A Quiet Moment

The temperature here in Mantova soared again today. Into the 30s with high humidity. After my interview with La Repubblica we abandoned the centre of town for the lakes, where it was possible to take a leisurely stroll in the shade of the trees. There were many fishermen ensconced along the banks, but we were told that the fish were inedible (pollution, I presume), so the fishing is just for sport. The water was dead calm, reflecting a burned out blue sky, and we watched this proud father inducting his son into the art of inedible fishing.

When it got too hot we found a trattoria and had pizza and Barolo before retreating to the air-conditioned haven of our hotel room for a long siesta.

The evening saw us venture back out into the heat to down a couple of chilled mojitos and scoff some wonderful gelato before returning to our room to pack in preparation for an early departure in the morning. Home by 4pm tomorrow, with luck.

* The video interview I did for the festival yesterday was posted on their website today. You can watch it here if you can't think of anything better to do with your time.