WREN highlights

You know you´re in Italy when u get to Florence... and when you get to the conference u know u are really in Italy and things take time and you need patience!

Sunday 20th August
i was in a great mood... Florence does this to you. I had managed to buy 2 dresses before i left Berlin to ware at the conf no way once can spend a week in Florence in cycling shorts! So sunday i set out to find the Conf... i started out well, with coffee standing at the counter of the the local coffee shop... Thanks mum for this tip! Its only around $1.80Euro for coffee if you stand, if you sit you pay for the table and service!

I then set out to find the venue, but i had to do a bit of window shopping on the way... the leather, gold, underware, shoes and large and small statues of naked men everywhere, plus the narrow laneways all add to Florence charm.

Now the venue should have been the Centro Congressi... but no one there... lucky for me there was another lost person from South America so with his grasp of Spanish and a bit of Italian we set out to find the uni! some 4 sets of conflicting instructions, a pre-purchased bus ticket and a hellish bus ride at breakneck speeds through the narrow lanes we arrived at the uni! I decided to walk everywhere after this...

once at uni i registered... what a confused place... but i got my bag and book of adstracts and disk and then set of the join a group discussing Gender and Energy.

Now the WREN is a entity that is focused on RE in both the developed and undeveloped world. At this conf there were over 100 countries represented it was a bit like United Nations... i was just in awe of all the people here and what they had done or are trying to do... I went to lunch on sunday with some women and we discussed all the issues that women in developing countries have to deal with in getting engery... it was a real eye opener and it was so amazing listening to these women on what they have achieved... thoughts of home and what is happening on our remote communites was ever present in my mind... we have a lot to learn from these women on RE and Energy.

in the arvo i went shopping for a dress to wear to the Banquet on Wednesday night... didn't find anything i could afford, though the $800euro number was very chic! just could find shoes to match it! No drama I have 3 more days!

In the early everning drinks were held at the uni to officially launch the Congress. It was a great show drinking wine and chatting to fellow Australian´s...and others from across the world.

I didn't get back to camping until late as i spend so much of the night looking at the markets and getting myself very lost!

Monday 21 August
I was up early from the camping... its very warm in Florance, such a change from everywhere i´ve been todate... I take the walk down to Centro Congressi, past the green David, along the river and across the Ponte Vecchio (Bridge with lots of gold shops)... The early morning mist or cloud is over the hills in the distance was magic, with the Duomo and its bell tower dominating the vista and if u have ever seen a photo of Tuscany or Florence then this is exactly what it looks like. The photos don´t lie

I found a coffee shop near the Centro Congressi and got my morning expresso and then waited in the grounds of Centro Congressi in the morning sun. Now this building is old... so to use it at a conference centre they dung underneath it and build a 500 seat theater room... very well done..

Today the guest speakers discussed the world strategy for RE, the doom and gloom of what we are doing with carbon emmission and how little RE is on the ground. This was interspersed with comments on what great countries Germany and Denmark are, and then refuted as to how poorly they have been since the mid 1990´s and despite all their RE efforts, their CO2 emissions have still increased!.... It followed on with graphs on how much fossel fuel we are all using and how much RE (biofuels) would be needed and the likelyhood of reducing our consumption. The forecasts where generally focused around 2050 and we, the world that is has a long way to go on changing our behaviour towards energy.

At times i cringed when i saw where Oz was inrelation to the world RE and how much we contrubute to the world CO2.... The whole day was inspiring and saddening all at the same time.

The lowlight followed by the highlight was discovering that the $600euro didn´t include lunch! and then followed by going out with some of the attendies for lunch at a local cafe!

The whole day was spent in this one location and one room....but it was so very interesting policy thinking.

Afterwards i went dress shopping, giving up, getting lost again and just wandering around the narrow streets of Florence... it was a warm summer night and the place was alive with street markets and music. At one point i was walking alone long a laneway that at the far end a solo violin was being played... now i don´t know if he was good or bad but i´ll never forget the image


Tuesday 22nd August
Getting into the swing of having my morning coffee of expresso. Today i was early and wandering around the uni when on the way i found an out door market... Its a bit like a flee market with secondhand things and new but out of date or fashion. Needless to say i saw a bargin or two and found a dress or two and shoes that would keep me clothed for part of the week... but alas not the place to be buying a dress for dinner in Palazzo Pitti....

