milan

Milan isnt Rome. it lacks the capital's beauty and mild climate. actually, when i arrive at Malpensa airport, the temperature is 5 degrees lower than in london, and it is raining heavily. that said, i still think Milan generally gets a bad rap unfairly. sure, it is probably the ugliest city in Italy, but that is judging it against a high standard. Despite its lack of typically Italian charm, it is still nicer than many of Europe's cities. the shopping is more than decent and the food is certainly tolerable. most of the city is grim and industrial, but the core around the Duomo is lively and pretty enough. it also does a good job, more so than Rome, of catering to business travellers. there is a good selection of hotels and transport and cabs are efficient- at least by Italian standards. Inside the office though, things are no different than anywhere else in the country. I get taken for excellent cups of coffee over delicious biscuits, and treated to endless tales of woes: the economy is a disaster, Libya has created a disaster, Berlusconi is a disaster, the company budget is a disaster….another coffee? trying to get any work done is turned into an epic task, with contracts taking months to sign as 15 people seem to be employed to pick apart every piece of paper that comes their way, and another 15 are needed to stamp those same papers, but everyone you need is out of the office the moment you need them and no one knows where they might be. it is all most maddening, although made somewhat forgivable by the excellent coffee and biscuits. were it not for the culinary delights, i think this place would succeed in driving me absolutely mad.