Tag Archives: Travel Blog

The Revitalization of Milan’s Canals

When most people think of Milan, they think of the Duomo, La Scala, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and The Last Supper.

These are the “iconic” parts of Milan that are on every sightseeing tour if you happen to be passing this way. Let’s face it; Rome compared to Milan is pretty much a non-issue. Rome has the lot – the history, the museums, the beautiful evening light, and of course the weather. But Milan is a city of the north; closer to its German neighbors and a stone’s throw to France. Milan has a certain atmosphere about it. It’s a young city, a city famous for its fashion houses and beautiful people, and a nighttime scene that can rival Spain. Furthermore, with the advent of the high-speed train network, notably the Frecciarossa, Milan to Rome is a cool 3.5 hours. Two cities that were so diametrically opposed have been brought closer together through modern transportation. And who would have thought that Milan has a touch of Venice to it as well!

Milan boasts a neighborhood of canals that had been forgotten about and then resurrected to create a vibrant restaurant and bar scene that for most people is one of the best kept secrets in Europe.

The Navigli is situated southwest of the historic center. In its heyday, the canals formed a 150 km network that connected the city with the main rivers and the large lakes to the north. They were used for irrigation and more importantly transportation. The earliest known construction was in the 12^th century. Because of this ingenious way to transport goods and irrigate farm lands, Milan became the country’s largest inland port despite the absence of a main river. This “little Venice” thrived but then with the advent of roads, it fell into decline. What consisted of five canals has now been reduced down to three. But a renaissance of sorts took place around the main canal, the Naviglio Grande. It is a trendy locale with high house prices but it is a cool urban neighborhood that represents an edgy Milan. This is really where everything happens with cruise boats, restaurants, bars, and a fabulous antique market. I got to eat in one of the great restaurants called Fiaschetteria Il Montalcino on the Via Valenza #17. We took a couple of beers in one of the bars, walked over a beautiful iron bridge, and gazed in wonder at the shimmering lights on an ancient canal. I could not believe this was my first time here. I could not believe this was Milan. Travel is a wonder.

A River Tour of London’s History

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A remarkable aspect of London is the way they have adapted their new skyline to an old river.

When I was growing up, the Thames and the embankment areas were barely used. There was one boat that would take you from Westminster to Kew Gardens and Henry VIII’s palace of Hampton Court and another boat that would travel as far as the tower and Tower Bridge. It was as if the river ought to be ignored and certainly to all intents and purposes stopped at the Tower. The French have long made fabulous use of the Seine. It was inevitable that the Brits would someday catch up and would start to develop a world-class waterfront to showcase London.

And so it goes that pretty much everything starts around Westminster and heads east towards the new developments down at Canary Wharf. The east of London, once a wasteland full of warehouses and disused wharfs, is now a principal point of traffic with its own airport, super high-speed trains, and new buildings that pop up it seems every six months or so.

For me, one of the greatest joys in London is to take a river tour of London’s history.

These are essentially boat rides that encompasse the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, the London Eye, Shakespeare’s recreated Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern at the old Bankside Power Station, and the fabulous new London City Hall, the Shard, the Walkie Talkie, the Gherkin, and the Millennium Bridge, otherwise known as the wonky bridge. Not to mention the fabulous Tower Bridge and its neighbor, the ancient Tower of London.

So a bunch of us decided to do this journey using the Thames RIB Experience boats. Essentially, it’s a high-speed boat ride eastward down the river with different possibilities for location – Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf, or the Thames Barrier. It is a great ride. You embark at Embankment Pier and the journey can take anywhere from 30 to 75 minutes depending upon how far you want to go.

The boat twists and turns in spectacular fashion as you get into open water after Tower Bridge. It’s powered by 740 horse power, in other words it moves very fast. It rained a bit but nobody got wet because the boat was moving at jet speed! It was one of the fun ways to see the river and count the changes that have graced this skyline.

One shout out to London in the midst of the Brexit catastrophe – Congratulations! You have a Muslim mayor, the son of a Pakistani postal worker, in this most cosmopolitan city. So proud to be a Londoner!

