Happy new year!

Wishing you a 2014 full of love, travels and new horizons!

Roadsigns by Clet Abraham in Milan

For those who don't know, Clet Abraham, is a French-born street artist, now based in Florence who plays with the meanings of the roadsigns modifying them. The results are magical and unexpected, on the signs appear little black men, eyes, hearts, and anonymous signs come to life and become pieces of art. 

Clet loves Milan, here is possible to spot a lot of his works and he said that he like working in Milan because the city is very open and ready for this kind of art. 

Here you find some roadsigns I've caught walking around the city but keep your eyes open because there are much more and is always possible to spot new ones! I promise I'll add other!

Cupcake Couture, a paradise for cupcake lovers

Today I'll tell you a secret..about what I've just did. It's a sunny but freezing day and I definitely needed calories to go on...and thanks God I know the right address! The name of the shop tells everything - Cupcake Couture - and I come here when I'm happy/sad/ normal..actually when I think I deserve a treat :-)
This small shop is like a paradise for cupcake lovers (like me), it seems to enter in a fairy tale, behind the counter instead of Willy Wonka there's a lovely lady who will help you to choose the cupcakes, and you'll need her because choosing is not so easy, they all look so yummy!
The cupcakes are in different flavors, colorful and have funny and cute decorations. Today I've decided for a vanilla/blueberry one with a light blue frosting, opalescent small sugar balls and a sugar snowman!

They don't just sell cupcakes but also all this candies and sweets I've always seen in cartoons and always wanted!

Ok, since is sunny what I need is just a sunny place where I can take a rest and taste my dessert! Have I've ever told you that the park behind San Lorenzo's Church is one of my favorites? 

I'm proud to introduce to you my sweet snowman :-)

Love at first bite...mhhh...yummy!!!

End of the story and of the cupcake...psst..don't tell anyone, it's a secret!

«Milanesi non si nasce. Si diventa»

Today, in this gray and rainy day so typical for Milan, I want to pay a tribute to one of the most important Italian journalists, Indro Montanelli (Quotes here), who was born in Tuscany but who has been also a real Milanese because as she loved to say "People are not milanese by birth, but they become Milanesi" and I think it's true. I'm not Milanese and I find myself in Montanelli's words, I moved to Milan 11 years ago and in these years I've learned to know this city which at the beginning seemed to me crowded and impersonal. At the beginning was an hard work, similar to the one needed in a wedding, I had my habits and the city had its own, but then when we both learned to know each other, our love raised more and more. Every day is a surprise, Milan needs to be discovered slowly, 

In the following pictures you'll find some of the hidden gems that the city gives only to its true lovers (and to their friends). 

A cat hidden in a palace in Corso Monforte (I won't tell you where...it's a secret!). 

A two-faced lady in the Cappella Portinari. 

The statue of a skinned Apostle in the Duomo

 Indro Montanelli writing on his typewriter in the park he loved and where he used to stroll around

I wish you a...scary Halloween!

Actually in these days Milan isn't scary at all, today it was sunny and warm. I took some pictures in one of my favorites public gardens, the one behind the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio in the Ticinese district (I know..another post about this district but the park today was really heavenly!). If you're in Milan in these days, don't miss it. I suggest you to stroll around in Corso di Porta Ticinese, enter the shops, visit the church (since is Halloween i suggest you to visit the underground ancient cemetery alone...is quite creepy), and go to eat something to California Backery (its tables overlook the church) or to Cantina della Vetra, more expensive but really typical.

Street art in Milan

If you are in Milan, and you've decided to spend an evening in the canals area, the so called "Navigli", I highly raccomand you to go there by tram (number 3) from the center of the city, get off to the stop Carrobbio or Colonne di San Lorenzo and then walk. It will take less than 20 minutes, but you'll walk trough one of the most young and unexpected areas of the city: Corso di Porta Ticinese aka Via dell'Ironia (Irony road). Open your eyes and enjoy the graffiti, the paintings and the surprises you'll see on every corner! This road has been transformed by street artists in a lively creative/artistic/cultural experience!
I suggest you to go there before the  sunset, so you can see the graffiti, find the shops still open (here you can find trendy and unique shops...I'll write a post dedicated to the shopping in this area) and be to the Navigli in time for the Aperitivo, which usually takes place between 6 and 9 p.m.
I love walking trough this road, I find it inspiring and I've never seen anything like that..at least in Milan! These paintings in frame I've photographed today are brand new.
Ooops, another post on the Ticinese area, pls forgive me ;-)

