Ferragosto
As many European countries do, Italy more or less shuts down for all of August. My lab will remain open except for the week that includes Ferragosto. This holiday, August 15, used to be called the feriae Augusti or the festivals of Augustus. You might remember Augustus from his HBO drama Rome or from the namesake of the eighth month. The ancient feriae Augusti involved eating, drinking, and sexual excess. In Rome, no one comes out into the streets until about 9am, and the city is more or less deserted, meaning spectacular photographs of ancient monuments with no people in them.
At any rate, I found out today that I have no choice but to take an entire week off in the middle of the month. As much fun as it would be to have the city all to myself that Wednesday morning, I think I should go explore Europe. So I'm soliciting ideas for what to do and/or whom to visit. Some places I'd love to see at some point include Scandinavia (I'm not particular about where), Germany (preferably Berlin), Russia (Moscow), Morocco (somewhere they speak English and have tasty food), and Egypt (Cairo). Then there are my old favorites, the U.K. and Greece, to which I would happily return and hang out for a few days, and I could stay in Italy and visit Milan and Venice, which I have never seen.
Thoughts?
At any rate, I found out today that I have no choice but to take an entire week off in the middle of the month. As much fun as it would be to have the city all to myself that Wednesday morning, I think I should go explore Europe. So I'm soliciting ideas for what to do and/or whom to visit. Some places I'd love to see at some point include Scandinavia (I'm not particular about where), Germany (preferably Berlin), Russia (Moscow), Morocco (somewhere they speak English and have tasty food), and Egypt (Cairo). Then there are my old favorites, the U.K. and Greece, to which I would happily return and hang out for a few days, and I could stay in Italy and visit Milan and Venice, which I have never seen.
Thoughts?
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