Now the conf was in full swing... there where many consecutive sessions and it would have taken Marvin, the paranod robot, with the brain the size of a planet, from the Hitch Hikers Guild to the Universe, to figger out how to maximise ones time in the greatest number of sessions, covering all the topics.... On top of this you would have need Dr Who and the Tardis to find all the rooms and get there on time. So needless to say i didn´t get to hear everything i wanted too...

The topics were so intersting, Low Energy Buildings (LEB), Gender and Energy, PV, Wave, Wind, Biomas, Transport, Marine, remote applications of RE and others... I was spoilt for choice...

Today was only a 2/3´s day... I had lunch with folks from Adelade and then many of us went off to attend the field trips. The one i chose was on LEB... I was hopeful of seeing a house like mine or better... It was a 2 hour bus trip to Bolloina (not spelt correctly) where we a great seanic drive up a mountain to an architechs house that was very Tuscan and i doubt very LE... but anyway he put on a good show of slides of great buildings and we all enjoyed the view, food and wine that was included.

The meal was outstanding so very Italian so yummy. Living here would be hard for the diet, but one would just have to stop eating, have surgery on the body parts, spend all your spare time getting a tan, fake or real, so u can wear all the wonderful clothes and enjoy the life style.... of course you would have to sell all your current assets to afford it... but it think u might be happy!

We arrived back in Florence around midnight, slightly drunk, very happy and not at all able to shop for a dress... I again walked back up the hill to camping, passed David again and found my tent!

Wednesday 23rd August
Okay i woke up panicing i didn´t have a dress. Now this Banquet was to be something very special...and to be held in a Palace no less... So i checked out the program for the morning and thankfully it was mostly on transport... So i headed out to climb the Tower of the Duomo... What a view...what a climb...over 450stairs and you wouldn't want to be closterphobic or too tall...

The shops don't open until around 10am... but i was ready and waiting. I had to be at uni for the noon sessions and to catch up for a pre-arrange lunch...so with my running shoes on i hit the shops..

Got off to a good start. On my way to buy on the $130euro dress i found a few nights ago and deciding today it was my only option... i spyed a great little number for only $80euro on the way. So grab it, try it on, think it looks okay and then have two girls from Melbourne tell me i look great and i must buy it was an added bonus... Okay the running shoes wont do!

So i'm told to just keep heading towards uni and i'll pass lots of shops selling shoes... no kidding!... So i found a very chic black pair for ouch $90euro... Christ this is expensive and when i turn up to work wearing them (at least in the office and not at a powerstation) any oohs and arhs on how nice they look would be greatly appreciated so i can deal with my buyers remorse...

Its now 11.00am... i still have to get handbag...yep can't really take a blue bumbag!... lipstick, a bra and nickers and perhaps think about doing something, like combing my hair! It was such fun to be so girly after 4 months in the same clothes...whilst i was rushing it was a real hoot too...

Now the bra shopping gets a special mention and at this point in the blog the boys reading may want to skip this bit... your choice... Okay you go into the shop and it sells, bathers, bra's, nickers and stockings. Your size options are not in options of 12, 14, or 16 and cup size of A, B, C, or for the really lucky or unlucky D, E, etc.... No here you have 1, 2 or 3...and do you want pushup or not? I have the feeling the whole idea is to make the boobs just look good... bugger the idea of supporting them, making sure you can play sport and still make the bra look somewhat sexy... no here its just sexy. Now this is the bit that the boys will ignore... You as the girl do not shop alone!.. Nope you don't shop with your girlfriends either... its your man that is in the shop with you helping to choose your perfect underware!... Not only in the bra shops but also in the clothing stores... men running around getting dresses for their girls to try on... Now why with all the Italian influances we have in Oz, like coffee, olive oil, and pizza didn't this bit of the culture transfer to the Ozy male?

A quick stop is now made to the markets to get handbag and on the way to the uni i get the lipgloss!... I've done it its now only 11.50am.... Yippy...

