Last week I had the privilege of going to Italy for a few days all expenses paid (including some much-needed beers and grappas). It was worth it even including the number of boring speeches I had to go through to reach those beers, the satisfying Italian dinners, or the opportunity to swim in the hotel's outdoor heated pool in the snow. Best of all, by landing in Venice (after a transfer at Milan, lucky me), I could spend a couple of hours there wondering around. I had planned to perhaps go to the ghetto [which was the first one in the world, Jew-baiting fans], or even, if I was fast, to the centre. Instead, I went the wrong way, and ended up in a residential section, carting around my heavy bag across my shoulder. The pain was tempered though by the exquisite beauty of the place, which wasn't any the less for not being touristed (and probably was actually better for it). To prove I was actually there, I should really post some pictures of it. Luckily, I have some in the required digital format, so I share them with you, the world, and my future employer in the marketing industry, as well as some shots of snow-covered Italiana from my hotel balcony.