Brexit: The Days After

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As a Brit living in the USA and holding a UK passport and a USA passport, I felt that I had this unique opportunity to work and travel in 29 countries.

That changed. The United Kingdom has just experienced a political nightmare. What most thought would be a very passable referendum to remain inside of the European Union sparked such fierce political divisions that the vote went into the night and became a cataclysmic defeat for those that wished to remain in the EU.

The political fallout from this is still happening. The Labor Party, Britain’s main opposition party, has been splintered and almost certainly sidelined for many years to come. The Conservative Party has lost its leader and the Prime Minister. As two populist conservatives, Boris Johnson, the disheveled and outspoken ex-Mayor of London, and Nigel Farange, a leader of the generously named but highly racist Independent Party, became the outspoken leaders for the “leave” camp. Neither of these two villains will see power but they did enough damage to offset the gains made by being a member of the European Union for the last 45 years.

It was a campaign fueled by fears of immigration laced with racist terms. Bringing “England back to England” banded around with frightening repetition. At the end of the day, England is out. The ramifications of this will be most obvious in the years to come. In a global society, in a global economy, England has chosen to be isolationists fueling the immigrant polemic and walking confidently backwards into a “we once were great” illusion. If that is not enough, English hooligans were on display everywhere during the European Championships of soccer. To let you know what you really will be getting if you cut off the supply of bright, young Europeans who come to England to study our language, our culture, and more importantly, to work.

What does all of this mean for the traveler?

On a positive note, it means that your dollar will go further because the pound is tumbling and the euro has taken a hit as well. It will probably mean more border checks and as England is not in the EU, the lines will be a little longer on the Eurostar and at the airports. The fact that the United Kingdom is not in the Schengen Agreement which entitles free mobility between 19 countries will make it less of a problem. For the United Kingdom passport holder traveling to Europe, it will mean longer lines and no freedom of movement. It will mean that people will not be able to work freely with a British passport in any of the 27 member states and of course vice versa. It means that in five to six years’ time, London will probably seem a little bit more English and that is not a good thing! I love hearing the sound of foreign languages on the streets of London. It makes me feel that I am in a cosmopolitan city, it encourages languages to be studied, and cultures to be learned.

Europe just lost one of its stars. The United Kingdom is also the second largest economic country in the 28 countries with Germany still as number one. But critically, Europe will still be a trading block of over 450 million people and therefore the second largest trading block in the world behind China and ahead of the USA. The United Kingdom, in addition, may also become somewhat disunited within itself. Scotland, who fiercely voted to remain in Europe, will probably elect to have a referendum and leave the UK. Northern Ireland may do the same. That would leave a very strange United Kingdom. But for us tourists it would mean that we would have to go through border control to get to Edinburgh and the drive from Dublin to Belfast would also have a new border constructed. Maybe we will have a united Ireland!

Of course none of this will take place right away. Article 50 of the EU is the thing that has to be invoked. That will set a two-year timetable for the unprecedented departure of one of the member states. Thank goodness my grandmother is Irish! I am applying for my Irish passport now!

A New Kid on the Block – Raden A22

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So, there’s a new kid on the block now.

I just purchased a Raden carry-on. Check out the website! They have a really cool color palette for each of its suitcases of varying sizes. As an entry-level bag, they have introduced an incredibly affordable 22” roller with state-of-the-art Japanese spinning wheels, a fabulous polycarbonate shell, and a polyurethane overlay that creates a waterproof seal. It’s light at only 7.5 pounds and it’s four spinning Japanese wheel bases are as good as it gets.

Here’s the great stuff though – the technology within it is exceptional.

There is a pouch that contains a USB cable, sleep blindfold, orange earplugs, and the ergonomic handle is a scale. It has an app that you download on your phone, it has GPS capability through the app, and a charger in the bag itself. It’s an inexpensive $295 that should be compared to the Tumi’s of this world and the Zero Halliburton’s which retail for much, much more. My Briggs and Riley bag just doesn’t feel cool enough anymore. Check it out.

Bags of the Future (Are They Four Wheel Bags?)

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I have a confession to make.

