Well, just now I am not in Planet Italia, but in Beijing.
I nearly didn't make it - a general strike in France, and my flight being on Air France via Paris CdeG, meant that about 50% of flights were canned, but luckily mine were ok. I got trapped in Paris a couple of years ago, and I have no intention of repeating that awful evening - vive le difference.
An ok flight, where I managed to watch two terrible terrible new release films: the first was "Grown Ups" with Adam Sandler and others - some funny slapstick bits, but a general sickly sweet awful taste in the mouth type experience. This was then followed up by "Get him to the Greek" with Russel Brand. I am embarassed to say that I enjoyed the music, including songs by Brand, and again some funny slapstick, but some awful sickly sweet rubbish thrown in. It was a pleasure to get to sleep after all that.
In China, the company car service picked me up in a Buick - a Buick!! Where am I?? The drive to the hotel was marked by two possibly related, possibly unrelated things. The shades of green on the trees. The green was very odd and I could not understand why. It was as if my head could not process that colour of green - it was too olive to recognise. I think that green is a vastly underrated colour and has such an enormous variety of shades that it really needs further description. There is a green hill far away, well not really, but on the main road from Siena to Florence there is a hill which for a couple of weeks this year had such an intense colour of green that it made me want to cry. It only lasted for a couple of weeks, and as all hills in Tuscany seems to vary week to week, from verdant burning green, to mud brown, to sun stained yellow. Anyway, I could not focus on this particular green. I wondered if there was some remnant synesthaesia interrupting my brain working on it - green is the only colour that I have found affected, but I think the real answer is that there is the elephant in the room in Beijing - the smog. I have been told from several reliable sources that it must not be talked about to the Chinese as they do not believe it exists, but there was a low haze here all day, and a lot of the cars seem to be coated in a light sandy coating. To be expected really for a crazy city with 22 million people.
My hotel is in the financial district and is next to Beijing World Trade Centre. I don't know how tall this building is, but it hurts my neck to look up at it, even from half a block away. There are some incredible buildings here.
I had a traditional chinese meal with the team, complete with novelty serving waitresses with comedy hats and dress, then worked in the hotel room (internet regulations point out that certain websites are not allowed - notably Facebook!), prior to a guided tour round some sights in Beijing including Tianamen Square, Opera House, but my favourite bit was the kites being flown by the locals. Enormous enormous kites, controlled by two men with winches, must be at least 15 metres long, with LED lights blinking on them. With 10 or so high in the air above one of the parks it looks very odd - like UFOs or dragons have come back!
I ate a skewer from a street vendor containing something very similar to toffee apples, although they were some sort of very stoney cherries instead. Very nice, but a bit oversweet.
So far am very impressed by China. Very ordered and clean, coupled with nicely maintained historic parts. The facade, if it is just a facade, works on me. Also learnt that two lions guard a lot of doors in China to give luck - usually one female and one male. For lunch we were served crysanthemum tea - I've had it before from Chinatown UK and it was terrible. Here it was pleasant, but you could quickly have too much of it!!
Sleep is now required. Ciao for now.