Here you can find the official website of the road

War scars in Milan

During the WWII, in august '43, Milan was seriously bombed and has had even a beginning of a fire storm, like the one which destroyed Dresden. Not all the signs have been removed from the surfaces of the city, and strolling around is possible to find and recognize them. I think it's important to know it and to remember those terrible days, for the those people and for us.
Some of these scars are very visible and some of them even in iconic places of the city, but if you don't know what they mean, you'll even never notice them.
In the pictures you'll find signs leaved by bombs splinters on the main portal of the Duomo (can you believe it?) and on poles near the Central Station, and a mark of an incendiary bomb in Piazza Affari (which unfortunately has been covered with plaster).
Look for them through the city!

Milan is beautiful..when it rains!

When it rains all complain, but Milan has a special charm that only comes out in this weather. It makes you feel safe and protected.

This is me

Today I won't tell you about Milan, but about me, because I'm so proud to tell you that last Saturday I attended to a congress with my own poster.
This is the website of the museum which hosted the congress. The congress was focused on the archaeological researches done in the last 25 years in the province of Pavia.
And...this is me with my poster!

Come on let's talk about: public transportation in Milan

The public transportation in Milan is efficient and easy to use, you can take the tram, the bus and the subway with the same ticket. As written on the Milan public transportation (ATM) official website, "Urban tickets are priced at a flat rate. Extra-urban and cumulative tickets are priced progressively depending on the distance travelled between the departure point and the final destination".

The most used by the tourists are:

- The Urban Ticket: costs 1.50€ and has a validity of 90 minutes after stamping, but be careful because it is valid for just a single journey on the underground or rail network.

- The One Day Ticket: costs 4.50€ and has a validity of 24h after stamping.

- The Two Day Ticket: costs 8.25 and has a validity of 48h after stamping.

More info on the website.

Remember that you can't buy tickets on board, but newsstands usually sell them and in every subway station you'll find the vending machines!

Enjoy the city!!

Happy birthday Giuseppe Verdi!

Milan celebrates today the 200th anniversary of the birth of Giuseppe Verdi, I took a chance and went to greet the Master in the retirement home for musicians founded by him (For more information take a look to the website). Verdi and his second wife, the soprano Giuseppina Strepponi, are buried there. Verdi (along with Vivaldi) is considered the greatest Italian composer, he lived for a long time in Milan and the city still loves him so much.

Alfa Romeo MILANO!

Have you ever looked closely at the Alfa Romeo logo? What do you see? On one hand a red cross on a white background and the other a green dragon who eats a man. Curious? The red cross on white is the flag of the city, is very ancient and dates back to the 11th Century, in Milan you'll see it everywhere, on the main tower of the Sforza Castle, on the small green fountains...look for it. And the dragon? Is the coat of arms of the ducal families who ruled over the city between the 13th and the end of the 15th Century. Look carefully and you will find many dragons hidden in the city!! Here is a photo of the historical Alfa Romeo logo!

Naviglio Grande Antiques Market

I know this blog seems to be dedicated to the Navigli area, forgive me, but is so a charming area and it surprises me every day...like today. On the last sunday of every month along the Naviglio Grande takes place the Antiques Market, I was there and here is how it looked late in the afternoon.

A genuine place in the Navigli area

A place to go if you stay in the Navigli area (or planning to spend you evening there) and want to go out for drink in a very local place, different from all the other bars in the area. Here you won't find a buffet, they serve soft drinks, beer, wine and spirits and cook just sandwiches (tasty and cheap). The bar is small and quite anonymous, but the garden is big, and the atmosphere is relaxed and easy. You'll find people almost of every age. A place with an open space like this one in Milan is quite rare, it seems to be in a squat in Berlin! Don't expect a fancy place, but a very real one! Ehi psst...the name is Frizzi e Lazzi.

Beach bar in the center of the city

Yesterday was Sunday and my husband and I after an afternoon of exploration that I'll tell you in the next post, on our way home by bike, we stopped to drink a Mojito in a kiosk in the center of the city near Via Torino (not far away from the Duomo). If you are in the center of the city in the afternoon (it opens at 6 p.m.) tired of walking and need  a cocktail, go there! You'll find a very local and easy-going place, good cocktails, beautiful people and good lounge music, you even won't realize to be in a square right in the center of the city!