I switched from my Briggs and Riley two wheel 20-inch carry-on bag to one of the four wheel bags: the Samsonite spinner. I made this move because I didn’t want to pull my bag around the airport when I could have it ride by my side in the four-wheel mode. The four-wheel mode changed my life from zipping through airports to walking to train stations. Everything became easier unless there was carpet. Agghh. Carpet is your enemy with the four-wheel bag.

Frankly, four wheel bags have a few issues.

On a trip from Tel Aviv to London, I was waiting in the jet way that has a little tilt to it, and somebody behind me asked a question. I took my hand off of my bag, which also had my Tumi backpack perched on top, and as my hand left the bag, the bag took off. I looked around in horror as a poor woman was attacked by my bag. The heavy four-wheeler knocked her completely over. I tried to hold her up but if that was not enough, her glasses flew off, her hands were flailing, her passport dropped on the floor, and my backpack finished the job as it landed straight on top of her head. If I had been driving in traffic, I would have been arrested for failing to be in control of my vehicle. As it was, I helped her back to a standing position feeling really embarrassed and told her that it was all my bag’s fault. I felt a sense of shared responsibility.

These bags do roll around. If you are in a train, they roll away from you, if you’re in the bus connecting around the airport, they are unreliable. I figured to myself that there must be a bag that has brakes. In the meantime, I had dusted off my Briggs and Riley bag and much to my bags surprise I gave it a second chance. Yeah my arm is hurting me a little more but the danger of uncontrolled roll with the four-wheeler is not there.

So I did some research. The only bag that I could find that had the potential to not move in its standing position with spinner wheels is the unbelievably overpriced Rimowa luggage. When I say overpriced, I mean the 21-inch multi-wheel bag is a cool $850. Yes, I know that this provides “a sublime fusion of fashion and lightweight durability” plus apparently it has “intelligent interior design to make it an indispensable travel companion.” But the key feature here is that it has protective feet to guarantee that the suitcase will stay in place when you prop it up right. No hit and run problems!

My only question is that when I buy a car with four-wheel drive, frankly it has brakes just like the two-wheel models.

Usually there is not an extra surcharge for brakes; it’s just part of the deal.

So why is it that for the added brakes and to look maybe like a movie star, I have to spend $850 on a piece of baggage that really has little interest for me beyond storage capability and ease of movement through an airport? Just a question desperately looking for answers and remembering with horror the incident in the Tel Aviv airport when my four-wheel vehicle went out of control on the jet way.

Guided Sightseeing Tours

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I live in Boston, I am from London, and I am in the travel business.

I watch the endless flotilla of sightseeing buses in their various forms trundle through the streets and main thoroughfares of all of the major cities. I actually love the double decker buses in London and the hop on/hop offs that have taken over most of the cities of the world. They truly serve a vital and useful function. When people arrive in a city, they need an overview just to get their bearings. While it is not my cup of tea to get stuck in a traffic jam, I sort of like the views and it’s a lazy way of a getting a history lesson.

Most of the time, guided sightseeing tours are brilliant.

The guides are local and with their peculiar accents and personalities they shine. They are great communicators, energizers, and perspective givers. They have their arsenal of anecdotes, their funny stories, and they are often our first impression when we arrive in a major city. God forbid the poor tour group who gets the unbrilliant guide reciting date after date, detail after detail in the most hopeless way. These are “the Memorizers” – fear them because they are out there and they will take the wind right out of your enthusiastic sails!

Most importantly, to be able to guide at the highest level, to recite history and communicate it effectively, and to move and change the narrative depending on the ebb and flow of traffic, requires concentration. A guide should never be the driver of the vehicle. That would detract from guiding and driving. The other day there was a tragic accident in Boston with a “Duck Boat.” The “Duck Boats” in Boston are a fun tourist attraction – old amphibious military vehicles restored so that they can drive down the streets of Boston and then on into the Charles River. It is an incredibly successful concept that has been replicated in other cities where tidal barriers permit.

But there is one problem and it’s a big problem.

The driver, situated about 15 feet above pedestrians on the street, is doing two separate things at the same time; each requiring their own expertise. Drivers need to have good vision of everything around them, they need to solve short term problems, and they must stay alert to everything on the road and the sidewalks. In addition, they have to read traffic signs, respond to hazards, and be aware of their spatial significance. They are essentially driving a tank through narrow and busy streets.

