There was a time, about ten or fifteen years ago, when it seemed that every other urban and suburban bicycle shop was trying to be a "bicycle boutique". There are still shops like that, though, it seems, not as many as there were in those days: I guess folks who can afford such places don't have the time to go to them, so they shop online.
The "boutiques" did everything they could not to seem like bike shops. If anything, some of them tried to look and feel like the sorts of gyms young people with lots of disposable income frequent in order to meet other young people with lots of disposable income. Or they tried to look like the sorts of coffee bars that try to be like Starbucks without being Starbucks.
There's a certain kind of atmosphere, though, that simply can't be achieved merely with track lighting and espresso machines. Those things simply can't match a great entrance:
Some things, you can only find in Italy--Florence, to be specific.
The "boutiques" did everything they could not to seem like bike shops. If anything, some of them tried to look and feel like the sorts of gyms young people with lots of disposable income frequent in order to meet other young people with lots of disposable income. Or they tried to look like the sorts of coffee bars that try to be like Starbucks without being Starbucks.
There's a certain kind of atmosphere, though, that simply can't be achieved merely with track lighting and espresso machines. Those things simply can't match a great entrance:
Some things, you can only find in Italy--Florence, to be specific.
Yes, indeed, only in Florence. I have compared photos of certain places in Florence taken in the 1980's and others of the same places in the 2010's. All the entrances are different, everything changed. But nothing really changed: the Florentine blend of style, coolness, and good taste is eternal.
ReplyDeleteActually there are laws. You can't just slap up anything in Florence. The Florentines know that "a certain atmosphere" is something to be protected.
Leo
Leo--I have a vague memory of a prior visit to Florence many years ago. So, I cannot comment much on changes, as you can. However, there really is an atmosphere in the city that I have never seen anywhere else.
ReplyDelete