European Championships 2004
Budapest, Hungary

Again, it has passed too much time to write a day-by-day diary... But I still remember Budapest as one of the best Championships I've ever been to... I've had so much fun!!!

• First, we had guessed right which was going to be the skaters' hotel, and booked a room there: very convenient, because it was right next to the Stadium, so we didn't need to take any transportation, worrying about shuttles and such: we could just walk to the entry!
• Even if we had bought regular tickets, in the end Melly and I also got a press accreditation for Torino 2006 - much more fun to be able to access the press center, the mixed zone, etc... Actually one of our main job ended up being bringing water to our friends in the tribunes, as the security checked the spectator and took away all the bottles and such, while the journalists weren't checked, and we also had free water in the press room
• I took my job as a journalist very seriously, and spent the week running from one place to the other, interviewing people and such. My best victim? Maxim Marinin, whom I talked to during the men's free. I didn't want to disturb him too much, but he seemed more than willing to talk, and a couple of tims I was trying to finish the interview, he blocked me and went on chatting. Since we were on the tribunes, we only paused when skaters were performing, both to allow us to watch, and also because the music was so strong that we wouldn't have been able to talk anyway.
• Another lovely interview was with Albena Denkova, who sat with me and my friends on Saturday afternoon after the competition, and chatted happily. I have always liked her.. but of course even more so now... she's so nice and kind...
• I even interviewed successfully Tatiana Navka... I had actually gone up to her on the tribunes just to ask when she might be available to talk, and she got up and guided me to the concourse, and talked very politely with me for quite a while.. she was very nice!
• The organization was nice, but not perfect.. there was a lot of movements on the tribunes and passageways... and the security was sometimes more focused on people staying politely close to the wall, not checking other who actually blocked the sight to other people.. I really walked all over the arena, going back and forth between my seats, the press center, the press tribunes, the conference room, the mixed zone, everywhere around, actually... I never went up and down so many steps in my life!
• Melly will surely remember this trip in a less positive way, as she almost immediately fell ill. Thankfully we're in touch with the Italian team.... so we could come up to the team doctor and asked him for help. He was brilliant, and very polite. and gave her some medicines that had her ok again quite shortly... thank you doc! Where would we have found medical care without him?!
• Actually some of us had once to experiment one day with going to a pharmacy and asking some help/suggestion... Tamara (Manu's sister) was feeling bad, nauseous and throwing up... how could explain this to someone who didn't really speak much English? Again, being good mimes! She pointed to herself, and mimed the act, making a quite convinging "bleeargh" sound... they understood immediately!
• Having a couple of people with upset stomachs meant that we didn't ventured around looking for typical food as I hoped, but we mostly stuck to the buffet lunch of the hotel, where the upset girls could eat bland foods they fealt at ease with... but I was glad to discover it also had a lot to offer in the spicy, local fare... veeery good. It was a fixed price buffet, and we tended to eat once a day there, eating a lot and then skipping dinner.. usually at dinner we were at the rink anyway (and a bonus point of the press pass? In the press center they had some wonderful free snacks covered in cinnamon.. yummy!)
• I still remember with shock the Men Free, and Plushi's skate in particular... I was watching it from the press tribune, , sitting next to Filippo and Andrea Bongiovanni from the Gazzetta dello Sport... after the first jump he missed you could clearly see that his mind was out of control.. I remeber watching it leaning forward on our table, thinking "I can't believe this is happening!!"
• Navka winning was surely not a good point for this competition for me... that program was awful... him dancing in some points - a nightmare! It was as sexy as a boiled artichoke! Quite dramatic for me to think that these two might end up winning everything this season, if not more... aaaargh.. even more a pity, thinking that Albena and Maxim have one of their best programs ever!
• I had proudly brought a veeeeery funny chicken puppet I had bought last year in the post-Easter discounts.. as Fede and Massi had a chicken as a mascot... it was quite cute, I have to say!
• Babi and Mauri came up to Budapest to speak at a presentation of Torino 2005 - the next European championships. They arrived just for the last few days, and since I was spending very little time at my place and a lot of time running everywhere, I didn't spend much time with them. One of the last days, though, probably on saturday as I seem to remember that the banquet was after the gala on sunday, we had a lovely dinner with Babi at the hotel's restaurant.. Mauri and the rest of the team were sitting nearby, while we chatted and laughed with her. Highlight of the night for one of our group: we got Babi to introduce Filippo to her all-time myth: Maia Usova!
• I mainly met Mauri at the rink only in the press conference room, where he was usually seen chatting... Only once he came up to the tribunes to sit with us, and it was just one time when I was in the press area.. in fact he stole my seat! At some point wanted to sit down with my friends, and almost had to suggest him that the seat was not actually fre... hhhrm..
• Of course we were in one of the most beautiful cities I know, we spent a lot of time visiting it! We basically skipped all the practices, and spent a lot of time walking around Budapest (and once we had figured out some basics about the tickets, even the underground and public transports were easy!). I acted a bit as a guide, having been here several times to visit my mother's relatives... in fact my mum was quite jealous of me coming here without her, LOL! When we went up to see the Fishermen's Bastions, we even bumped into a group of Toroc people, whom we later would meet again at the To 2005 presentation...
• ... which we attended on saturday, with personal invitations thanks to the Olympic competition manager... well of course being a journalist for them also worked... it was fun, even if some of the speeches were a tad boring... they improved before Dortmund...
• After the presentation we also had a nice early afternoon with the Italian dancers, when we went out together to a very famous and beautiful café (Gerbeaud) and had some fun eating delicious cakes... I must have a photo somewhere, but I can't find it now!
• On monday morning we were already getting ready to come back home... In fact we had a train in the afternoon, but we had to leave the hotel room in the morning, and since the weather was quite bad, we ended up spending a lot of time in the hotel lobby waiting for a reasonable time to go to the station. We had quite a laugh when a very strong wind came up, and John Kerr (still wearing his kilt) was dragging some stuff to a car... oooops!