In addition, they are tour guides. They have to provide commentary, anticipate what they are going to see, and move their commentary around as the traffic changes its pattern. So how can you do two things at the same time? Texting and telephoning while driving in most states is forbidden.

Yet these guys drive around with blind spots everywhere, high above pedestrians, bicyclists, and scooter drivers and they are expected to be 100% alert to the changing driving conditions.

It’s impossible. The tragic accident that happened the other day was proof of this.

What is the city going to do about this? It looks at the moment like nothing and why….because Boston Duck Tours brings important revenue to the city of Boston. Shame on you Boston and shame on the Boston Duck Tours. Add a separate driver to each vehicle; a second set of eyes to help watch for pedestrians and other vehicles on the road. It cost someone their life the other day and that is too big a price to pay for profit and gain and tourist dollars.

TSA Woes

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The news on the street is that summer is going to be a lot of fun when you are traveling around US airports. More fun than ever before actually and here’s the reason.

TSA have reduced their staff by 2,000 people.

So, those long lines that we already encounter are getting longer and longer. Tempers will get testy and maybe the smiles on the TSA team will start to turn upside down.

So, what’s the deal? In these tense days of super sensitivity on issues like security and safety, why cut back? It seems that TSA thought that there would be such a massive uptake in the TSA Precheck approval applications, that they could save some resources for something else. TSA approval is $85, so it seems that they saw an opportunity for revenue. It is as simple, though, as putting in an application and scheduling an appointment. If you already have Global Entry, you are automatically considered as part of TSA Precheck. It means that you don’t have to remove clothing when going through a screening, nor remove your toiletries. It’s a massive time saver because they have a line expedited especially for you.

So, what’s the problem?

People are just not signing up for it whether it’s a privacy issue, general laziness, the price, or just a lack of knowledge that it actually exists.

But now they are paying for…or rather we are paying for it if we don’t have TSA precheck. My advice if you are traveling domestically this summer is to get with the program. It’s one of the few things in life that is worth the price!

Images courtesy of http://blog.tsa.gov/2016/01/tsa-2015-year-in-review.html and https://www.myheritage.org/news/more-passengers-are-flying-tsa-free-and-thats-a-good-thing/

The Brexit Debate

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On June 23, the UK will hold a historic referendum that will determine whether they stay inside of the European Union or exit.

“The Brexit,” as it’s called, has divided the country.

Britain was a relative second choice to the initial family of six countries that formed the early version of the European Union in 1957. The French, under President Charles de Gaulle at the time, had little time for the English, and the English had little time for the French. But England joined in 1973 and became a big player in the EU which now has 28 member states. They also enjoy a semi-unique status inside of this massive economic trading block. The Brits retain their currency and want nothing to do with the open border policy that is known as Schengen. With the exception of the UK and Ireland, the rest of the EU is obliged to adopt.

For most European member states point of view, the Brits are already getting a sweet deal – Trade collaboration, protection, and stimulus of a huge economic block but they still retain sovereignty over their borders and currency. Especially in light of the recent immigration crisis that has resulted from the Middle East conflict.

So which way is this going to go?

Right now current polling suggests that the “stay-in” vote has a slight edge over the Brexit vote.

It’s too close to call but David Cameron, the UK Prime Minister, has staked his reputation on the “stay-in” stance. However, the flamboyant Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who is considered to be a potential heir apparent for the Prime Ministership, is on team Brexit. The right-wing UK Independence Party and some would say openly racist party, UKIP, is solidly for Brexit.

For me, I like the European Union. I enjoy the international flavor of London with the open flow of European workers in hotels, bars, and restaurants. I love hearing the languages. On any given day in any given restaurant or hotel, you can speak with a Pole, Slovenian, Italian, or Spanish citizen. It creates a better community and in many ways it teaches us through trickle down to love thy neighbor. Yep, even the French! I like moving through the open borders of Schengen on my Euro passport. I can remember when I was growing up in London traveling “abroad” on our holidays to strange foreign places with sunshine and warm seas called Spain and Portugal. They were third world countries recovering from decades of Fascist dictatorships. Now they are integrated into a powerful block of healthy economies that make them better.

