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Run Baby Run
[Listening to: Roy Orbison - John Peel Peelenium - Running Scared] Apparently London is to get a countdown clock on road crossings to impress on late crossers: Pedestrians to be given road crossing countdown under Boris Johnson plans I remember in Spain that I was impressed that the road crossings had a countdown, very handy. In Cambodia the little green man broke into a trot with 10" to go, then began to sprint when the clock had 5" left. Very motivating, especially when the traffic is as mad as it was in Phnom Penh. There is a big difference between the behaviour of pedestrians in Rome and Milan. In Milan, everyone waits patiently on the pavement, and crosses when the lights go green. In Rome, almost everyone stand in the road, reducing the width of the road for the cars, and obviously putting themselves at risk, but what the heck. The strange part is that when the lights change, they almost all walk at a funereal pace. It begs the question, why on earth not stop just 1-metre back and let the cars pass, as you're obviously not in a rush?
Good move Boris. Do you fancy becoming Mayor of Rome?
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2008 in Cities
[Listening to: Always Where I Need To Be - The Kooks - Konk [CD1] ] In the spirit of writing more often (or in fact writing anything at all) and following an annual meme, here's my list of cities visited in 2008: Las Vegas, United States
Nice, France
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Paris, France
Milan, Italy
Rome, Italy
Amsterdam, Holland One or more nights spent in each place.
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Roma, bella Roma
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Countdown
One day and a wake up....
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Seville
[Listening to: Local Boy In The Photograph - Stereophonics - Q Hello! The Best New Music of 1997 (3:22)] Yesterday one of my photos on Flickr was selected to be included in an online guide: I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo has been selected for inclusion in the newly released fourth edition of our Schmap Seville Guide:
Plaza de España
Schmap.com
So, have a look. If you click on the image it'll take you through to the original on Flickr.
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Who Says I Can't Buy Myself A Present?
[Listening to: Cycling Trivialities - José González - In Our Nature (8:09)] Yesterday I bought myself a present, a cycle trainer. After looking around, I plumped for the Satori Pro Tour, mostly because it looks fairly robust and packs away, and if I want to use it indoors space is always an issue. In the 11 months I've been in Milan I've yet to go Spinning, so this will have to do instead. James has one, although a different type, and swears by it. So, I'll give you an update on what it's like later this week, as it should arrive in a few days. I can hardly wait! Labels: cycling
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Homesick
[Listening to: Ballad Of A Drifter (Let's Go Home) - Les Hormones - Don't Let Them Get You Down (4:50)] I was in Rome today for work, (where it was a pleasant 13 degrees compared to Milan's 4, and no fog to hide everything) and despite the fact I was in an office all day I actually felt homesick. The moment I stepped off the plane it felt, just right, like I should be there, and not here in Milan. It reminded me of the feeling I always had when I came back from trips away, and I'd look down at the landscape as we flew in, and then feel the kiss of warm air when I stepped of the plane, and despite everything I always say about the place ( and I know I can go on about it sometimes), but somehow it always felt good to come back. Perhaps I should listen to these voices sometimes....
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I say old chap - that's just not on!
[Listening to: Teardrop - José González - In Our Nature (3:33)] I drafted this ages ago, but never got around to posting it: Tea room bans dunking in etiquette drive. A seaside tea room is throwing out customers if they commit that most cardinal of sins - dunking their biscuits. It reminds me of my friend James, who's a dunker. People fall into one camp or the other, no doubt about it. Personally I'm into a nice crisp biscuit, not some soggy mess and some flotsam floating around in my tea, but whatever takes your biscuit (please excuse the most deliberate pun).
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2007 in Cities
[Listening to: I Walk The Line - Joaquin Phoenix & Reese Witherspoon - Walk The Line (3:23)] In the spirit of writing more often, and following an annual meme (from Kottke), here's my list of cities visited in 2007: Las Vegas, United States Nice, France Paris, France Milan, Italy Amsterdam, Holland One or more nights spent in each place. Labels: travel
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Hello 2008
[Listening to: Where To Begin - My Morning Jacket - Elizabethtown (3:58)] It's been a while... I'm writing this via the new portable version of w.bloggar, with the iTunes plug in of course. Hopefully now I'll be able to post just a little more often than I have in the past 12 months. Unfortunately I changed jobs, and with a new company laptop and no personal PC I was loathe to install my favourite blogging client on a work PC. Now with this portable version installed on my U3 USB key I can write whenever and wherever I want... More later (this time I promise). Labels: general
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Right Brain v Left Brain
I picked up this link from Kottke , and try as I might, I can't see her turning any other way than clockwise. Try it for yourself here. Apparently according to the article most people will see her turning anti-clockwise. This will hopefully keep you amused whilst I'm on holiday in Pembrokeshire next week. Labels: psychology
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You know it makes sense...
