I just posed a question on Twitter in which I asked "Is Los Angeles really so much worse than San Francisco?" There were two immediate replies from two of my favorite Twitterholics, Doug Cook of Able Grape and Dr. Debs of Good Wine Under $20.
In the spirit of Ferragosto, I pose the same question in Italian terms:
Is Rome so much worse than Milan?
I pose this way because the rap on Rome is that it is "caotica" and the center of the widely despised government (whoever is in power), while Milan is the go-ahead business center of the Italy that works.
I have my own opinions here, but I'll keep them to myself. For now.
What do you all think -- is Rome really so much worse than Milan?
For that matter, is LA really all that much worse than San Francisco?
Alcatraz photo from www.whewell-clarke.net/
LA Photo from http://thebeebox.typepad.com/
Is it surprising that I love LA and Rome?? Probably not. They both make me happy because they're completely open about how screwed up they are and that nothing really works properly. You don't get lots of righteous indignation when people criticize LA or Rome from Angelinos or Romans--you just get shrugs, oh wells, and another glass of wine!
Posted by: Dr. Debs | August 15, 2008 at 01:39 PM
Terry,
You're the master of the "controversial-post-to-get-lots-of-comments!" (I need to take some notes on that). And how could I not comment? I'm obviously biased, living in San Francisco as I do. I won't even bother to respond to that part. No, I'll do what every good person does: comment on a topic about which I know absolutely nothing. I'd rather live in Roma than Milano, of course, having spent almost no time in either city. How's that for an uninformed, useless opinion?
Posted by: Doug Cook | August 15, 2008 at 01:48 PM
Doug, thanks for the compliment (?). I'll wait for a few more comments to reveal my prefs to the non-Twitter community, but I have to ask: Just because you live in SF, does that mean you actually have to like it?
I used to live in Akron, Ohio, and I didn't care for it much at all.
Hm. SF/Akron. Is there a moral equivalency there??
Posted by: Strappo | August 15, 2008 at 01:52 PM
i lived in Milan for two years. Never lived in Rome but it's only 1,5 hours from my birthplace.
Milan looks ugly, Rome looks stunning. Milan grows on you and you may end up loving it and not wanting to leave it ever again. But when you have left, after a while, you wonder how you could have lived there. Strange feeling, that's what I've experienced.
Posted by: gianpaolo | August 15, 2008 at 02:37 PM
ehm, I've been to Akron too, as you might well know Strappo! Nice, but different league. Even though there's life there too...I got a film recorder in Akron in a crazy chinese restaurant where the two brothers that runs it along with their mom start to dance on the counter when the mom leaves the restaurant, and it gets very hot!
Posted by: gianpaolo | August 15, 2008 at 02:41 PM
Gianpaolo, Strappo understands about Milano. That's how I felt after I left Akron in 2000. I have not visited since.
That Chinese restaurant sounds great. Where the hell was it? The one near where I lived kept getting closed down because they were always substituting chicken with cat.
Posted by: Strappo | August 15, 2008 at 02:49 PM
I prefer Rome.
Posted by: tirebouchon | August 15, 2008 at 04:07 PM
I love both cities.
The trick with LA, is that you have to enjoy driving. Whether by motorcycle (lane spliting and SPECTACULAR desert canyon roads), or by convertible, (beach cruising, Sunset Strip cruising, and tanning in traffic) LA will always entertain. I love SF not only for it's beauty, but that you can walk pretty much anywhere you want to go. I've also found that it is far easier to find really good food in SF than LA.
Posted by: Biker Joe | August 15, 2008 at 05:50 PM
I'm a walker, not a driver. Wish I had the bucks to afford living in SF. Anywhere that's oh, up to a 40 minute walk away, I'm fine. It did take some time, but I've fallen in love with the place.
LA? Got my two closest friends there & I can crash on their sofas, but I still don't have a running route in those neighboorhoods-- they're out in the Valley, though, I admit.
Posted by: David J | August 15, 2008 at 06:24 PM
--NeighBOORhoods, LOL. PS, don't know bout Milano- Roma, I think you cd ask an analogous question about Madrid- Barcelona...?
Posted by: David J | August 15, 2008 at 06:26 PM
What about Rome & Milan, David?
Also, why did it take some time to "fall in love" w/ SF? I thought the place was supposed to inspire instant adoration. (I love looking at Alcatraz all day!)
Posted by: Strappo | August 15, 2008 at 06:27 PM
that Chinese restaurant is a few minutes by car from the West Point Market. We went there with the shop's staff after in store tasting. I'll try to find the video, I never published it because there is a bit were my importer's sale rep is slapping a shop assisten's bum...
Posted by: gianpaolo | August 16, 2008 at 03:06 AM
Facile,,,,Roma e San Francisco...
Posted by: michele colline | August 17, 2008 at 04:16 AM
Terry!
ROME! A thousand times ROME. You know this already you are playing with my brain!
Posted by: Sarah Newton | September 05, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Heh heh heh.
I agree. It's like the old NY/LA question in the US.
Or the London/Manchester one in the UK.
Posted by: Strappo | September 05, 2008 at 11:04 AM