Consolidation is the way of the future; just like airlines and hotels. It is economically impossible to survive and prosper as a tiny island state.

Frankly, to sit on the lawn, looking out across the English channel, lamenting the days when once we ruled the waves, smoking the pipe and sipping the Pimms, talking about India and places in Africa whose names have since changed, is a daydream of colonial bygone days.

Yep, I know the Brits struggle with the French and the French struggle with the Brits but this is the future and that is the past. They gave us garlic, baguettes, fabulous cheeses, champagne, and wine. The Brits have the beer, the aristocracy, theatre, and tradition that still lives. Not to mention the culinary delights and natural wonders of the other 26 European countries. This is not just a powerful economic trading block, it’s a new way of life and I am grateful to be a European. I don’t want to lose the touch of Europe that we would lose if we took the narrow view and leave. We would have to rename the song “Rule Britannia” into “Fool Britannia.” The UK would be marginalized. It would become a niche business! That would be a drag for all of us.

New York

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I love New York.

I love the buzz of the city, I love the subway, the crazy yellow cabs, the skyscrapers, the tiny neighborhoods, and of course the theater.

The other evening I saw two plays back-to-back: Long Day’s Journey Into Night and The Father. This was two days after I had gone with my daughter to see The Sound of Music. Nuns, nannies and Nazis, all intertwined around a delightful and timeless score. The Nazi bit was a little grim but it’s pretty light with the sing along stuff! So here I was in NYC taking in Long Day’s Journey Into Night, an intense play, three and a half hours long, by playwright Eugene O’Neill. The Father is a French tale by French playwright Florian Zeller and translated by Christopher Hampton who was the one who single handedly transformed a 1782 Choderlos de Laclos novel to make the incredible play Les Liasons Dangereuses. It’s pretty intense. It’s a study of the tragedy and gradual deterioration associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Brought tears to my eyes as I thought about my father too. And what to do after all of that? Head to a great restaurant of course and that would be Esca, my favorite restaurant in New York on 43^rd between 9th and 10^th Avenue.

The next day, I grabbed the metro and went down to the Empire State Building and took a stroll from 33^rd to 14^th street on the High Line, a fantastic community effort along the discarded elevated train tracks. It dropped me off right in the meatpacking area and I got to pop into Soho House for a quick bite and a view from the rooftop pool across the Manhattan skyline. I then took a walk through Central Park, saw the seals in the children’s zoo and thought how amazing to have such green space in between all of this bigness and towering glass structures. Of course I ran out of time and jumped a yellow cab to La Guardia. I should have taken the Acela, but honestly, at three hours and 50 minutes, it still doesn’t make a lot of sense when you have an urgent appointment back in Boston.

Plea number 100: Open up this Eastern seaboard corridor Mr. President and run fast trains down the line.

The Acela is anything but accelerated! It’s slow and the service on board is dreadful. Why is Amtrak so bad?

High Line Park

Central Park

Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Droning On

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Let’s face it; flying is not what it used to be.

We pile into a tube, we wait sometimes for an hour on the runway, and we hover with trepidation over a busy airport waiting to land. We do all of that increasingly on a jammed plane with no empty seats available for breathing room and staff that appears to care less and less about customer service. Then add to that the natural fear of flying that lots of people have.

My daughter, for example, is in a perpetual state of angst for the entire flight. My mate Sergio in Italy who flies all over the world has to close his eyes taking off. It’s understandable. When you think about it, it doesn’t seem natural that we are all sitting in a metal object watching videos and having a beer at 35,000 feet in the air knowing that this thing weighs, without the 200 passengers inside of it, about 770,000 pounds! So that adds a minimum, judging by today’s girth issues, another 40,000 to 50,000 pounds with the luggage! And there are only two engines that our lives depend upon!

Of course, it’s good to know that the incidence of imminent danger on an airplane is less than driving a car, walking to work, taking the train, or riding a bike. I get that but it still feels a bit weird. And then I read that with the increased sale of consumer drones, there is the ever increased likelihood that there will be an accident involving a drone and an airplane.

