Category: Travel

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Politics Travel

Serenissimo (I.M. Back)

We’re back from a five day stint in La Serenissima. Two days of sun and three days of windy drizzle turned out to be a relaxing (and eventful) holiday. More about the eventful part later. There’s loads of bloggable news to be seen to after the break  but we thoroughly enjoyed switching off from the world for a little while. There’s been all sorts of items to comment upon from the sublime (Juve beat Milan) to the terrific (Tottenham uncovered the intercettato true colours) to the worrying (a parcel bomb addressed to the ECJ). Obama’s lost his majority in Congress, Labour has lost its cool with photoshop and Berlusconi’s just lost it. His latest foray into the world of political bumbleness included the statement of “better someone who likes women than a gay”. What will continue to baffle is the manner in which thousands of people will still vote for the midget on high heels even after this kind of gaffe. Still, politics has a way of suprising us doesn’t it? I’m looking forward to catching up on Tonio and Friends….
Accompanying photo is of a t-shirt spotted in a shopwindow in Venice. Subliminal advertising? It was a bridge or two away from a huge graffiti stating in no uncertain terms: “Lega merda”. Serenissima indeed.

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Arts Travel

Pompidou

Last Saturday we tripped off to the military town across the border. Well it is military no more and ever since the Franco-German hostilites over Alsace-Lorraine cooled down the city of Metz has been trying to reinvent itself. The Centre Pompidou inaugurated this year goes a long way in placing the beautiful city back on the map of “visitable” destinations in France. Metz is hoping to have the “Bilbao effect” in this quiet north-east corner of the hexagon.

It’s worth visiting. Not just for the Pompidou centre but also for the magnificent cathedral, for the lovely architecture that is a mélange of the attempts of the French/German occupiers to stamp their imprint on this outpost. If you do visit this corner of the world then you would not be amiss to try out the Italian restaurant on Place de Paris in Luxembourg called “La Voglia Matta“. They have an incredible choice of pastas – with the additional benefit of a copious choice of home made gluten-free pastissimi. I’m in love with the gf gnocchi quattro formaggi or the sugo di cinghiale.The restaurant is also worth visiting because of the kitschy fifties decor and magnificent view over Avenue de la Liberté – book a window seat to really enjoy the experience!

Skip dessert at the restaurant (you’ll have no space for it anyway) and drive/bus to the City Concorde in Bertrange for one of the best ice-creams on the face of this planet. It’s another Italian establishment called Franky. My favourite is a fiordilatte/chocolate mix though you cannot be disappointed by any of the tastes on sale.

The Pompidou Photoshoot (feat. LL & the innocent bystanders):

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Travel

Feckin' Flights

This one is mainly for the transfrontaliers living outremer. The quest for a “cheap flight” connection to Malta is becoming like a game of “hot & cold”. As Flyunfair and Flimsyjet CEO’s throw darts across the European map selecting airport links to Malta au hazard we can now happily announce that the “cold, cold, cold” has become “tepid”. Flyunfair have a new flight from Eindhoven (Holland). It’s around three hours away from Luxembourg and the flights are Thursdays and Sundays (and yes, the flight back is at 6am so think of it as a Thursday to Saturday trip to Malta for your urgent needs that cannot wait.

Three hours’ drive plus two hours’ leeway before getting on the plane (Flyunfair’s quirky ideas about queueing ppl like animals simply because the flight is “cheap”) and a three hour flight. That’s still eight hours door to airport (MIA). Things, they say, can only get better. Frankfurt airport is the same driving time away (prices slightly more expensive) and a wellplanned flight from Dusseldorf (also around three hours away) could turn out to be cheaper (and more luggage space). The French are still obstinately refusing to make Metz-Nancy airport amenable for international flights (which might just be ok given the penchant of French air traffic controllers to simply sod off and cause absolute chaos for the plane schedule ). Germany has introduced an aviation tax making ALL flights slightly more expensive p.p.

We’re not really after the deal. A well priced (not Luxair style) price from an airport that is a convenient drive away would just be the ticket. Until now the closest airport with relatively normal prices is still Brussels – a good two hours away (not counting possible upsets at the last stage of the car trip on the black hole that is the Ring).  Open market my arse.

