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Yesterday I forgot to use suntan cream and my arms will happily remember that for some days on. The temperature went down a bit, say below 30, so I had to get to the hottest area around here in order to compensate.

Yesterday I cycled in the so-called Crete Senesi, a region also known as the Accano desert, which tells everything. It's in the area south from Siena and it's completely different from the green hills of Chianti, which is from Siena to the north. Crete Senesi is yellow and white in this time (creta means clay, and the soil is largely made of it), and a few trees at the horizon. I also manage to get an off-road track I couldn't find even in Google Maps (that's the reason a part of the track below is wrong). However, the route took me to Monteroni d'Alba and from there up up and up hill (and off road) towards San Martino in Grania, with no trees and as a matter of fact, nobody around. Which is good as there were no cards, but at a certain point I felt really there's nobody anywhere. Fortunately I managed to get back to a main road, and I reached the village of Asciano.

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Caro Manfredi, cara Michela,

nel portarvi le mie felicitazioni per il vostro matrimonio, vorrei innanzitutto ringraziarvi per avermi dato la possibilità di partecipare per la prima volta nella mia vita ad un matrimonio laico in Italia. Fino ad adesso ero rimasto stupito dalla scelta di molti amici atei che al momento del matrimonio sono arrivati al triste compromesso di sposarsi con rito religioso per una questione di "cerimonia", o ancor di più "per non scontentare i parenti". Il matrimonio è una scelta che si decide e si compie in due; il resto, anche la cerimonia, è un mero contorno, di cui si può sempre fare a meno.

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Another year is over. As this is my sixth time working as a volunteer at the Midnight Sun Film Festival, I realised that my years don't end anymore on the 31st of December, but rather at the end of the festival. This year's festival has been special for many reason. It was the 25th festival, and the one I spent the most time at, arriving well before the beginning and leaving well after the end. That is, I had the chance to feel the pressure of the start-up, the 24-hour long activities during the real days, and the relaxation and melancholy of the end. In a few days the feelings of a whole life. That recreates itself once a year, in the midnight sun that never sets, in an unique atmosphere of togetherness that only Lapland, the magic of the films on a big screens, and over 200 people of any age working together can create. In the picture you can see Aino, Niilo in a "cloth-switching" act at around 3 in the night.

Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow I'll switch back to my cycling trip. I have some translations to do and I'm afraid to lose my 3G connection once I leave Sodankylä. And there will be also some surprises about the route I will take. This will be an unforgettable sun in a summer that never ends (and it has just started).

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Asunto varattu

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We shall revitalise this blog, shan't we?

After a long time, the last December I managed to organise a real down-on-the-road trip (by train) getting to the Netherlands and northern Germany, in places I have never visited before, except one: Berlin, where I've been once 15 years ago.

It was that kind of journey I always long for, just travelling on local trains, watching people and places. And what a nice feeling to meet also people I know living in many different places. That was what gave me the most of the whole trip, that was a real fun everyday everywhere I have been!

I got to Amsterdam by plane and then started to travel by train making my way through most of the main towns in Holland, and then I shifted to to visit the winter markets (and not only) of many German towns. All the way to Berlin, which I have to mention separately.

I've been just once in Berlin before, in the summer of 1995, and I really have to say i couldn't recognise it, so much it has changed after all these years. Still, the atmosphere is so particular, I couldn't avoid to get involved in the night life, full of people at any time. Without much chaos, it looked also quite safe, a big town where maybe life is not that bad, after all.

Here below the full route of my Dutch-German trip, and I've also taken some pictures.

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Asunto varattu

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And there you go! As of 7th June 2009, I have finally driven 100 000 km with my Aprilia Pegaso Cube 1997!!! It is really a great satisfaction, if you think that the engine has never been opened!

So here we go with the 100 000 km maintenance:

• Cooling liquid replaced
• Air filter replaced

And here some other pictures:

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There should be at least one known person in this video…

Update (23.3.2009): also on the ABC:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=7071701&page=1

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… and I made it home by bike anyway

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After many years without having a proper biking trip, this summer I tried to get back the feeling of long journeys. And I have to say I managed to do it pretty well.

With a total amount of 2224 km spanned in ten days, the trip day by day was as follows:

• 18.7. Oulu – Virrat – Tampere
• 19.7. Stay in Tampere for the Iron Maiden’s gig
• 20.7. Tampere – Hämeenlinna – Helsinki
• 21.7. Trip to Suomenlinna (not by bike)
• 22.7. Helsinki-Porvoo-Helsinki
• 23.7. Helsinki-(ferry)-Tallin-Haapsalu (Estonia)
• 24.7. Haapsalu-(ferry)-Kärdla-Kiudja-Kõpu-Ristna
• 25.7. Kiudja-Sõru-(ferry)-Triigi-Kurressaare-Mändjala
• 26.7. Mändjala-Kuivastu-(ferry)-Virtsu-Tallin-(ferry)-Helsinki
• 27.7. Helsinki-Valkeakoski-Oulu (almost 700 km in one day!)

So basically the journey was half in Finland and half in Estonia, including five ferries to get also to the island of Hiiumaa and Saaremaa. If you count on top of this that 800 km have been done in two people with tent and mattresses on the back, it was really a good seikkailu!

I have to say really enjoyed Estonia, still quite cheap (but I wonder for how long), wonderful sand beaches and nice people.

And, by the way, on the way back to Oulu, the Pegaso overtook 97000 km, just 3000 to the sixth figure!

Here below the detailed map of the journey, it might take a while to load: be patient, I said it was a long trip!

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