Mikebond's VirtualTourist Home Page

My name
Many VT-people who read my pages or forum posts without knowing me think that I am British or American because my username evokes that of James Bond.
However, this is not true. I am Italian, Venetian and "Polesan" (Polésine is the land in the South of Veneto, between rivers Adige and Po, that coincide with the province of my hometown Rovigo).
My VT-username consists of two parts: Mike is the English version of the Italian name Michele, with one "l", while Bond is the beginning of my surname Bondesan, which comes from Bondesana a tiny village lying near the Po delta some centuries ago.

Why I am the one I am
I am still quite young, but I think I have done many of those experiences that are said to "mark one's life". I was born with a verruca spread over the right side of my face, on my right shoulder and on my neck. Shouldn't that be enough, my right eye was half-close. Therefore, I have undergone 19 surgery operations so far (5 of which at my eye). Now the verruca has been almost completely removed, but the eye is still half-close and I see very little from it. However, I have no kind of illness.
(I have written this information, which you may consider as private, because it explains some parts of my good or bad personality and because it happens that we feel bad about our health and think "Why me?". Well, be sure that sufference is for everyone.)

What I do in my life
I have been attending the High School of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste since 2002. I hope I will graduate in Translation in 2009. I study French and German at university, but I know many other languages, as you can read below.
I could become a translator at the European Union, but I would also like to be a literary translator, a journalist or a politician. The future will say what will be of me.

Praise to VirtualTourist
I subscribed to VirtualTourist in 2000, maybe because I was looking for some information. Then I totally forgot it.
I happened to visit the site again by chance in October 2004, I found out I had already signed up in the past, and I thought 'why not to start building some page?'.
However, I didn't think then that VT would become as important for me as it is now. I have found here the friendship and the warmness I had rarely had in my real life, thanks to some great people whom I won't mention here in order to avoid the jealousy of the others.
Anyway, I will never be grateful enough to this community and to its "inhabitants". Thank you! Merci! Grazie! Gracias! Danke! Dziekuje! Dekuji! Spasibo!...

The Friends List
Every now and then, some female VT members complain about being added to the Friends List of a male member without their consent.
What is the Friends List? It's a tool letting you know if your "friends" are online. "Just that?" will you say, disappointed. Yes, just that. Some people get angry for just that.
The recurring motif in these complaints is "This is not a dating site". OK. But adding someone to your list isn't like going to bed with them, is it?
Also, someone takes the word "Friends" too seriously. VTers you add to your Friends List are in many case not (yet) real friends of yours, but they could become such. There are cases of VT members who have known their soul mate in VT.
Personally, I easily add people to my Friends list and I like being added to other VTers' list (apart from the newbies who have no content and 100 friends), so feel free to add me to yours and I will likely reciprocate unless you are a spammer or have no content at all in your pages.

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I will visit Bratislava (Slovensko - Slovakia) and Praha (Cesko - Czechia) in July 2008. I will stay in Bratislava from 12nd to 19th July and in Praha from 19th to 26th July.
While I am there, I would love to meet local VT-people, but also VTers from other countries who will be in these cities at that time. If you'd like to have a meeting, you can add your name at the meeting page. Click here to meet me in Bratislava and here to meet me in Praha. Tell me when and why you are available.

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I have never had a girlfriend (girls have always found me too serious and not handsome enough for them) but I do have been in love for some years now with the most beautiful lady in the world, who hasn't lost her charmed even after a thousand-year-long life. Her name is Europa and all my interests and ambitions turns around and depends on her.
Would you like some examples? Here they are:
1) I want to visit every state she consists of, none excluded.
2) I would like to learn, at least at a basic level, all the official languages spoken on her territory.
3) I hope all the countries that form her will become members of the European Union one day, including Türkiye, Sakartvelo, Hayastan, Azärbaycan and Mother Rossija. That's one of her biggest hopes, too.
By the way, we would be grateful to you if you signed this petition to push the EU to start pre-accession negotiations with Ukraina.
4) I would like to work for the European Union in Bruxelles or Strasbourg, to live in Luxembourg and to marry a European woman whose mother language is not Italian, so that they can have tri- or quadrilingual children.

Do you already think that I am a totally crazy person? I hope not. I just consider myself as "uncommon".

