Frankfurt and Milan

Jamie and I just spent some time in Clapham Common soaking up the sun, or in my case, desperately trying not to turn purple. We're going to watch USA play tonight at a pub on our high street. Currently Ghana is playing the Czech republic and winning - which is like UR playing Notre Dame and kicking ass.

My business trip was fun - just wish I had more time to take in the sights. But being a business trip, I did get more tourist time than I thought I would.


I flew Business Class the entire time which is a new experience for me. I didn't know I was allowed to fly business. Maybe I'm not and someone messed up. Maybe I'll push my luck and book my ticket to Madrid as business class. I have to help them move their office at the end of the month.

The most exciting thing was having my bags checked straight through to Milan from London. Unfortunately for me, I was spending the night in Frankfurt. After waiting for an hour at the Frankfurt baggage claim, I finally found out the location of my bag. Lufthansa gave me an "emergency" overnight bag. The overnight bag contains the following items:

• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Folding hairbrush and with a mirror
• Shampoo
• Roll On antiperspirant (In Europe?!)
• A razor and shaving cream
• Laundry detergent so you can wash your stink ass socks in the sink
• One giant XXXL T-shirt

Not so bad right? So I met the IT staff and the Finance Director of the Frankfurt office wearing my clothes from the day before, avec giant t-shirt.

Frankfurt was totally destroyed during WWII and was rebuilt. Unlike London, there are very few giant ugly concrete minimalist buildings. Mostly 4-6 story buildings in nice colors. The neighborhood in which our "hotel" was situated was very residential. I wouldn't mind living there if I spoke German. I say "hotel" because we booked our rooms fairly late, and Frankfurt is hosting one of the World Cup stadiums. So my room was more like a fancy dorm single with a private bathroom. Food wise, I had nothing German except for some average beer in .5 litre mugs. Wasn't for lack of trying - we couldn't find a seat at most places that night because Brazil was playing and the only place to eat lunch by the office is a Japanese restaurant. I have been told the best Japanese food outside of Japan is in Frankfurt. I couldn't tell the difference.

Milan was a different story all together. We stayed in a swanky hotel, ate Italian food and drank Peroni, wine, and sparkling water. The Milan office is cool - it is in an old house that had been converted into an office building. I ate the best tasting pizza I've ever had during lunch - with a fork and knife no less! Milan is also covered in graffiti - imagine Astoria on a large scale.

Word to the wise - if you fly into Malpensa Airport, look into taking a train or the shuttle to get to your hotel. The airport is 28 miles from Milan, so the cab fare is about 80 Euros.

Towards the end of the day my boss and I went to the Duomo (a Cathedral), walked on its roof, shopped for his fiance, and watched England win their match in the hotel lounge where we discovered a beer called Torborg.

I bought Jamie a bottle of Italian Pinot Grigio and an official World Cup 2006 Football from Frankfurt. Overall, a good trip.

Pictures can be found here:
Milan
Frankfurt
Madrid
World Cup 2006 - England's First Match

P.S.
Ghana won, and the US drew last night.