Consumer drones? Are you kidding?

In fact there was a drone incident just the other day at Heathrow Airport in London. A British Airways flight coming in from Geneva hit by a drone as it came in to land. Thankfully nothing happened but do we really need this kind of toy in the hands of casual consumers? It’s bad enough when a flock of geese gets sucked into the jet engines when the plane is landing or taking off. But to have a drone hit an aircraft either accidentally or not is alarming.

Let’s discount the isolated incidents of pilots who carry hangovers on the plane (thank goodness for the breathalyzer!) and the occasional crazy passenger who creates havoc with the flight attendants. Let’s not even mention the occasional flight attendants who create havoc with passengers! But seriously, who needs drones? The news that my son-in-law law just received a drone from his dad wasn’t reassuring either!

Let’s get drones back to what they are meant for….oh hang on….killing lots of people in faraway places without risking too much collateral damage. I’ve taken it off my Christmas list to Santa!

Image courtesy of http://aviationbuzzword.com/you-can-now-file-a-flight-plan-for-your-drone-operations-to-alert-nearby-pilots/

Roman Graffiti

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I am in two minds about graffiti.

Sometimes it is just senseless destruction of beautiful facades but more and more it gives voice to a neighborhood in change and transforms organically into art from Banksy and beyond. Graffiti stretches back through the ages. It comes from the Italian word “graffiato” which simply means scratched. It really starts like a primitive text message that hasn’t been deleted or expunged from the memory of the ages and it pops up on everything, especially Roman (usually with a clear statement and cause). It is found in Egypt, in Pompeii, in the ruins of Greece and Turkey, and in the tiny odd corners of Rome.

Recently in Rome, I took a little excursion based on an article I read in one of my favorite magazines, The World of Interiors. I headed to Testaccio which is close to the Protestant cemetery where Keats is buried and the Pyramid of Cestius by the Porta San Paolo. The pyramid is actually the only surviving Egyptian pyramid in Europe. It was built around 18 BC by some mad egomaniac who thought he was a pharaoh. Ego was in high supply during that period.

Testaccio, the Roman neighborhood that sits just behind the pyramid, is going through a bit of a Renaissance. New restaurants are popping up around what used to be the ancient Roman rubbish heap on the Eastern banks of the Tiber, now known as the Monte Testaccio. It developed some notoriety in the 1950’s when the filmmaker Paolo Pasolini sat at the top of this rubbish heap of remnants of old roman vessels that carried olive oil for a photograph. Now this area is a mix of trendy, bohemian, and authentic Roman.

My friend and fabulous Roman guide, Carlotta Boldrini, lives around the corner from here. Her hood now boasts a new painter on the block. The article was about these huge murals by Agostino Iacurci. While former markets and factories in Ostiense and Testaccio are transforming into trendy, gentrified eateries, cafes, bars, and apartments, this wonderful artist has pulled together the scruffiness and the neglect of a rundown neighborhood in the process of change and intertwined it with his sensational murals.

“As an artist, working outside deprives me of that air of sacredness that you associate with works in a museum,” he says.

Agostino takes on the role of integrating his art into the neighborhoods in spectacular fashion. His art is big and sits above everyday Rome with warts and all. His murals are as offbeat as a swimmer with cap and goggles above a fish shop. His equipment is simple: A sponge roller, a cherry picker and simple masonry paint. One day maybe some 2,000 years on, we will find some faded fresco by a huge skyscraper near a tiny pyramid and lament that Rome was once a city that you could walk around and get a decent coffee in a neighborhood bar.

Rome

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I love Rome.

From the moment I jump in the cab, there is a sense of gradual transition as you journey into this incredibly beautiful city filled with dust, cracks, and occasional garbage bags. It’s all here.

For me it begins as we pass the Sheraton Hotel. Out in the distance is Esposizione Universale Roma (EUR), a 1930’s modernist vision community of how Rome should be in the new world. It didn’t really work out that well but it left us some interesting buildings and now a trendy neighborhood with parks and metro access to both the beach and the center of town. That’s the other thing about Rome – it’s a beach city. The Roman port of Ostia is connectible by metro from the beach resort through Acilia and trendy living areas of Rome to the Colosseum.