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Other hobbies and interests
My hobbies, which are often connected to Europe, include:
1) languages. I already know a lot of them, though not always at a good level: Italian, Venetian, French, English, German, Spanish, Polish, Romanian, Slovenian, Czech, very little modern Greek, Finnish and some phrases in Russian. I'd like to improve all these languages and to learn more.
2) politics. I am a member of the Italian people's party.
3) books. When I have some time, i.e. rarely during university time, I like reading books. Among my favourite writers I can mention Agatha Christie, Paulo Coelho (his first books), Emily Dickinson, Oriana Fallaci, Jostein Gaarder, Giacomo Leopardi, Giovanni Pascoli, Oscar Wilde and others. I have created an album about the books I am reading and have read.
4) collections. I collects stamps, coins, banknotes, train and museum tickets and many more. Of course, that's mainly European stuff. If you collect some of those things, in particular stamps tell him, maybe you can exchange them;
5) trains, metros and other means of public transport. I have't got nor would I like to have a car. I like travelling by train and, unlike many railfans, I love TGV and other high-speed trains (although commuter trains are as important. When I go to Trieste, I always take regional trains);
6) geography. Apart from languages, geography has always been my favourite subject at school. I know many political facts about most world countries, especially their capital cities and flags. I also collect European flags, which I buy from time to time from a website.

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Kisses on the cheeks
I'm interested to learn about the different practices of this custom in all of Europe, but also all over the world. So, I'd be glad to get any message about the practice of cheek-kissing in your country (or in any country you have visited) and the way you practise it yourself. Please, read my album to learn more about this.
Thank you!

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VT-fellows from all of Europe (and beyond), read this!
Have you ever dreamed of having your name put on a book even if you aren't a famous author? Well, I can make your dream true...
... if you help me! As I've written above, I will soon graduate in Translation (hopefully in March 2009) at the University of Trieste.
I have started looking for material to write my degree thesis in Compared literatures. My idea is to look for a common theme in the poetic production of as many European literatures as possible. (European refers to all the countries listed in my Europe page)
The common theme I will deal with is the Rose (as symbol of the precariousness of youth and beauty, but not only). Therefore, I would be glad if all VT-members who like poetry of any European literatures could suggest some authors and poems that deal with this theme. I need both the original texts and a translation for the languages I don't know. VT-friends who will help me will likely be mentioned in the "Thank you to..." section of my thesis. It would be nice if you let your friends know about this, so that they may help, too.
You will find more details and the latest news in this album. I'm looking forward to your help!

VTer who have helped me so far:
PALLINA (Annamaria) - ITALIA
Cristian_Uluru (Cristian) - ITALIA
olja1234 (Olga) - SLOVENIJA
bijo69 (Birgit) - DEUTSCHLAND
call_me_rhia (Augusta) - SCHWEIZ-SUISSE-SVIZZERA
Anjutka (Anna) - ROSSIJA
german_eagle (Ingo) - DEUTSCHLAND
airkarat (Lisa) - CANADA
delia09 (Delia) - ROMÂNIA
Polska (Agnieszka) - POLSKA
UppsalaEva (Eva) - SVERIGE;
angelochka (Angela) - ROSSIJA

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New and updated pages

Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais, France) UPDATED

Nürnberg (Bayern, Deutschland) BEING UPDATED

Cascia (Umbria, Italia) NEW - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Gorizia (Friùli-Venezia Giulia, Italia) UPDATED

Rovigo (Veneto, Italia - my hometown) BEING UPDATED

Trieste (Friùli-Venezia Giulia, Italia) UPDATED

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Interesting pages

Europe: it lists the UNESCO World Heritage sites by country (with all the flags) and gives information about the European institutions
* * * * * * * * * * * *
France: this page, which needs to be improved, contains some useful Local Customs tips

Angers

Arras

Beaune

Bretagne

Caen

Paris: not a big page, but with interesting Off the Beaten Path and Local Customs tips

Rennes
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Deutschland (Germany)

Augsburg

Dachau

Nürnberg

Oberschleißheim
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Italia (Italy)

Arezzo

Gorizia

Parma

Rovigo (my hometown)

Torino

Trieste

Udine
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Polska (Poland)

Wroclaw
* * * * * * * * * * * *
España (Spain)

Salamanca

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As Europe is the centre of my world, it's about her that I will write in my VT pages, as I still haven't visited any extra-European country.

France
France is the European country I best know, since I have spent my summer holidays with my parents there every year from 1990 to 2004 and again in 2007. French is my favourite "foreign" language (I'm not bilingual yet, maybe one day...) and the only one my parents can speak. That's why we have traveled there so much.
During my 15 and more trips to the fourth largest European country, I have been to a lot of small and unknown locations that even French VTers such as Jean-Louis (JLBG) have never visited or heard of. It is a pity that there are so many hidden treasures in Europe, but also all over the world, that tourists often forget to visit because they are not mentioned in their guide.
So, let's start with small French treasures, divided by region:

Basse-Normandie
Balleroy, a small village with beautiful castle and gardens, known for the balloon exhibitions organized by American politician Michael Forbes;
Cerisy-la-Forêt ("Cerisy wood"), a small village with a medieval abbey;
Colleville-sur-Mer, a village in whose nearby you can visit the American cemetery, one of the largest military cemeteries in France;
Gatteville-le-Phare, a small village with a high lighthouse ("phare");
Port-en-Bessin, a village at Omaha Beach, one of the places from where the liberation of Europe started on June 6th 1944 (D-day).

