Milan

I spent a couple of days in Milan at the Adobe Max Europe conference representing ARM as an invited panelist. I haven't been to Milan for many years. It's a great city boasting the oldest ever shopping mall and the largest cathedral in Europe.

I was lucky enough to get checked-in to a really nice hotel in the suburbs and short walk from a metro line to the city center. Any hotel that has a vintage car in the lobby was a is a good start but this place just got better and better...

When I arrived the girl behind the desk had a quick conversation with her manager and then changed my room key from a white one with black writing to a black one with gold writing on it. This was apparently the more exclusive floor with its own all inclusive breakfast, snack and free drinks area where I could go and hang out- which I did copiously.

There was a traditional pizzeria/seafood restaurant across the road where I spent my dinner times with a four seasons pizza, half a bottle of wine, fizzy water and an espresso. I really would have been happy to stay in Milan all week, but alas I was only there for two nights and then on to the Taplow House Hotel in (funnily enough) Taplow which is also a pleasant enough place to stay although very different.

The one thing that marred my time in Italy was that I forgot about the beggars. There are a lot of poor people in Italy and not all of them were Italians. When I went to the square next to the cathedral I was continuously hassled by African beggars who looked like charity workers with charity type ids around their necks saying they wanted to give me a free African friendship bracelet. After some time I finally acquiesced and said ok I would take the free bracelet- which they tied to my wrist. The moment it was on, the happy banter changed to something much more sinister. "You will now give us a donation to Africa."
"Er.... no I won't."
"You give me 5 Euros now and everything will be ok." implying that things certainly weren't going to go ok if I didn't. I had clocked armed police in the square, but now they were out of eyesight. I was a sitting duck. I looked at the sheer size of the man towering over me and said ok it was my fault for being so silly, I'd see what change I had in my pocket.
I found a couple of Euros and handed them over. "No, you give me 5 Euros Now."
I found some more coins and handed them over.
"Now you give me 5 Euros" said his somewhat shorter acomplice.
"No I bl**dy don't. Get lost!" and I starred him down until he walked off.
I was furious, not with them but with myself for letting it happen. I quickly changed my whole personality from happy go lucky tourist to one which was a lot more street savvy that said "Keep away from me." I wasn't bothered again.
In the grand scheme of things this little incident wasn't really one that should bother me too much. However, it remains on my mind and serves as a reminder that when traveling it is a good idea to remember all the potential pitfalls of being a stranger in a strange land.



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