The afternoon sessions i go to are on PV and i'm staggered to find out that in China you can get airconditioners that run using PV...Needless to say i want one and think we should consider installing at work somewhere.... more on this when i get back to work! The final talks for the day are on some of the remote PV and Wind solutions that the developing countries are installing... very exciting stuff..

Okay its time to rush back to camping, shower, shave the legs (yep its a Palace remember), lucky for me the sunscreen can act as a moisterisor...i comb the hair, realise getting it cut might have been a better idea and in my tight little, red and black 50's style chic dress and heals...may my way past the green naked David, again to the Ponte Vecchio and up the lane to Plazzo Pitti. I find a few of the other mingling outside and i'm introduced to Jenny from Sweden... Our 1st goal after waiting for more than 1/2 hour to be let in is a glass of wine or something with bubbles.. This we find... but it is the only one we find for the next two hours....

Someone had this bright idea that we may all drink too much and not pay attention to the speaches.... Struth it was almost a matter of life and death when i finally got my next drink... And thanks heeps to the gentlemen at our table that ensured that the right amount of wine was at all times on the table... The speaches were about an award created between Iceland and NZ on which country has contrubuted to RE the most in the last 2 years.... The palace was very Tuscan... it was a large court yard with wonderful paintings..

The meal was very nice, but not as wonderful as last night... Everyone chatted about RE.. god these people are focused! I have been invited to so many countries and likewise i have invited folk to visit Perth... at 11.30pm wandered back to my tent very happy and excited by all the chatter about RE and by the potential contacts i now have found

Thursday 24th August
I wake up early and do my usual coffee trip on the way to uni. Once here i realise that i can slack off again until 10.30am as the sessions are not my cup of tea! Too much maths!... So take of to see the real David.... Its only a short walk to the Acadermy Museum and with a bit of luck it will open early and the line will be short... Both happened.. its around $10euro to enter. 1stly you enter a room with Renaissance paintings. I have to admit i am not painting buff, but boy these were very nice. I now understand why this period in the history of man was such a significant change...the painters decovered two things..colours so rich that they make every image real and perspective... they painted people and backgounds in perspective... i stayed in this room longer than i thought i would...then i decided to find David...

Now i was not at all ready for this. you walk into a long hall type room, at the far end is dome, with natural light i think or so it seamed to me... and standing under the dome is David..it is so impressive.. it is so real... it is one of the best works of art i have ever seen.... you just have to be impressed with the detail. you are able to walk righ up to David walk around him and you can see the veins in his hands, the youthfulness of his face, and feel that this is actually a 3d photo of a modern sportsman....i stayed a while just looking.. i think you have too... i was lucky the room was not too full... but soon the tour groups arrived and i had to go...

The rest of the day i stayed listening to policy issues on RE, PV things and got a much better understanding of what you can do with waves to get energy... all wonderful stuff. In the everning i had dinner with some folk for the uk...this was great fun but the cost of the meal was a joke! $35euro for bbq chicken, a beer and fruit! ouch

Friday 25th August
AGain it was time to hold the conf in a different location and why not another Palace! This time Palzzo Vecchio. I did forget to mention that you have to be x-rayed to get into these Palaces... Today was the closing speaches and some were very good and made a fitting final summery to the the conf... one was just out of place. Then more awards to wonderful people.

Then it was time to catch the bus to Sennia... some 80kms away for a tour and dinner. What a city. This place still has its fortifications intacked somewhat. It also has an amazing church... Whislt the Doumo is Florance is something to see and is from the outside very impressive...Sennia church is some what striking, at black and white marble, but where it leaves an impression is its inside... Stuth it is detailed and very colourful... if the surman was borring you would only need to look around the room to keep yourself entertained...so much detail.

As soon as i could i climbed the tower to get a view of the city. I was not disappointed... the climb some 400 stairs and very narrow! was much fun, but getting to the top and seeing the true Tuscan hills and fortorfied city was a real treat!

Then it was time for dinner and merryment with happy smileling people.... Just so much fun.. and yet they chatted about RE and a like. Bus back to Florence and hugs good bye all around... it was like saying goodbye to school friends, though somewhat drunker! i did my usual walk back to camping...and just looked a Florence by night... what a wonderful city.