Todays Guardian reports that the precedent set by the town of Modbury is spreading to other towns across the British Isles: From Scotland to the Channel Islands the cry goes up: 'Banish the plastic bag' .....when will it start here in Italy I wonder? I've been carrying a bag to the supermarket for years, and whenever I take it out everyone looks at me like I'm mad. Even the Body Shop here uses plastic bags as though it was an offence to leave the shop without your newly purchased goos inside one. Labels: environment
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What A Hoot
Quote of the game: "We've just heard that Finland's game with Belgium was held up for six minutes when an owl sat on the crossbar at one end and then flew and sat on the crossbar at the other end. Nothing to do with Estonia against England, just thought you'd be interested. What a hoot that must have been." Labels: Sport
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Let The Train Take The Strain
What better way to travel..Train journeys have always been a favourite of mine (apart form a few years spent commuting into London). I used Amtrak to cross the United States 4 times in only a few months when I first visited the States in '90, and marvelled at the sites from the viewing car as dawn broke over the desert in Arizona; the width of the Mississippi as we swung through iron girder bridges high above the muddy water; and the endless plains of the mid west before we started winding our way slowly through the Rockies, passing freight trains with as many as 4 locomotives to provide enough horsepower to pull their length up the inclines, and to slow them down on the other side. Now years later I find myself every other week catching the train on a Friday to spend the weekend in Rome, along with many Italians who work in Milan but live in Rome, or who have families who live in Rome. Rome may be the capital, but Milan is the ecomnomic centre, and many Italians (and not a few Europeans) have migrated their for work. In many cases, judging by how busy the train is every Friday and Sunday, a lot of their families still remain down south. Every car has men in suits, but times have changed, and now one in two is using the time to work, and the others are reading or watchings DVD's on their laptops. The carriages have changed as well. On Trenitalia the seats recline, the tables have power sockets and flip up to leave you enough space to get out. Passengers are asked to not use their mobiles in order to not disturb their neighbours, and the overhead luggage rack is big enough to take a flight bag. A far cry from the old British Rail carriages I remember catching to London. So now, instead of keeping my eye out for the Thames, the sign that my commute was ending as pulled into Maidenhead, crossing that great brick span of the bridge built by Isombard Kingdom Brunel to carry his Great Western Railway across the Thames, I'm trying sto stay awake as we take 4 1/2 hours to go from Milan to Rome. The French may have achieved 574 Kmh on their trains (okay, not for the general public yet), but they don't have quite the same terrain as the Italians. In fact, Trenitalia is very un-Italian, and doesn't suffer from any the complaints I'd levy against most of the other forms of transport in Italy. Alitalia just doesn't cut it against any other European operator, and their ratio of groundstaff to passenger is going to make it a hard job for any prospective buyer to turn them around. The only airline I'd rate as worse is US Air, (and that's based upon just 1 return journey on US Air, that's how bad they were). Driving in any Italian city is a nightmare, mostly due to an obsession with talking on their mobiles whilst driving, unrestricted parallel parking meaning cars are parked 2 or 3 abreast, and the highest ratio of cars per capita in Europe (64% in Rome for example). The buses are bad - but only because of the cars. The buses are frequent, clean, environmentally friendly and cost next to nothing. Well, that's if you pay. I rarely see people validating their tickets, so unless they all have season tickets someone is losing out... And now, as we pass silently through the night, I'm going to close. It's time for a nap........ Labels: travel
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Where Have You Been?
Since January 19th I've been a bit quite. I've moved cities and started a new job, but half my life is still in Rome. New job. new people, new faces, new technology, new city, and working in Italian for the first time. I spent last week in Las Vegas at NAB, in fact in the last 3 weeks I've been in Milan, Paris, Las Vegas and Rome. All in all I'm shattered, but glad to be busy. And as soon as I get an internet connection in Milan, I'll write some more.... Labels: general
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Pink Parking
The latest parking novelty has just come into effect in Rome. The city has allocated 85 pay-parking spaces in 33 areas around the city for women who are pregnant, and to people with babies under a year old in the car. The parking spaces are painted pink and clearly marked with a car and a stork carrying a baby. However there will be no fines for other people parking in those spaces, as long as the parking ticket is paid. The authorities are relying on a civic sense of responsibility among Rome's drivers to leave the spaces empty. Yeah, right. I can just see that working here...
