John: Writing From Home. A New Style.

There are four benefits to writing the blog from home after the trip. Firstly, I am not subject to the whims of technology and the frustrations of erratic internet connections, whilst at the time following a busy time schedule. Secondly, because internet access is easier, I can show you an image of what something that I see reminds me of, rather than try to explain it in words. For example, in The Pompidou Centre blog. Thirdly I can use pictures to describe feelings and impressions which are sometimes better than words. for example what was "bugging" me about Berlin. Finally, and most importantly, if I have more control over what I write, I hope it will be more interesting for you to read.  

 Also please be aware of the following. Events in some of the blogs may not be in chronological order. This is because although I have only been home for a couple of weeks, I have genuinely forgotten when or in which order we did things. Or I have chosen to put together two activities we did on different days together, because they go well together and make a more interesting blog. Also please be aware that Julie will no longer be editing my ramblings before they are published, so you will be subject to clumsy sentences, bad grammar, typos, and all the other characteristics of someone who hasn't or doesn't write much, except for hundreds of shopping lists over the years. If you are still game to stay with me, then the next blog is about our visit to The Pompidou Centre in Paris.

Blog postponed until oz

Paris city

I am about a week and two cities behind in my blog. I have a blog thing that seems to be corrupt, some dodgy connections, and I am having a really good time! However to Paris.

On our arrival in the Marais district, seeing the old scarred and bashed in walls and worn out steps leading to our apartment brought on a surge of all my Parisian fantasies and images in one intense immediate surge: climbing the stairs to be a conspirator in the French Revolution by storming The Bastille, (in reality just down the road), being the starving artistic genius whose works have become classics (I am neither starving or a genius) or an actual location of all the films I have seen where the S.S. round up members of the French resistance in the Second World War.

Open the door and you are outside into a typical Marais street scene. The streets are narrow with a typical Parisian skyline.

At night the dark, narrow, dimly lit streets look like a paperback book cover of an Amy Leduc detective story. Amy being one of my favourite fictional French detectives.

The streets during the day are lined with the little shops and cafes that Paris is famous for.

Photos.

At the end of the street in the Pompidou Centre. 

When it was built in the 1960s, it was a daring piece of architecture. Now, for me, it's just an eyesore, sticking out like a sore thumb. Maybe my intense dislike of the building is the result of my loathing of the way the man after whom the building was named treated immigrants into France when he was Immigration Minister, but that's another story.

So once we were unpacked, settled, and got our bearings, it was time to go out and about. First trip a look at this not very nice from the outside art gallery.

Medicis Part 4

So by now you will realise how important the Medicis were/are. I would recommend you look at Julie's Tripcast for Florence again. Basically anything you see will have a Medici connection.

But this family didn't just amass and possess things,they were patrons to scientists and artists who changed the world forever.

So that's it for beautiful Florence. Next stop, Paris

John: Gucci Museum. Little blog for a big name.

I thought we might do a short little blog, before looking at the Medicis, because you can't really understand Florence without knowing about this family. But to our Gucci outing.

We got off the bus at our usual stop and walked up the street to the main square. It's the street that has lots of designer label boutiques, and hand crafted leather goods. Julie bought another couple of bags from her favourite shop. The shop owners' status went from "shop owner" to her "little man" in Florence

A little further up the road we found some nice matching luggage to go with the yellow ensemble

But we didn't buy it.

Then a little FURTHER up the road we found the ultimate accessory.

We didn't buy that either.

Once into the Gucci museum it was time for lunch. I had a tasty bowl of pasta. It was very pleasant to look out over the main square whilst dining.

The museum was quite interesting even for me who is not particularly in designer stuff. I'll let the photos tell the story. As you look at them bear in mind that one Gucci bag was about the same price as the set of luggage shown above.

Of course there were the designer dresses made for the stars. Mortgage the house just to buy the label. I was surprised to see how slim Selma Hayak was/is

Of course it was exit through the gift shop. It wasn't very big, but it had a few baubles and trinkets to put a down payment on. 

It was a lovely little trip, and made a very pleasant change from all the classical stuff.

Medicis Part 3

So it's all done. All that's left to do is keep the company making profits over time. It seems the Medicis have been very successful at this. By diverting into merchandising they have kept the revenue stream coming in. 

There's books

Cooking schools

C.D.'s

The Florence soccer team are seen world wide via cable T.V. Note the team badge

And DVD's and Television.

The Medici family story started on Italian T.V. This week.

So perhaps now you can see why I said at the beginning those other families, compared to The Medicis, are mere begginers!

Medicis part2

So the company is thriving, and making super profits. The local market is sown up and the opposition disposed of. The only way to expand is to go national, then international. In the time of the Renaissance, in the fourteen hundreds, economic and political power was good, but just as important was religious power. So it was just as important for aspiring entrepreneurs to have someone inside the religion power structure. 

In renaissance times it was the Catholic religion. So it was good to have someone in Rome, better someone in the Papal palace. If that someone was the Pope it was the ultimate, for in those days, the Pope virtually ruled the world.

The Medicis had many Cardinals. One of them being Giovanni, shown below

The Medicis had TWO Popes. One of them, Leo X shown below was a real party boy. 

He was so busy spending the Vatican's money that he had to work out a way of getting some money back. So as any good innovative business man would do, he introduced a low quality high turn over line that would appeal to the mass market. Leo introduced the product of mass produced Papal dispensation. For a small fee (probably a large one) Leo would write you a document that would forgive you all your sins. No need for all that effort of prayer, confession, all that stuff. With one of Leo's products, you would get an instant, to quote Led Zeppelin, "Stairway To Heaven"

While all this was going on, marriages were arranged that would be advantageous to the family's fortunes. As that other pop singer used to sing "What's Love Got To Do With It? One of them was Princess Anna from Austria. The last photo is of Catherine Medici, who married a French prince. Catherine later became queen. 

Photos Anna and Catherine. 

So that's it. All the markets have been conquered. The power plays had played off, all that was left to do now, was to keep the company going to keep the cash rolling in. The last part of the story will tell you how the Medicis have done just that, for hundreds of years.