I visited Florence last month and I loved the city but...

... I didn't like the airport I flew into!

I flew to Pisa airport, which is in Tuscany, about 1.5 hours from Florence. I used some "bad" airports in the past, but I have NEVER flown to an airport which is so disorganised like Pisa. I mean, this is Europe, Italy, this should be working fairly well but not in Pisa!

Basically, I managed to miss my flight from Pisa back to London due to following facts:

1. They don't call outgoing flights at Pisa airport - you actually have to keep checking the monitor all the time (apparently, most airports in Italy don't call outgoing flights - i.e. boarding, last call, etc.).

2. I hated the airport inside, past the security point. There is one monitor ONLY which shows the flights, the passport control is on a different floor just before the actual boarding gates, and I must have actually missed the flight because a group of Moroccan citizens needed their passports checked in so much detail that it took forever to go through the passport control. Italian passport control officers were SO slow, it's like they use different watches to measure time!

3. I could actually see the EasyJet gate personnel from my queue and yet none of them actually came to the queue to ask if some people were flying to London. It's truly shocking, I've never seen such badly organised airport.

Ok, yes, you might say "well, it's partly your fault, why didn't you ask to go in front of the queue?" or, "why didn't you keep checking the monitor", etc. I should have perhaps but I had no idea how bad it's going to be.

I have to say that I was lucky to get onto the next EasyJet flight to London Gatwick, which was about 1 hr later than the flight I missed. Full points to EJ for letting me change the flight, I had to pay €60 change fee but better than buying a new ticket to London...

Nevertheless to say, I will NOT be flying to Pisa again unless absolutely necessary :)

30 days free Navigon SatNav navigation for Symbian OS

Navigon is currently offering a 30-day full European Sat Navigation for Symbian OS phones. You can download it from www.navigon.co.uk. It's about 2GB in size so prepare for a lenghty download if your net connection is slow. I've used Navigon software in the past, mainly on my car Sat Nav (Fujitsu Siemens Pocket Loox). I liked the interface although the navigation was a bit "iffy", things have moved a lot since then - I have never updated my maps on PocketLoox since Navigon charge arm and a leg for their maps updates. I think it's ridiculous to charge that much considering that Nokia provides free maps and you just pay for the actual navigation (which, to be honest is still quite pricey I think).

I am going to give this Symbian's Navigon edition a go, hopefully things have improved since the edition 6.0. By the way, this is Mobile Navigon 7.0 edition.

Nokia OVI store application now available for download on S60 phones...

The title says it all. Go to Download! app on your phone and install OVI store app. I just did it on Nokia E71 and it works well - a bit slow to be honest on GPRS (3G is quite poor here at work) but I'll try it on WiFi tonight at home. Nicely integrated app, finally Nokia is realising that ease of use is as important as the functionality of device - for us techies, it's ok because we will probably figure it out anyway but give it to Joe Bloggs out there and they will simply just "not bother with it"...

Here is a link to Nokia OVI, try it out, it's a good service: www.ovi.com

I think I am buying a "proper" motorbike...

So, another post about motorbikes. I know, it's getting a little bit boring but I thought I would say that I am buying a motorbike. I've decided to go for Kawasaki Versys. I didn't really spend that much time thinking about it but I've read a few reviews and have seen the bike in the showroom. It looks nice and it's a good bike for the "beginners" (although I have been riding a scooter for a while now). Here is the photo of bike I am getting:




I inherited Aprilia Scarabeo scooter from my brother in law which I really enjoyed riding for the past 2 years. It's one of these so called Maxi Scooters. I haven't ridden many but I like Scarabeo's, they feel very nice on the road, almost like a big bike. They are not very fast (I've been riding 125cc) but it will get you from A to B in comfort and style. And, you don't really need speed in London, where can you really ride faster than 40mph in C.London? It's like impossible unless you really want to hurt others and yourself.

So, I am recommending Scarabeo and will let you know how I get on with the Versys...

DAS (Direct Access Motorbike Licence) and Motorbike training in London...

So, here we go! The very first post on my new, shiny blog. It's long overdue considering I have been working in the technology sector for a long time now. However, my first post is not about technology, it's about motorbikes and the training with the guys from the OffTheCurb motorbike training school.

Firstly, I would like to brag a little bit about passing my DAS test - yes, I am now fully qualified to ride any motorbike of any engine size and transmission. That includes electric motorbikes but I don't think I will be venturing onto those any time soon (although this Californian company sounds promising but it's still way too expensive to own a decent one).

Let me start with thanking the guys from OffTheCurb school for providing a very good training indeed. I think Fred, Pete, John and the others have done a good job of training the new riders. I had a feeling they cared which is quite important in that business. Fred is a legend, great sense of humour (he actually addressed me most of the time using my friend's name who did the same training a few weeks earlier!), however, I didn't mind, it was all towards a good cause :)

I captured a photo of Fred (middle), Douglas (left, my fellow trainee rider, great guy) and myself after we passed our test. You can see we are pleased with the result ;)




The new DAS test consists of 2 parts: test centre day (basically, going through the manoeuvres such as U-turns, avoidance, emergency braking, etc.) all under exam conditions AND the road driving day where you ride on the main roads for around 40 minutes accompanied by a DSA examiner. The guys from OffTheKerb are very knowledgeable and should be able to get you through the exams with no problems.

Anyway, that's enough for the first post I think.... If you want to contact OffTheKerb, their web address is www.offthekerbmct.co.uk. Their offices are in Fulham (London) but the main training site is in White City, across the road from BBC centre. Great location if you live in Central or South/West London.