Then for me the real transition begins. The first sight of any significance is the white marble Pyramid of Cestius outside Porta San Paolo gate. Then you make that turn up the Aventine Hill with the Palatine Hill facing you. Residential palaces in pink Roman stone look down on the vast field of grass that is the Circus Maximus, one of the largest arenas in the world during roman times.

It becomes frenetic and exhausting at this point with ancient fragments popping up every second it seems. The right turn at the bottom of the hill takes you by the Bocca della Verità (The Mouth of Truth). Opposite from that there is a Greek temple then a Roman temple and as the roads start to move around, you start to see what looks like the Colosseum but in fact is Marcello’s amphitheater, the Teatro di Marcello. Behind that is Octavia’s portal and the Jewish ghetto. On the right side lies the most glorious juxtaposition of stairways anywhere. There is the very subtle Capitoline Hill Stairs, the Cordonata, right next to the severe and steep medieval stairway that leads to the Basilica di Santa Maria in Aracoeli. On the right hand side beyond the stairways is the slightly incongruous, but ever faithful tourist site for lost travelers, the 19^th century wedding cake built to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1870 named the Vittorio Emanuele monument.

We are now in the Renaissance period with the Piazza Venezia with Trajan’s Forum on the right and I have disappeared into Rome before even my first cappuccino.

Rome Pietro Place Peter Jones Rome Steps Pietro Place Peter Jones

To Upgrade or not to Upgrade

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For all of those passengers that are lucky enough to sit in the business class or first class section of an airplane, you may well imagine how important you are to that airline.

Airlines are trying to sign you up for their frequent flyer cards, give you their Silver and Gold cards, and adorn you in incentives because you happen to be sitting in the part of the plane that makes money and they want you back. They are using all of their tricks to sway you in the decision to upgrade or not to upgrade. Those airline seats that you occupy have been well thought out and optimized for your comfort, convenience, and their dollars.

Not to say that if you are in the back of the plane, it’s all misery.

There is a trickledown effect due to the fact that the airlines are smarting up the front of the plane. After all, you do not want class warfare at 35,000 feet in the sky.

Well never mind because in the front they want your business and they are prepared to pamper you. But it is going to cost you money. A round-trip transatlantic fare in first class on British Airways costs between $16,000-$22,000, business class around $7,000, premium economy around $2,200, and lowly old economy about $1,500. So you can imagine how much money these guys are making on that tiny piece of space given the fact that you are sitting in the same cylindrical tube as everyone else.

When you look at that value proposition, you have to say that economy is a pretty good deal. I mean seriously, who is paying $20,000 for a first class seat when you can find a deal out there for $1,000 in economy. If you fly between London and Boston, you are on a 5 hour and 50 minute flight. I do not care how good the service is, I can always find a sandwich, a couple glasses of wine, and a decent movie or two to wind my way across the Atlantic while I think of how I saved $19,000 on a bit of extra leg room, a very average meal, and a wash bag that you wouldn’t even re-gift. Incidentally, in business class, the wash bag on most flights is something that amazes me even more. It’s like how could they design a bag with so much space and so little in it? Where do you find toothpaste that small? Why the socks? I have my own socks and if I go to the bathroom truly I am going to wear my shoes. Guys are messy!

So differentiating the front of the plane is critical to these guys.

There are three kinds of configurations at the front of the plane. There is the yin-yang design that BA employs, the staggered herringbone that Virgin employs, or the “stacked-V’ of other airlines. Have you ever wondered why if you are sitting in business class on a plane, such as BA, that you are facing a person that you do not know and awkwardly trying to figure out how to put the screen up between the two of you without looking to offend? Ever wondered why when on a Virgin plane that the shape of the seats is in a fishbone? It’s feast or famine here. You are either lying flat down or sitting straight up. There is no in between. Then there is the Delta setup where everyone mysteriously is fitted in a certain way so that you never actually see too much of the person next to you…thank God. The reason they do all of this of course is because they can give you more room, your own space, and more importantly they can fit more of you in that huge expanding revenue-generating area.