Ah, again a note on the photos: they're ugly for two very different reasons:
- first, they were taken with a non digital camera that was acting weirdly, in fact I threw it away after this season's trips
- second, once I had printed them I never had time to scan them.. so in the end, tired of waiting, I photographed them with my digital camera to have the files ready in less time... so these are all photos of photos!

Anyway, here they are with some random commentary:

before leaving we prepared a funny banner for Massi and Fede	But these cans have ver hard to open lids!		* ^_^ *
	My nightstand at the hotel... my pass, some puppets I threw, including Fede and Massi's chicken .
someone's blocking the photographers' way	but they win!	of course Sissi is first in line taking photos of Maria and Alexei	I did the whole group
Maxim gets interviewed .	with Alexei .	with Maria	photoshop?
Mauri's happy	during the men free, I talk to Maxim .	Karel is signing autographs already!	what it looks like, from the press tribune
He did well.. sigh...	I'm happy for him!!	Someone gave...	...him the most enormous crocodile!
	if only I ahd had my skates.. this is soo beautiful! .	we're having fun!
	Silvia chatting up Alexei AGAIN	We've just pointed to them the cool ISU videos, where they are shown as well!
The fake chicken	The photographer	In the tribunes	Soon to be mum .
Looks almost scary...	Radiant	Nice couple .	The so-called winners
I love them!	What does he say? .	Podium	Again
Chatting in the hall	Ilia and Galit	Navka again	I stopped Maxim .
Looking fresh	she got soooo many flowers	at the press conference .	having fun as well
	he's joking...	a nice couple .
posing...	chatting with Ale	funny face .	Mauri smiles, Zuccaro must have been hungry
interviewing Albena	posing -	dressed for the banquet	the Italians
Maria and Alexei AGAIN	Maxim (again, I know) .	Babi #1	Babi #2
My first victim	Babi introduces a fan	History!	We're going to have fun these years...