Milan in the sunshine this time!

I already took you to Milan once, but it was Winter and freezing cold...so what's better than a beautiful  and warm Saturday in September?

After a 2 hours' train trip and a short underground ride, I took a long walk through the city centre..... The picturesque area of Navigli....

...The Sforza Castle....

The Cathedral Square and its shopping arcade, La Scala (world renowned opera house) and last but not least Via della Spiga, one of the most prestigious and upscale shopping streets...

La Rinascente, sort if Italian Selfridges,where I had a refreshing break on its top floor and enjoyed the lovely view over the Cathedral....

..followed by a "Panzerotto", a pocket of dough filled with melted mozzarella chese and tomato sauce........3 different long  queues in front of the shop and people sit on the footpath biting into their twist of paper....could you believe this humble bakery had also a bodyguard?!

3 kilometers of shopping streets in the afternoon...I must confess you I couldn't wait to reach the train station, LOL!

I did buy myself only a leopardskin scarf...so empty-handed but full stomach, judging by the awful amount of sweets I had ........ 

Off to work magic for the 10 big blisters I got on my feet now! Ouch! :-)

Happy times!

I'm a bit overdue in posting a huge THANK YOU to my gorgeous friends Kelly, Sophie and James for coming to meet me twice during their long Italian holiday last July....

Despite some sickness due to the long drive and then to the altitude, we had a lovely day in the mountains, took a cable car and reached a farm at 1.897 meters....

..We enjoyed cooler air (Summer heat has been unbearable this year), some comfort food...

..and cakes of course! :-)

How nice to be able to chat with Sophie this time, she's growing so fast!!!

Then one afternoon they came over for a BBQ, joined by Kelly's parents, cousin and Italian uncle!
Sophie had fun meeting some of our pets..and it looked like she enjoyed  her food too! Never seen a 19 months old snapping at pork ribs as she did, bless her!

A great time was had by all... no matter the language...coz my garden is "a place where friends meet", as the title of this blog says!

The erudite, the red and the fat..Bologna!

The first time I went to Bologna (150 km, 1,5 hours drive from Venice) was some years ago for changing a handbag at the Burberry boutique, a deal made on their official website..it was such a great deal that it arrived with the knight pattern upside down! So I promised myself I'd have returned one day with no hurry (but wouldn't have bought anything so expensive on the internet anymore, LOL!)

..and yesterday that day came...I took a very pleasant stroll in the sun, still around 35°C, quite extraordinary considering that it's already mid-September!
Home to oldest university in the world (for which it's called "the erudite"), Bologna is a homogenous mixture of monuments and architectural examples (medieval towers, antique buildings, churches and the layout of the historical centre)
It is also called "the red", because of the colour of its roofs and pretty houses, which keeps alive the memories of medieval age.... It ranks as one of the top cities in terms of quality of life in Italy.. And the lenght of its porticoes is 44 km! You don't certainly need an umbrella when it rains!

As soon as you step into the hystorical centre you are wrapped in a vintage atmosphere, like you were still in the 50s (people riding a Vespa or Lambretta and wearing a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarer or shops' displays)...

My eyes were caught by some vintage movie memorabilia on a stall... our worldwide famous Sophia Loren ..who got mummified after a plastic surgeon and still looks the same, ha ha!)

...and Alberto Sordi, simply the best, even in his rudest gesture! Love it, ha ha!

..Bologna the fat, because of its tasty gastronomy...

..who doesn't know Mortadella???

A large cold cut made of finely ground pork,salt, anise, pistachios, peppercorns, coriander and wine, which incorporates small cubes of pork fat......and Tortellini???

I did find very weird these phone boxes, soooo British-looking..they were advertising an English course...there's something fishy going on here......and finally Piazza Maggiore, the heart of the town..
I had a great day in this very lively and cosmopolitan city, I do hope you enjoyed your visit too!

Going local...

