Showing posts with label milan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label milan. Show all posts

September 14, 2011

at 3pm today...



There's nowhere quite like Milan, this familiar city which is a delightful mix of Piaggios, noise, Italian hotties, dirt & ridiculously expensive cafes...



But of course... there's also nothing like doing some shopping along Via Della Spiga too.. tomorrow we're off to the coast.. to a small apartment perched on the cliffs facing the Mediterranean. Bliss xx

September 15, 2010

milan!

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Missing the energy of Milan now that i'm back in my room finally. Time seems to fly by me & sometimes my mind & head & heart are in different places around the world.

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Here, Gucci has even their own cafe & the waiters all look like models. Yummy.

June 17, 2009

Venice




Duomo di Milano is still as beautiful as ever...



The friendliest & cutest dogs i've ever seen!



Enough of private sales... we head to Venice.
150 canals... 400 bridges... thousands of tourists..



It was so much bigger than i expected!



Cloudless blue skies & the scorching sun



Busy restaurants serving delicious pizzas.





Little footbridges.



Gondolas docked by the side are a common sight.



A quiet empty square.



We take the water bus to Pont di Rialto...



Tourists everywhere.... the bridge is so packed.





View from Pont di Rialto.. I love the sight of gondolas gliding up and down the canals.
Looking down, I could imagine Venice in its heyday as a maritime power... so much of has changed i'm sure, but its old-world charm is still present in the little waterways, the buildings.. the gondolas bien sur..



Venetian masks hanging off every shop..



Going towards Piazza San Marco!





St mark's Basilica





It's one of the most beautiful churches i have ever seen....



A last glimpse of Venice..

We heard stories of it being dirty, smelly, crowded, touristy... but so what??? It's Venice!!!
It's still beautiful in my opinion... and well worth a visit.

These days i'm running out of time... and my schedule is ever-changing.
I want some time to myself.. >_<

June 14, 2009

a note from milan :)




Buon giorno!
Milan is sunny & hot & full of tourists...
And Venice was just beautiful...
I'll be back tomorrow


December 29, 2008

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.

November 22, 2008

milano..

Milano memories.
One of my favorite cities.



I met up with Ignacio over a marocchino.. a chocolate cappuccino. How perfect can the world be??
An Italian to show me the little secrets of Milan! He's one of the sweetest and most innocent guys i know... I almost feel like a big sister protecting him from the big bad world. even though he's older than me lol.



We roam the courtyards of the castello.



Beautiful and serene... we are happy campers snapping away. In the second picture, he cannot stop giggling like a little boy. Stop shaaaaking please!



We stumble upon an art exhibition.



Then 5.30 comes and it's aperitivo time! Like happy hour, only better. You pay 6 to 8 euros for a cocktail and you get free flow of finger food like veg sticks, sausages, fries, pasta, pastries etc.



A sparkling Spumante.



Me being happy.



Duomo is still as beautiful as ever.



Only picture with no gypsies hanging around. I hate them.
My typical conversation with them goes like this:
Gypsy: Bella! For you! Free. You're my friend. (proceeds to tie a colored string round my wrist while i'm still clicking away on my cam)
Me: No.
(He lets go and the string falls on my jacket sleeve)
Gypsy: Look. It's on your jacket already. 2 euros.
Me: I said no! (I fling it to the ground)
Gypsy: Fuck you.
Me: Fuck YOU.

Ignacio patiently tells them he will not give money to someone he doesnt know, and that they should go and find a job. He also explains that I'm a tourist. 
LOL. I just tell him to teach me asshole, die, fuck you and go away in italian.



Dinner with colleagues... I order the caprese salad and eat too much olive oil as usual.



The most delicious orgasmic hot creamy chocolate with freshly whipped cream. Mamma mia.



Duomo by night... it reminds me of van gogh's The cafe terrace at Arles, does it not?



Went shopping the next day.



Got some CDG*H&M gems... i heard that the accessories were sold out on the first day of the launch!



At the opening of a new Alcott boutique, free drinks, booty-shaking DJ, hot models, I love the energy. Most european cities i know become a dead town after dark especially in winter. But Milan is the opposite. Everyday at aperitivo time, we had trouble finding a bar which was not packed and the streets started to come alive after dinner.



The streets of Brera. We stop at art galleries, museums, the Teatro Alla Scala and ignacio tells me everything about the art, the history, the music, the people. We would stop in the middle of the street while he explained the intricacies of the great composers or the differences between impressionism and modernism. I thought I knew alot and yet it was too little.

I learn so much about life, having dreams, not caring how people look at you, not being afraid to venture out of your comfort zone. I like having a good conversation.

And most importantly, that one's level of education should not have to equate to the amount of money consequently earned. Besides feeding the body, you have to feed the soul too. But how many of us can balance the two and find happiness in that?