled test, with always the same amount of whipped cream and always accompanied by the house coffee - usually a large black coffee, topped with more whipped cream and some sort of brandy or liqueur.  After rigourous scientific testing, I can confirm that the Sachertorte from the Hotel Sacher was clearly the best - more moist, and with an extra layer of apricot jam in the middle which the others lacked.  The chocolate ganache was also thicker.  So, job done.

This year, therefore, I needed a new pastry to test.  The obvious choice was Vienna's other famous dish, the apple strudel.  I have been challenged to make one of these upon my return, and whilst I'm definitely up for it, I do have my doubts.  They are not easy.  I again visited the same 3 coffee houses, and again carefully tested each strudel.  The results, unlike last year, were much closer.  After much consideration, I would say the winner was the Cafe Central, with Demel coming 2nd and the Hotel Sacher a very close 3rd.  The difference was all in the pastry - the one from the Hotel Sacher was much crispier, which some people might prefer, but which I think made the whole thing drier.  In contrast, the one from Central came with whipped cream and (for €2 extra) vanilla cream, which does actually make a big difference.

Now I just need to decide what the challenge will be next year…

Trip to Vienna

Thought I would write a few words on the recent trip to Vienna, where I now am after arriving earlier this afternoon.  It's extremely cold and snowy here but we have been promised by a reliable bell boy that it will warm up later this week.

We left four days ago and had a good albeit long first day driving.  Terrible driving conditions on the way to the tunnel but much nicer once in France and a relatively quick journey down to a little village called Vertus, just south of Reims and in the champagne region.  Nice hotel but not quite as good as we had remembered from last year.  Still a comfy room but a bit overpriced, and although the meal was nice I was a bit disappointed to see the menu was completely unchanged.  Still good to have some local champagne however.

The next day was again grey and cold but we left soon after breakfast and drove into Germany.  Not such a long day and we had again booked our place in advance so a fairly stress free drive to Speyer.  Again a comfy hotel and a very nice meal,  despite some language issues.

The following morning, after an excellent breakfast - by which I mean a choice of hams and real cheese as opposed to the plastic sliced stuff - we left the hotel in yet another grey and cold day.  The picnics we have had in previous years seem a very long way away.  Drove through Germany and started looking for a hotel around 4pm.  This proved slightly harder than expected - the plan, as always, was to leave the motorway and drive along smaller country roads in the hope of coming across somewhere in various towns and villages.  However many of the places we found were either shut or grim or both, and although we drove around a couple of old looking towns none of the hotels  or guest houses seemed very appealing.  We drove on to a slightly larger town called Passau, just on the crossing of the Danube, the Inn and another river which I forget.  We had stayed here before several years ago,  but the problem again with this place was a real lack of parking given the narrow cobbled streets.  Eventually we abandoned, crossed the river and climbed a scarily steep mountain road.  Quite by chance we came across am amazing hotel that used to be a castle and which sat quite literally on the border between Germany and Austria.  Amazing place with high ceilings and comfy albeit cold rooms, and we had an excellent meal in the restaurant.

The following morning, today, again after a very good breakfast we left the hotel and completed our journey to Vienna.  Really very obvious that there was much more snow than any previous year and was much more like driving through the alps than our usual journey.  Stopping at our usual picnic site just outside Vienna was quite different from last year,  when sunglasses were needed instead if being surrounded by snow.

Arrived in Vienna as planned and now relaxing in hotel before the conference starts.  Will probably post another message upon my return...

Rant on motivation in academic talks

Right then…

Given that people tell me I need to actually write something in order to have a blog, and given that most other blogs I've read appear to contain a rant on something or other, I thought I would have a rant myself.

It is something I have long since been irritated by, and is namely the lack of motivation or background or introduction (of any sort) endemic in most academic presentations and talks.  I'm sure this is a problem elsewhere as well, but academia is my arena.  The number of talks I have attended that have jumped straight into their particular subject is depressing - with no mention whatsoever of the purpose of that particular project.  When an introduction is included, it still more often than not does not give motivation or purpose.  Larger questions like "What is the point of this work?" and "Why should I be interested in what you're about to say?" often remain unasked and unanswered.

I have long since wondered why this is, and why I always try to buck the trend.  I think it might be for one of two reasons (or possibly both): either the speaker assumes everyone else is as intelligent as they are and therefore inherently understands the topic, or the speaker is afraid that giving too much background makes them look simple.  Personally, I always try to give some sort of introduction and motivational background - even if it is necessarily brief, if time is short.  If that makes me look simple, it's probably because I am - but in my opinion an audience should never be either underestimated or overestimated.  I would never want to patronise an audience and be too basic, but nor would I ever assume an audience understand the finer points of my work.  Admittedly there is a fine line between the two, but it's a line that needs to be approached.

I think this is particularly important in the current economic climate, when pretty much every funding body is wanting value for money.  The vast majority of us are funded by research councils, and in order to obtain funding a large amount of emphasis is put on Impact - who are the beneficiaries (academic or otherwise) of the research, how will it benefit the scientific community and society in general, what are the larger implications and applicable outcomes?  The idea that we are locked away in our white ivory towers, undertaking brilliant science solely for the benefit of science itself, is long dead - although many might wish it wasn't.  Personally, I don't fall into this camp - science should always have a purpose other than pure scientific interest.

Lastly, I should point out that not everyone is like this in their talks.  I recently attended a talk of one of my PhD students and, if he's reading this, well done matey.  It is very possible to give a good introduction, including motivation for your work, without being patronising and appearing simple.  I'm also under no false pretences as to the purpose of my own work, and have recently become somewhat disillusioned as to whether it has a point or not.  I appreciate we can't all win the Nobel Peace Prize, although we should all try, however as explained above I'm very aware that there needs to be a point to any research.  And that this point should always be at the forefront of any research agenda, and should be reflected in any deliverable - be it a presentation, paper, poster or discussion.

Rant over.

Hello

Hello, and welcome to my own brand-new blog.

I'm a little bit dubious as to the purpose of this, and whether or not anyone will ever read anything from here, however we'll see.  It's something I've been told I should do, both from a career and a social media perspective.  Quite what I will write here remains to be seen…

It should be noted that this is entirely separate from the other blog listed under my name, which is the official Climate Change Research Group (CCRG, one of the research groups of the Royal Geographical) blog, accessible at http://ccrg2013.blogspot.co.uk/.  The CCRG blog is primarily designed for members of the group, to discuss any issues loosely related to climate, geography and academia.  My personal blog, however, is just my own and will probably cover any subject matter, both serious and less so.

I suppose I should also note that, in either of the above blogs, anything I post from now on is entirely based on my own opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the CCRG, the RGS, my employer (the University of Reading), or indeed anyone else.  Just so that's clear.

That'll do for now...