What could be better than escaping the dreary winter German weather for a week in Frascati, Italy? I attended a
PolInSAR conference (Polarimetric Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar for those who really want to know what I do…) at one of the two major European Space Agency headquarters. The week was quite intensive with lots of sitting in one room (we had some 3 hour marathon sessions without a break) but when that break finally came a little latte macchiato, cappuccino, or any other wonderful Italian coffee creation provided a delicious pick-me-up. My presentation went relatively well and I had a chance to meet a lot of legends in my field, which was a little intimidating but exciting.
Frascati is where the extremely wealthy people from Rome live. Check out this villa (I admit I sneaked onto the driveway to take this picture).
After the conference I had the weekend to spend in Rome. I met up with a friend to do some intense sight-seeing including the Vatican, Roman forum, Coliseum, and Palazza Venezia with lots of coffee and pizza breaks before more ruin-viewing.
St. Peter’s Square (i.e. Vatican). They’re a little late taking down the Christmas tree though.
The elite Swiss-guard with their cool uniforms. Just don't ask them to smile.
Roman forum
Palazza Venizia by day and night
