Haven't written for a long while. Was busy living my life here....
Went to Barcelona two weeks ago for the Mobile World Congress http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/ Missed Robert Redford who seems to have been there (the connection between him and technology for mobile telephones is a bit difficult for me to figure out, but then maybe I didn't get it...). Did have some creme Catalan - the most typical dessert they serve in that part of the world. Worked hard - the world of the mobile telephony is a very intense and aggressive world and the Israeli companies blend in well in this environment. I need to go back to Barcelona - didn't really see much of the city. Seems like a great place to spend a weekend in.
To prove that I am actually living in the fashion center of the world and blending in - I'm attaching a picture of my recent purchases of Italian (and Spanish) shoes - lacquered shoes are the "in" thing these days over here. The shoes were "approved" by people in the know - although I was told that to really have an Italian shoe I need to also have high heels on them. However, in honor of my aching back and feet, I'll make do with these... Here they are in all there glory on the left. Earlier this month I tried to go see Idan Reichel at the Arcimboldi theatre (this was the replacement hall while the "La Scala" was being refurbished a few years ago, now they struggle to fill it). I promptly got lost on my way (this theatre is located at the end of the world, 4 KM out of Milan somewhere) and never made it to the show. I took a wrong turn, couldn't even find a place to stand on the side of the road to consult my map and then got all mixed up trying to get back home. Left turns or places where you can make u-turns and come back are few and far between... and so I bought myself a GPS navigator. Great invention. The lady talks to me in Italian and off I go. The only thing is that one needs to remember that she only says how to go, not if the light is green, which is sometimes a bit confusing. Also, if there's something going on and the road is closed - you have to guess and come around from another direction, again, a bit of a problem if you're not local and are just driving along, following the instructions of this machine. However, for people with no sense of direction (like me), this is definitely a useful accessory.
With this machine's assistance I went to the IKEA outlet here, and last week to see another performance at the same place - this time of Chava Alberstein (and actually got there to see the show). These Israeli performers were brought here for the 60 years' Independence of Israel celebrations. Funny, I never saw Chava Alberstein in Israel, had to get to Milan to see her. She puts on a good show, especially her older songs were touching. Also, the songs she sang in Yiddish were very nice. The place is a bit too big for a singer like Alberstein but still, I'm glad I went.
Today, I started going around a bit - outside of Milan. Went to Bergamo. It's about 50 min. away from Milan by train and is a very pleasant town. It's got an old part at the top of a hill - citta alta - with some interesting mediavel and Renaissance architecture. Since it's almost the first weekend with nice weather many people were walking around the town - and they were as interesting as the views in the town. A funicular takes you up from the citta bassa to the citta alta. The town is very proud that Donizetti comes from there and there are many cafes and restaurants named after him. I went there with a friend, Hila. We had coffee in a nice little cafe at the top of the funicular. Great view of the area below and great coffee. Here are a few pictures from this trip:
Today, I started going around a bit - outside of Milan. Went to Bergamo. It's about 50 min. away from Milan by train and is a very pleasant town. It's got an old part at the top of a hill - citta alta - with some interesting mediavel and Renaissance architecture. Since it's almost the first weekend with nice weather many people were walking around the town - and they were as interesting as the views in the town. A funicular takes you up from the citta bassa to the citta alta. The town is very proud that Donizetti comes from there and there are many cafes and restaurants named after him. I went there with a friend, Hila. We had coffee in a nice little cafe at the top of the funicular. Great view of the area below and great coffee. Here are a few pictures from this trip:
Left - In the cafe, Right - entrance to the funicular, Below, left - woman with weird looking dog, below, right - me in a square talking to Yoni on the phone.
I intend to travel on the weekends, so will probably be telling you of my adventures outside of Milan in the next posts. Seems there are a lot of places to go and things to see around here, which is nice.
Oh, and forgot to add pictures from a small birthday party for me at work - made a cake and brought some fizzy wine, had a good time. In the picture on the left you see - Amit, me, Giovanna and Michela). on the right - yes, that's me, with the cake.
