christmas in Milan

This christmas, i found myself back in Milan again.
But it certainly beat watching the Nutcracker alone in New York.



Hello Kitty meets Duomo.



Ignacio brought me to the Christmas market... where i went a little crazy.



Chocolates!



Oregano from Sicily... my god! Just tear and crush and sprinkle over pasta.



Marzipan confections... lovely to look at but to eat? Aargh.



I get another bottle of olive oil... it's a must each time i go to Italy. And some truffle sauce yums.



The market was held in the oldest part of Milan, amidst old buildings with many stories to tell.



And the most beautiful part of all? The traditional Italian presepi. Every church and household is bound to have these nativity scenes for christmas. It is the main focus of Christmas decorations in Italy. The baby Jesus is added on Christmas eve to complete the creche.



When the stores start to open once more, we make our way to Corso Como, the hippest street in Milan. And of course we have to visit 10 Corso Como.





There is a restaurant, art gallery, bookshop and gorgeous boutique, all housed within a secret garden not visible from the street.



I come across a 60th anniversary edition of the Little Prince in english, french and mandarin. Had to get it.



Just as i'm paying, Ignacio comes up and says with no hint of excitement, "Oh I saw Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in the boutique... u know them right?" What???
Ok this painfully hip place is now officially cooler than Colette in Paris.



We brave the -2 degrees cold for this... Italian hot chocolate! It's exactly what it is... just melted hot chocolate... so thick u can't drink it straight from the cup.



When it's freezing outside... I just want to soak in the heated pool and melt into the water and forget about winter. With some hot chocolate of course.