Divertimento

Pretty sure that two posts in two weeks makes me a bad blogger, but I will persevere!

It's been hot here. Not as hot as some familiar parts of the US, but still hot, especially when you're outside working for more than a few hours a day. Fortunately the nights have been nice and cool, and breakfast temperatures are in the high 60s (high teens for the Europeans). Massa's pool has provided a few hours of relief for some, but it's hard not to feel the heat and sun after a few days of work.

We've been doing the usual range of recreational activities this year, with students taking a few side trips on the weekends, and more than a few staying in Italy after the dig is over for the same. Tonight we tried a new one: UmbriaJazz in Perugia. Nothing fancy, just a trip up in the minivan for dinner (on our own) and whatever free music we could catch. And there was plenty! Nice crowd and the evening cooled off enough from the extremely hot day to make it enjoyable.

Other of the usual events have included a spaghettata with friends of the dig from town (of course Otello was there!). Here's a photo of everyone getting ready to eat. No karaoke yet, but there was a little dancing. The main event is tomorrow night, so expect more photos!

Massa now has a lovely new park with an amphitheater of sorts, and they show films in the summer. Now that the micro-Olympics have ended (in victory for the Yellow Submarine team), they've started showing films in earnest. Last night was an eagerly awaited Rapunzel (Tangled).

Finally a little artwork from one of this year's students, Lucie. Everyone liked the new water coolers we bought, but one of them was familiar looking, so Lucie did a little work on it one evening.

After the second cooler arrived, well, how could she not work up that one too?