Bellagio sits on Lake Como,
which is pictured here. The Rockefeller facility in Bellagio sits upon
a hill above the lake, and this picture is also the view out the window
of the room where I stayed.
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Another view of Lake Como that
could also be seen
from my room.
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The facility sits on the grounds
of an 8th century Roman fort high above the lake and surrounding land.
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It is a strenuous but rewarding
hike to the top of the fort.
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However, we were there to work,
and here is part of the group in the conference room where we spent
most of our time.
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The conference room also
had a nice view out of it as well!
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I also had occasion to share my
words of wisdom.
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Here is a picture of our entire
group, which had talent and expertise from all over the globe.
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We also used the time to work on
other
things, such as our upcoming conference of
the International Medical Informatics
Association Working Group on
Education that will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina on
October 26-27, 2008. Here are
my colleagues Dr. Paula Otero of Argentina and Dr. Alvaro Margolis of
Uruguay. The three of us also co-authored a paper
for presentation at this workshop.
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This workshop had some social
events as well, including a dinner on the lake with dancing.
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On the last day, we went for a
boat ride on
Lake Como. The frontmost smaller hill seen just above the back of the
boat is the hill where the Rockefeller facility and the Roman fort sit.
Bellagio is just beneath it.
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We made a stop in the beautiful
town of
Varenna, where we had some delicious gelato.
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On the boat ride we passed many
beautiful villas, including this famous one, Villa Balbianello, which
was the scene of the Senator Amidala and Anakin Skywalker hide out on
Naboo in Star Wars: Episode II.
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After the workshop, I spent a
few days in Milan before heading back to the US. My hotel was literally
around the corner from the Duomo, the famous church in Milan that is
the third-largest in the world. I went up to the roof, which afforded
spectacular views of Milan below.
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Another famous site in Milan is
the Castello Sforzesco, which was a defensive structure and residence
when first built in the 14th-15th centuries.
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The Castello Sforzesco houses a
number of museums, one of which is the Museum of Ancient Art and
contains Michaelangelo's last work, which he never finished, called Rondanini Pieta.
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One other very famous site in
Milan is the Santa Maria delle Grazie, which is best known for its
housing Da Vinci's Last Supper
paitning.
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| My trip began with a flight on
the Portland-to-Frankfurt Lufthansa flight on an Airbus 340 just like
the one shown here at the Frankfurt airport. |
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