You already know that "the middle of nowhere" (the place where I live) is only 10 km far from Venice, but it's also only 1 km far from the pretty setting of Riviera del Brenta, a group of villages and green areas lying along the ancient bed of the river which joins Padua and Venice. Its golden era goes from the 16th till the 18th century, when it was a luxury holiday resort for the rich and noble families of Venice and its main features are historical mansions, lush gardens and weeping willows soaking into the currents of the river.

Today a boat parade took place, the "Blooming Riviera".....

It re-enacts an historical episode, happened in the year 1574, when Henry III, King of France, descended along the river to meet the Doge of Venice...

Honestly I have no idea how these chaps could cope with the heat, they were probably sweating under those heavy velvety outfits and wigs, even if they were waving pretty lace fans or holding a parasol....

Many vessels and parade boats with rowers, spear carriers and musicians...

Some lovely (NOT) Venitian songs as background music...

And after getting some free tattooes (1 bra's strap, watch, clutch bag's strap and sunglasses of course), as the host said......

CIAO FIOI!!! :-)

*Venitian dialect for "Bye guys"

Vintage overdose...

WHEN : Sunday 30th January
WHERE : Piazzola sul Brenta in the nearby of Padua, in front of this majestic "farmhouse" of the mid-17th century
WHAT : one of the largets vintage market in Northern Italy, with a wide selection of antique furniture, vases, camera, records, books, radios, prints and paintings, jewelry, clocks, pottery ans military stuff.
WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE:
pre-blogging era.....

...a place where a lot of you would have had a rummage..buttons, buttons and buttons!

...Isn't this pram cute?!

..As it wasn't enough wandering around the village and the Villa, there was also a huge disused warehouse...for the grand total of 1200 stalls!

..Tins :-) ...this picture is a reminder for my mum on how to display lovely stuff instead of letting it getting rusty in the garage ;D...

...the stall of mum and dad's friend...he said that had sold toys for over € 3.000,00.....

...and a bit of lace for you.....

MOST WANTED ITEM OF THE DAY : a plaster Madonna statue..but € 80 was a bit much according to my tiny purse :D

BARGAIN OF THE DAY : these 2 sets of glasses ...they were € 60 in the morning and came home for only € 40 in the afternoon :-)

NOTE : Probably one of the most freezing cold days of this mad winter.....Silly girl, remember your hat and gloves next time! Bbbbrrrr!

Milan!

Do you remember the lovely day I had at the horse festival with my cousin a few posts ago?!..well it was exchanged for a fabulous shopping Sunday in Milan....
WOOOOO-HOOOOO!!!!!! ..after all aren't Italians worldwide famous for "spaghetti, pizza, &..mafia?", ha ha!
270 km and a 2 hours' drive later we got into the famous Piazza Duomo, where the Cathedral has been obscured by a majestic tree and a temporary Tiffany jewellery for the delight of hordes of Japanese tourists ....................

...had a hot coffee in front of Ladurèe, still shut...........

...and headed towards la Rinascente, the Italian correspondant for Harrods and Selfridges..shame that it was even more expensive!

...We popped into the 1st Italian Gap store, which was opened a few days ago..pure cr*p :-)
...anyone for candy canes???

..Lady Gaga, who was holding 2 concerts, was in Armani...can you spot her???

...and finally we got into the boutique district ....aaaaaahhh...pure bliss!!!!!!!

Via Monte Napoleone.............. ...my favourite display was in Dolce&Gabbana, were the 2 clever men (mmh not sure about their virility:-) had paid a tribute to their beloved Sicily with Marzipan fruits and fico d'India........
..Via della Spiga....look at the themed lights!

...Here we risked to get frozen, after queueing up for more than 30 minutes in front of Moncler boutique :-) .....................

..Then we walked a little further until Porta Venezia for some last minute shopping....
..but didn't look like these at the end of our day.................. ...and neither didn't need a car like this for carrying our shopping...............

..we took the underground until the car park, before the snow could block us in the land of sin and temptations...

........especially for my purse ;D