I’m back from three weeks of summer holidays at home in Italy. Some highlights:

• I saw Erykah Badu singing at Lucca’s Summerfest, in the middle of the old town. I didn’t know who she was before the gig (I went mainly to meet some friends) and I was pleasantly surprised by her show.
• For the first time in my life, I went to the island of Capraia. This adds to the list of places (which includes some heavyweights like Sardinia, Isola d’Elba and Cinqueterre) that I had never visited before I moved to Finland.
• The iPhone 3G was launched in Italy. I didn’t witness any public display of madness, except on the national press (an example: one until now respected journalist claimed that this is the device that will realize the human dream of absolute knowledge…).
• Despite a reasonable amount of exercise and the (false) promise of the “light mediterranean diet”, I gained almost 4 kilos! A self-improvement program is on its way.

Apart from that, I met the usual array of friends and relatives, read a lot of books (though no Chandler, as tradition would have required), played some tennis and ate some great food. And the return home to Helsinki was, and still is, blessed by an absolutely wonderful weather that made it all the easier. 

Now, how many days till Christmas?