Burn, baby, burn!

While most towns have their fireworks on the 5th of November, Rye waits another week. But that’s not because Rye was late to the game. In fact, historians believe the bonfire tradition in Sussex well pre-dates the 1605 attempted coup by Catholic conspirator Guy Fawkes. Some suspect it may have its roots back in the pagan winter festival of samhain. A friendly local bonfire society representative claimed it dated back to the Hundred Years' War, when the citizens of Rye burned their boats rather than allow the rapidly advancing French to seize them. (Because, that's right, Rye's Bonfire Night ends in the burning of an effigy atop a massive stack of furniture and building materials including a boat.) Whatever the origins may be, today, dozens of bonfire societies across Sussex prepare throughout the year for the night that the population of this town swells to easily double its normal population of 9000. Each society prepares its costumes, equips itself with medieval-style torches and a possible assortment of instruments and/or explosives, and parades across the village before convening in a field to light the pyre. Each year, an effigy is burned atop the fire. You can imagine my delight to discover that this year's theme was "Melt Down," featuring side-by-side likenesses of Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. I'd like to note that the Donald's face melted off well before Little Rocket Man was devoured by flames.

Burning it all down: Rye Bonfire Night

The event is unlike anything Stateside, especially when we found ourselves asking if fires could give sunburns as we roasted in front of the pyre, despite being safely behind what the locals had determined to be the "safe distance." This town definitely takes their Throwback Thursday to another level. (Okay, okay, on a Saturday.) I loved it.

Science & engineering in the capital of fashion

Install number two came with a bit more glamor, and a lot more independence. And I even got to break out my very rusty Italian skills. This time I jetted off to Milan on my own to build a two-photon microscope as I saw fit, and did I ever.

A beautifully compact two-photon imaging system, built and aligned by yours truly.

In Italy, church and state are never too far apart. This is a peek inside the San Raffaele Hospital and Medical Research Campus, home to this week's install. Honestly, I think the "Cathedral to Science," as I'm calling it, is stunning.

After crushing it on long days Monday and Tuesday, we had a fully functioning microscope by Wednesday morning. With three full days of the install week to image every fluorescent sample we could get our hands on, there was more than enough time to fully train our customers. And with my colleague landing on Thursday morning to answer every intricate question they could have on imaging software functionality, I was able to engineer my escape before sundown on Wednesday to hit up some tourist attractions. Lacking any originality, I beelined for the duomo, the world's second largest Catholic cathedral, which bows only to the Vatican's St. Peter's. 

Il Duomo, a centerpiece of Milan that took only a mere 582 years to build.

Having checked that off the list, I found myself floundering. What else are you exactly supposed to do or see in Milan? With the TripAdvisor app acting up, my mind turned to Italy's number one resource: gelato. But I couldn't even follow the 0.3 mile route to a well-rated gelateria before stumbling across a site my tastebuds wouldn't let me pass up: Cioccolati Italiani. With streams of chocolate flowing down the window front and Russian doll desserts of nutella-stuffed-crepe-stuffed-cones calling to me from colorful banners, my feet made the decision for me. And of course, where better to enjoy a creamy Italian treat in the heart of the capital of fashion than in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, in front of the window displays of Gucci, Prada, Armani, and Louis Vuitton??

Gucci and Prada and Vuitton, oh my!

The cold and rain got the better of me, but not without my enjoying some creative Italian window displays en route back to the hotel. 

Some highlights from the windows of Milan's shopping district.

And the evening wasn't complete without a solid game of find-the-smallest-Italian-"car." 

Top 3 contestants in the competition for dinkiest Italian car.

But while I couldn't devote the week to tourism, I didn't deny myself the luxury of Italian cuisine, with a little help from my handy app The Fork, whose free discounts let me stretch the company dinner budget to include a nightly glass of wine and a dessert.

Snippets from a week of culinary fantasy, made possible much in part thanks to my lovely app TheFork, which let me stretch that company food budget to a week of three-course delights. Top find: Cantine Milano, highly recommended.

While I was eager to get my butt home to my husband and our furry feline monsters, I couldn't help but feel a bit of heartbreak over saying arrivederci once again to one of my absolute favorite countries. Hope to see you (and taste your delicious gelati) again soon!

Why did I ever leave this country??