Isango! is a travel and experience company managed to get an email into my spam box. It caught my eye amongst all the other virtual flotsam and jetsam because it was headed Ship till you drop. This is what it said:
“Treat yourself to a shopping expedition in Italy in this tour. Browse through the outlets of high fashion stores of Gucci and Prada and pick up some designer clothes at reduced prices. Discover the high world of fashion in Italy. Whether you want to update your wardrobe or reinvent your look, the tour ensures you get the best of what you are looking for.”
The home of the Renaissance and modern civilisation is now marketed as a shopping destination site.
Here is the in ternary:You are picked up from Piazza Stazione at the corner with Piazza dell’Unita.
Depart from Florence to reach the Prada outlet. After spending about an hour and half, proceed to the famous center The Mall. For the next two hours and forty five minutes, browse through the stores of the prestigious high fashion companies including: Gucci – Giorgio Armani – Fendi – Ferragamo – Y.S. Laurent – Valentino – Ungaro – Zegna – Bottega Veneta – Sergio Rossi – Loro Piana.
You can enjoy a snack at the pleasant Café in the Center.
At the end of the tour, you will be returned to Piazza Stazione at the corner with Piazza dell’Unita
But hey what’s so wrong with a bit of shopping.
Surely a better Italian shopping excursion could be organised in Milan – then you wouldn’t feel you were missing out on great art…
Still, tell me, is there any evidence that people ever enjoyed museums more than shopping? Assuming they had any money to spend on it, that is. Even heroines in Thomas Hardy novels are always being delighted as some ribbon or something they have bought.
Don’t forget, the Puritans all disappeared off to the New World while the Cavaliers put more outrageous feathers in their huge hats. A slightly simplistic look at British history, granted, but you get the point. No one likes a party pooper.
this issue is how to have fun without living a hamster wheel life or destroying the planet. that must be possible?