Another reason to go to Italy for me! This time it’s for a conference which was held at a resort 1 1/2 hours’ drive from Pisa, somewhere up in the middle of the mountains. 又有機會去意大利了！這次出師有命，是要往離比薩一個半小時車程的一家「山莊」開會議。其實那是一家酒店，但位處有點偏僻的山頭上，所以稱之為山莊也頗為合適。 The conference was more than just a time to hear about the latest trends and developments in the field of electron microscopy. It was also a good opportunity to socialise, especially when the conference venue was so far away from anywhere else and kept all the attendants to the confines of the resort. With plentiful free periods and a relatively small crowd, it wasn’t too difficult to bump into other attendants and strike up conversations with them. 除了聽取行內最新動態和趨勢外，開會議另一大功能，莫過於和同行打打交道，在山莊舉行會議的一大目的，就是要把與會者「關」在一起，好讓大家多多溝通和接觸，由於人數少，空檔時間也多，所以是認識其他同行和交流的上佳機會。 The free periods also made for a few short trips near the resort. My colleagues and I went for a drive on the third day of the conference (17th June). Our first destination was the town of Bar