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Rubriques Travel

Last Kiss (snapshots)

On our first walkabout in NY still fresh from the transatlantic flight led us straight to the glimmering lights of Times Square at around four in the afternoon.  The sun was out in all its splendour and the square was readying for an invasion of the “Beautiful Game” with many of the lit screens and panels illuminated with details of forthcoming matches and other details of the football festival. We walked gently to what we thought would be the central point of the square and then just stood back and took it all in. The long queues of crowds searching for the bargain Broadway tickets criss-crossed trigger happy tourists capturing this or that moment on SLRs.

A makeshift football stand had been set up in the middle of the square and when you climbed to the top you could absorb all the atmosphere around you from a bird’s eye view. Just before going up the temporary structure we came across a wedding photoshoot. Bride and groom in full wedding regalia were posing against the magnificent metropolitan backdrop when all of a sudden they were joined by an unusual character. A promoter of the Cage aux Folles spectacle had pranced onto the “stage” intent on getting his photo moment with the happy couple while promoting his spectacle. I caught two great shots of the next few moments and had been playing around with them with the new photoshopping program (Lightroom) when I came across this news item.

Apparently one of the two protagonists of an historic snapshot taken in Times Square on 14th August 1945 had just passed away. The photo snapped by Alfred Eisenstaed pictures a sailor embracing and kissing a lovely damsel right in the middle of New York’s most famous crossroads. Edith Shain, the damsel in question, passed away last Sunday aged 91. I found the similarities between my two treasured shots and the context of this historic photo curiously coincidental. Go figure.

The Original Photo
Promoter Walks On
Promises Promises

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Admin Travel

The Banana Republic

FAA diagram for John F. Kennedy International ...
Image via Wikipedia

Ten days (and a bit) out of action meant a good deal of recovery. By recovery I mean refocusing and redefining the perspectives. It helps to take a step back from the daily grind and there is no place like the US of A to hit you hard with the hammer of ginormous perspective. Heavy dinners, long long treks and an immersion into the hustle and bustle of the world’s great metropolis all served to recharge the J’accuse mental and physical batteries. Back on the island of milk, honey and power cuts we only had time to notice that MediaToday have a snazzy new portal for their main paper that promises to cut huge inroads on the Times monopoly of the online MSM fora. We like both the online version (well done Matthew) as well as the pay-per-view version of the paper from the stands. The theme for the next few months of summer posting will be “The Banana Republic” – viewed from a global, social networking scale and hopefully from outside the tiny box. Stuck (delayed) in JFK airport I browsed the bookstands at Barnes & Noble  and I was sorely tempted to buy a copy of D.H. Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” (screw the librarian and buy it now for 1.99)- if only to cook a snook at the imbecility I had left back at home. I opted not to – because some actions can be as useful as punching the wall when angry. Instead I bought an extremely engaging book called “Soccernomics” that has not let down my expectations until now. Yes we did visit an Apple store while in the Big Apple and I walked away without spending a penny. Discipline? Maybe. But I might be saving up for a bit of the iPhone OS4. I have not been brainwashed – only slightly readjusted the fulcrum of my mental perspectives. Which is why I cheered when Dempsey (of the 4-0 Fulham rout fame) scored the last minute goal for the US to pull through (ahead of the Old Enemy/Ally) and why I do believe there may be some truth in the American Dream.

Good night and good luck from j’accuse:thebananarepublic.

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Admin Travel

Back

It’s not thanks to Delta Airlines but I’m back in Europe. Yes. Europe. There’s nothing better than a trip to the States to make “European” feel like more than a catchword. Where are you from? I’m European. That became my standard answer after giving up on explaining that Malta is not really that close to Papua New Guinea. (If you are wondering how it is that they know about Papua but not about Malta then join the club). I’m still sleeping off the jet lag after an extraordinarily long return trip (made long because we were “bumped” onto the next plane after some sorry excuse by the overbooking Delta guys – at least we got a first class upgrade for the hassle). “J’accuse – the banana republic” will be back by tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.