Monday, November 2

Business Weak

There have been a few nice October Surprises to announce, with the most incredible, that of my beloved Fiumicino Airport (aka Leonardo Da Vinci) -- breaking out new signage throughout the entire complex, a 'reorganization', which means, a new villa for the head of the ADR -- most likely in the Maldives, paid for in cash (not his own).
It's no wonder that a woman rushing to her plane commented that she was more confused than before, although the A, AA, B Terminals have finally been numbered (im)properly (for the rest of us): T1, T2, T3 and T5
Stating they've taken their cues from International Airports round the world, (and the befuddled Spanish-run Heathrow's Terminal 5 comes to mind), I'm starting to seriously believe that it is the number 4, rather than 13, that must be unlucky.

This October, grain prices went down a full 28%. Which means that pasta and bread prices went likewise dxxxx -- oh -- scratch that, UP by the usual monthly 4%.
Once again, I am happy to announce that food allergies have never felt so good.

Transparency International released its annual CPI (Corruption Perception Index) report finding that Italy ranks number 55, (1 being the least corrupt) just below South Africa, and 26th out of the 31 European countries (including those Eastern European ones).

And finally, I don't know who's doing the counting, as I've seen wildly divergent rankings in terms of Universities around Europe and the world, with Bocconi usually coming up okay on Business Schools, and Bologna or Rome faring well overall -- But, a newly released compilation states that no Italian universities are in the top 100 of the world's Best Universities. The University of Bologna checks in at number 187.
Is anyone paying attention to this stuff?

4 comments:

Dave514 said...

Francesca:
A continuing great Italian adventure at every corner no matter which way you turn. On top of that you can't get a decent education of how to find your way through the maze.

Sorry this isn't in Italian, but I
couldn't find a good lawyer to explain how to apply to a language school.

It's all so confusing.


I'm off at the end of the week to Dana Point.

cuz liz said...

Perhaps the missing "4" is the result of Chinese travelers. It is an inauspicious number in Chinese feng shui because it sounds like "death" in Cantonese.

cuz liz said...

Although, I'm not sure the Italians would go to those lengths to cater to one type of tourist.

Irreverent Italy said...

Well, considering that the Chinese are set to outnumber American tourists in France (the no. 1 travel destination, I might add)...I wouldn't be surprised!
But, alas, highly doubtful.

I think a better explanation is that they are planning to build a new Terminal, sandwiched in there somewhere, and, when it arrives, it will be appropriately numbered, Terminal 4.

Now see, even we have conspiracy theories!!!