Comments | applez: Milano! Che Bello!

applez

Milano! Che Bello!

Sep 04, 2006 21:39

The most important part of the trip first:A truly lovely time reconnecting with childhood friends and family-friends I haven't seen in 18 years! Sharing old memories with Francesco and Giovanni Riva, refreshing others (as Franz puts it, his brother has "an elephant's memory" - his memories of details was shocking!), and picking up where we had left ( Read more... )

ch, milano, rivas

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Milano answers back! gioogle September 5 2006, 22:34:22 UTC

A gust of wind swept through the streets of Milan, carrying old memories, new warmth, and a lot of news! Unfortunately 10 hours are not exactly enough to catch up 18 years of life (especially when all parties involved were lousy letter writers - thank god for e-mail and the internet) but still can do wonders to rekindle the fire of friendship ( ... )

Re: Milano answers back! applez September 6 2006, 15:35:31 UTC

Cheers Giovanni! :-)

SN1 - Milano may not have originally been designed for motorcars, but I found the wise use of avenues, piazze, and Metro & trams particularly good. Alas, if only there were better (and better respected) cycle paths/bike lanes.

SN2 - Alas culprit Uno was that Piccolo pizzeria place Franz recommended ... I'm sure they had better wines, and it was Larissa's & my error for selecting the "table" option. The pizzeria from the night before also presented a disappointing wine experience, again with the "table" option.* So please, no violence is necessary ( ... )

Milano strikes again! pt. 1 gioogle September 7 2006, 23:21:29 UTC

Hi Zac - you are really fast with your replies... keeping up with you is probably an almost impossible challenge ( ... )

Milano strikes again! pt. 2 gioogle September 7 2006, 23:37:20 UTC

A BRIEF RECAP OF ITALIAN UNIFICATION HISTORY (for your perusal ( ... )

Re: Milano strikes again! pt. 1 applez September 8 2006, 13:07:13 UTC

Consider me "learned," and I welcome your invitation for vengeance! :-)

Regarding public transport - bad as you may find Milano, San Francisco is in some ways better and worse. Motorist loathing of cyclists seems a universal feature though...I hear the habit is taking root in China even.

Good! gioogle September 8 2006, 21:50:22 UTC

With torches, ropes and pitchforks ewe will exact just retribution upon those who dare feed their customers abhorrent beverages ( ... )

Re: Good! applez September 9 2006, 18:55:39 UTC

No worries - the oil will run out, and the particularly grumbly middle class will take to bicycles with a passion for fashion. The wealthy, well, they'll just have armies of servants push their derelict SUVs along. ;-)

San Francisco - well, it's a mixed bag really. On the one hand, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (google it) is very well organised and politically active. They have succeeded in getting in all manner of bike-friendly features: from cycle lanes, to bike parking at BART stations (though unguarded), to bike racks on MUNI buses, to a culture of cycling acceptance in business (most government offices support cycling commuters, with shower & locker opportunities at the work site).

Likewise, every 3rd Thursday of the month there is a cyclist rally through the city during the evening commute, with a particularly dramatic larger "Critical Mass" (also known as "Critical Mess" by the public-transit and motoring grumbly masses) once every year...pretty much brings the city to a standstill.

The DownsidesThere are still more ( ... )

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