Italy Milan was just as advertised .. stylish, fashionable and sophisticated. So I fit right in. Whilst the objective was to present some work at the Unilever Global Conference, me and my copywriter colleague Brandon Lee got a chance to look around Milan, Ravenna and Florence for a few days.

The roadtrip from the Airport was highlighted by a GPS device that only knew how to say ‘Turn Left in 300 metres, then turn left followed by a left’. The small town of Ravenna was our first port of call and the hotel was as promised, a classic design that would have been the height of luxury in the 70’s and 80’s. Only problem was it didn’t appear to have been updated since that time either and our requests for ‘internet’ were met with confused glances and an offer of a carrier pigeon called ‘Sir Trusty’. The next few days were a blur of inspiring presentations from both Unilever brand divisions and agencies .. the main takeaway being ‘always finish with a mood video and happy music.’

Back to Milan to start exploring the beautiful city. Aside from the lovely mix of old and new architecture (often best typified by historical facades and contemporary interiors) I was struck by the relaxed pace, the general cleanliness and feeling of safety. Milan was not over-run with tourists or vendors selling wares, you felt quite free to wander the streets in any direction and find something interesting, the only worry being how your fashion sense was failing to match up to even the most casual of locals.

We travelled by train to Florence for one of the days we were there and were overwhelmed by the tourist traps and crowd-numbers. It was nearly 40 degrees and whilst there were numerous galleries, museums and churchs to see, it failed to capture me in the way that Milan had. I’m less about sightseeing and more about getting a genuine feel for a city and Florence felt like tourism had taken it’s soul away in my opinion. The gelati was still a highlight however, I had a whipped vanilla panna cotta that I would fly back just to try again.

Just to share, I stayed at the Park Hotel Ravenna, Palazzo Segreti Hotel Milan (recommended) and Hotel Scala Milan (also recommended). Milan is a very liveable city with friendly people, awash in art and history as well as fashion. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to visit again.

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