Bretagne
Guerlesquin, a village near Morlaix where you can see a wonderful musical market on Mondays;
Guimiliau, the village with the most populated calvaire in whole Bretagne;
Plestin-les-Grèves, a village that is not worth visiting itself, but where I had the chance to attend a great folkloric evening of Breton dances;
Plouégat-Guérand, a tiny village where we had rented a beautiful house;
Saint-Jean-du-Doigt, another village near Morlaix with an interesting enclos paroissial, though not as great as that of Guimiliau;
Saint-Thégonnec, with its tragically famous enclos paroissial.

Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Ambleteuse, on the Côte d'Opale;
Beussent, with its famous chocolate factory.

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For your information, I have grown up in a Roman Catholic family and I am an observant believer. My faith has considerably increased since my mum was first found a cancer in 2005.
I do respect you if you practise another religion or if you are an atheist, provided that you also respect me.

One of the reasons why I like travelling in Europe is the cultural heritage that Christianity has left to mankind across the centuries.
Today, Christianity is not the official religion of Europe and people are free to profess any other religion, or to decide they don't believe in any god; however, it has played an important role in shaping Europe's history, culture and values.
Without the Christian culture, there would be in Europe no churches, no ancient books transcripted for posterity, no art from the Middle Ages... well, Europe would be much different from what it is today. This is a fact, not a praise, and doesn't mean that other cultures weren't - and aren't - important.

My favourite places to visit in a town or city, besides museums, are churches. Not necessarily for their religious meaning, but mainly for the great art works they keep and for the sense of peace they convey. Just think of San Pietro basilica (which I still haven't visited, shame on me!), Notre-Dame de Paris, Stephensdom in Wien and many more.
This explains why most of my travel tips deal with churches and the art you can find inside them. I hope you will enjoy them even if you are not a believer, which is not a sine qua non condition to like churches and Christian art!

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I enjoy receiving postcards from VT people (maybe because they are the only ones I usually get), so if you would like to send me a postcard from your travels or from where you live, ask me his address. I will send you a postcard from Italia or from my travel destinations.
I have already got one or more postcards from:

a2lopes - António: Lisboa (Portugal)
aah_stone - Andrew: Sussex (United Kingdom); Antwerpen/Anvers (Belgique/België - Belgium); Moskva (Rossija - Russia)
Astene - Arianne: Bali, Jakarta (Indonesia)
Aurorae - Jelena: Beograd (Srbija - Serbia); Egypt; Gjirokastra (Sqiperia - Albania); Thessaloníkis (Elláda - Greece)
bijo69 - Birgit: Berlin (Deutschland - Germany), Perth (Australia)
Childish - Liliya: Rila monastery, Historic Bulgaria, Bulgarian old towns and villages, Sofia (Bălgarija - Bulgaria); Jerusalem (Israel); Wien (Österreich - Austria)
CliffClaven - Cliff: Komárno (Slovensko - Slovakia via Luxembourg), Isle of Man (United Kingdom)
cold_dead_bunny: Kyiv (Ukraïna - Ukraine)
Cristian_Uluru - Cristian: Bergen (Norge/Noreg - Norway); Normandie (France); Praha (Česká republika - Czechia); Neuschwanstein (Deutschland - Germany)
Delia_Madalina - Delia: Muzeul Satului in Bucuresti, Palaces of Bucuresti (România)
engeluna - Josianne: North Carolina
freya_heaven - Nicola: Devon, The Lizard, Wales and London (United Kingdom); Istanbul (Türkiye - Turkey)
Italiana07 - Renata: Côte Bleue (France)
JLBG - Jean-Louis: Ulcinj (Crna Gora - Montenegro)
Karlie85 - Karlie: Edmonton (Alberta, Canada)
margaretvn - Margaret: Nederland
ozalp - Özlem: Istanbul (Türkiye - Turkey)
pattypoo - Patricia: Caerphilly (Wales, United Kingdom)
Raimix - Raimundas: Vilnius (Lietuva - Lithuania)
spanishguy - Antonio: Sevilla (España - Spain)
STEFZAMM - Stephanie: Spirola Bay (Malta)
zlatiq - Zlatka: Mesa Verde (USA)

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If you like sending and receiving postcards, you should register to Postcrossing. Thanks to Karlie85 for letting me know about it!

UPDATE
Flickr group for VT-postcards
Since many of us like swapping postcards, and some of us use Flickr (www.flickr.com, you can join it for free), I thought it would be interesting to share the postcards sent via VT on Flickr and I created a group at this address.
I have set membership upon invitation, so if you are interested to participate, you should contact me first. My Flickr page is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelebondesan/.
I hope you will enjoy this idea.