飯後胡思

窗外是兩棵高大的南欧朴，密密的葉子把阳光遮去一大半。空气中浮动着白色的絮子，那是附近黑楊派出的花粉大軍，他們隨風流動，不知道哪個會落到雌樹的花房上成功授精繁殖。一些楊絮飄進窗來，在地上聚成一團，他們恐怕是大多數犧牲掉的花粉，已經找到了他們的宿命。人類的精子就像這花粉一樣，數量眾多卻毫無用處，只是龐大的生殖後備軍裡的一員。樹木與人類雖然相距甚遠，但生殖的方式卻沒有本質的區別，想像一下這精巧的設計，不能不感嘆生命的神奇，偶然性怎麼會進化出這樣精密嚴謹的世界？

Modena May

 Yellow Daisy

Papaver rhoeas (corn poppy) 

Italian Chamomilla 

 Fragrant rhododendron?

Celtis australis (honeyberry) 

Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust) 

Italian Chamomilla  

Tilia cordata (small-leaved lime) 

Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust); Populus nigra (black poplar); Tilia cordata (small-leaved lime)

 Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
in Pavia

My life in Modena (IV)

In the fourth weekend, I went to Bologna for one day trip. I marked some touring sites on my google map so that the trip would be efficient. The most impressive site was the Anatomic Theatre of the Archiginnasio, built in 1636 and once destroyed by bombing during the World War II. When I sat on the seats that once have been sitten by medical students hundreds of years ago, it only reminded me the amphitheater in my medical school, which was similar to this anatomic theatre. The modern western medicine in fact started during that period from anatomy, and Bologna was one of the centers for medical education in Europe. Then I found Lugi Gavani's tomb and birthplace to pay my tribute. And I also saw an Italian giving speech on a box in Piazza Maggiore, just like what people do in the Hyde park in London, though there were very few audience. The other famous people need to be mentioned are Laura Bassi, the first woman professor in the world, Giosue Carducci, the Italian poet and 1906 Nobel laureate on literature, Farinelli, the Italian castrato singer, and Ottorino Respighi, the Italian composer, who also lived and were buried in Bologna.