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End of an Era
I resigned from my job today. Hooray. Labels: general
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2006 in Cities
When in doubt, follow a meme. From Kottke, here's 2006 in Cities: Dubai City, Dubai Dublin, Ireland Belfast, Northern Ireland Paris, France Seville, Spain Cordoba, Spain Granada, Spain L'Aquila, Italy One or more nights spent in each place. Labels: travel
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I Should Be Packing
Here I am, only a few hours before I have to leave for the airport, and I haven't even begun to pack, and I'm sitting writing to you! I'm off to Paris for Christmas and New Year. I'm looking forward to good company, escargot, nice wine, a warm feeling inside but cold whenever we go out, seeing O's family, seeing F and his new wife S, and saying goodbye to them for a while as they will return to Australia in January, maybe snow(?)...I'm looking forward to a family christmas. And I'm looking forward to 2007.
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Il Castello di Rocca Calascio
Last weekend we escaped from Rome to visits Abruzzo. Whilst in L'Aquila we bought a book on castles in Abruzzo, which led us here:    Haing walked (some) of the way up, and because it was late, we ate at il Rifugio della Rocca. I'm glad we did, the food was great. I'm not normally a gnocchi fan, but the Gnocchi di patate al ragù bianco d'anatra (Gnocchi with duck sauce) was really nice, and the combination of the exercise, fresh air good food and great views put us both in a good mood. We enjoyed ourselves so much we're going back this coming weekend.
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Landscape
[Listening to: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) - The Arcade Fire - Funeral (04:48)] Wanted in Rome reports that new measures are being proposed to restrict alcohol sales in Italy. Probably won't make much difference to the guy we watched whilst eating at Il Ristorante Re Burlone yesterday (very nice if you're in the area), who drank a bottle and a half of white wine on his own. Hopefully for the sake of his daughter his wife was driving...  One of the places I've been spending time in recently....
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Cyclists wearing helmets 'more likely to be hit'
Crikey, according to the Telegraph Cyclists wearing helmets 'more likely to be hit' ...now that never occured to me.... PS sorry about the prolonged absence. I've been enjoying myself....
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Springtime on Sark
What a contrast, Paris one week, Sark the next... I've just got back from a week spent visiting Alderney and Sark (with a day trip to Herm thrown in at the end). The experience from Alderney to Sark was quite a contrast - the 2 days we stayed on Alderney were spent walking around the coastline, clambering on and over every bunker and fort we saw; it's covered with relics from the German occupation in WWII. Sark is a world apart, no cars, just bicycles and horses (okay, there is the odd tractor). With no intensive farming and no pollution, its a garden of wild flowers, and it's wonderful.     I didn't see any Puffins (I've always wanted to see one - apparently they are much smaller than I imagined), but we had a god time walking the paths and climbing down the beaches. The island has steep cliffs, so it's good exercise going up and down to each beach and landing, but that's half the fun. Anyway, although I've been back a week this is the first chance I've had to post anything. I'll try to pen a few more words this week and post some more pictures (I took literally hundreds - oh the joys of digital photography)...
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Springtime in Paris
Having visited only 6 cities in 2005, I've started this year at a faster pace. So far, I've been to Dubai, Dublin, and last week, thanks to a wonderful girlfriend, Paris! I've never been before, but I hope this is the start of great many visits. Although we took in a great many sites, I didn't take anywhere near as many pictures as I should have, but that's another reason to go back. That, and the fact that I'm madly in love with a girl from Paris, of course.    Guy de Maupassant hated the Eiffel Tower so much he claimed at one point to have lunched in the restaraunt every day, as that was then only place he couldn't see it. Personally I loved it. I loved the over-engineering, the folly of it, and the views are spectacular and well worth the climb (the queue for the lift was 2 hours, so we took the stairs, a much better option) .    And now I'm off to pack for a trip to Alderney, Sark and Guernsey in the Channel Islands.....
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House Guests
[Listening to: A Caution to the Birds - The Frames - Burn the Maps (05:46)] I've some uninvited guests at the moment - on my balcony. When the arrived there were 2, now it appears there are 4 of them:  I'll confess I'm a bit surprised that the chicks are yellow. They don't look anything like their parents....
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