High flyers

As you can imagine the high-flying jet-setting fast paced life of your coffee scribe is champagne and coffee all the way. With tongue firmly in cheek I'm writing at the 1 star hotel that the budget allows. Wih amenties like no iron, two flights of stairs and free breakfast until 9:30 am (but extra between 9:30 and 10:30) we are really living it up in the fashion mecca of Milan.

Travelling companion Nick Wolski is pictured above window shopping at Prada in the centre of Milan.

Nick would have been able to afford to buy any of these bags had he not just drank the most expensive beer of his short life. At $19 for a schooner he won't be having too many at that bar. I was lucky, my 250ml of water cost just $7. When you think about that it makes water $28/litre (compared to petrol at just $1.20/litre.) We asked the server why the drinks were so expensive: her simple reply "This is Milano".

Here's Nick earlier at the Coffee Fair eyeing off rather more coffee than he can drink.