Designing airline seats for business and first class is an art within itself; creating a space that feels like your own space with a flat bed and video screen with endless options for watching TV and movies. Not long ago in 1995, British Airways introduced the first flat-bed seat in first class, and in 1999 introduced it to business class as well. Up until then, business class passengers had no advantage other than a slightly better meal. Nowadays the game is played around bed, board, and beyond! At the higher end, airlines compete for your business with lavish meals including caviar in first class. They entice you with a goody bag that contains scents, oils, and perfumes from boutique distributors. New 32-inch video screens (bigger than some we have in our kitchens) are being introduced into a private cabin. On real long hauls in first class you now get a shower (of course!) plus a potential for a double bed. Just when you thought you got your marriage around twin beds you can now bring it back again!

Image courtesy of DesignBoom.com: http://www.designboom.com/design/singapore-airlines-first-class-interior-design-by-bmw-designworks/

Stay Tuned for April Travels: Atlanta, Georgia and Reston, Virginia!

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I’m not a Virgin Anymore (Virgin America sold to Alaska Airlines)

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Virgin America has just sold out to Alaska Airlines.

Richard Branson, who owns only a clear 22% of Virgin America, felt so bad about it that he wrote an open letter concerning the takeover.

He could not do too much to stop it because some of his take was in the form of non-voting shares. This effectively reduced his influence in a sell deal to that of a spectator. Because he is not an American, according to USA law, he was never allowed to have majority ownership. Still, he remains optimistic about the airlines’ future. As he put it, “Besides the turbulence and headwinds, the journey remains thrilling and joyful and I look forward to more future flights with virgin America.”

In many ways, the takeover makes sense. Yes, Virgin is a great brand and Virgin America was a cool airline to fly on. The banter on board, the groovy lounges, the reception, everything was pure Virgin. The only weakness of the original Virgin America set up was that the curious bystander often wondered why they could not link Virgin America to Virgin Atlantic for international travel. Now with Alaska, they simply add much more domestic connectability.

Frankly, now that Virgin America sold to Alaska Airlines the brand is going to become diluted.

Alaska might be famous for its onboard cuisine if you fly in business, but beyond that it is pretty much bog standard. In other words, you get what you pay for. Alaska could only benefit greatly from the bounce of the Virgin brand as they go head-to-head with the Southwest and Jet Blues.

It’s all about consolidation. Airlines are making bigger profits, oil is cheap as chips, the seats are shrinking, the food is sucking even more, and Richard just walked away with a cool half billion dollars.

The same thing kind of happened on Virgin Atlantic.

In 2012, Branson said that he could not survive competitively unless he had an alliance. There was talk of aligning with British Airways and Singapore, but in the end it was Delta who picked up the mantle – the largest airline in the world married a virgin!

Essentially, Delta picked up all Virgin slots and 49% of Virgin Atlantic. It gave both airlines more access in a highly competitive market and it gave Delta a hot card to play against its transatlantic nemesis, British Airways. Imagine this, now there would be nine daily round-trip flights from London to JFK and Newark and 31 peak day daily flights to London! More importantly, for Delta fans, you get the chance to visit the groovy Virgin lounge as opposed to the abysmal Delta one where they won’t let you bring in a desperately needed sandwich because they are scared you will compare it to the rubbish you are getting inside. So there are benefits. Although currently Delta flies into Terminal 4 at Heathrow whereas Virgin is in Terminal 3, so you need to have a 10 minute limo service to connect you between the lounges! Not so good.

In the end, when we travel on Virgin, we buy the brand.

The brand’s God is Branson. It starts at the counter with the red suited flight attendants and the funky fishbone configurations in upper class on the planes. It is a kind of an antidote to British Airways and it worked. People became Virgin groupies. The lounges are the best and the people that work at Virgin all carry the brand with pride.

So how is the marriage going? It’s probably working well economically but I do get the feeling having dealt with both sets of staff that this marriage is definitely destined for twin beds at the very least and separate rooms in the future. Maybe that’s how marriages last!

Image courtesy of ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/virgin-america-alaska-air-merger/story?id=38143131