All off, last stop.

All off, last stop!

Our last destination was Milan. On the bus ride over from Venice, we stopped at Belvast which was such an interesting experience! At first I was just anxious o get to Milan, however I'm so glad we made this stop! Belvast produces Hermes suits and alot of other high-end brand suits for men and women. We toured the entire factory and it was so lovely to see the owners so passionate about what they do. We learned that there are about 300 workers and about 300 full suits are produced everyday. Ha, the factory reminded me of what FIT looks like during term garment week ! Oh the good memories. Anyway, as we were passing through I was marveling over the special machinery that was used for everything like hemming, making belt loops, setting in zippers, linings, interfacings,etc. I wish I had access to these! The suits were so beautifully made that I was drooling and melting over them . I wanted this orange plaid one with elbow patches , ugh, True love! It was a really pleasurable and informative visit, and they even gave us books on the History of Mens Fashion. We all piled back on the bus, hit the truck stop for some vittles and went on our merry way.

We arrived at the Hotel Serena and were impressed at the chic lobby and glass spiral staircase. Also, we had a little cafe right next door and a nice little Italian restaurant across the way. Our first night we wandered around and stumbled upon a sushi place. The girls got me to like sushi while I was there! Yaydiscoveringnewfood! When we sit down, of course I sat in front of this waterfall, leaned back and got a nice rinsing !

Although alot of the girls were catching colds, getting congested etc ( including me) , we stuck it out and made the best of it!

My favorite appointments in Milan included Ratti( the silk factory), Zibetti Orsini, and Columba Leddi.We also visited some beautiful costume galleries and museums as well. Some times the tour guides were a little bit TOO informative , but I guess it's better than getting an unmotivated slacker!

At Ratti, the first interesting thing we noticed was the robot grass cutter. So cool! I guess it would be called a Lawnba or a Grassba instead of a Roomba. Oh the little things.

I was not expecting this place to be so amazing! We saw the whole process of silk-goods production from weaving the fabric, to finishing processes, printing, dyeing etc. This was especially exciting to me because I was able to see machines that in saw pictured in my Textile Science Textbook in action! It really makes a difference when you are exposed to these things! I witnessed Louis Vuitton fabric being woven- So cool! Another fascinating part was the printing area with the screen printing and digital printing machines. We were seeing Ferragamo and Louis Vuitton fabrics literally hot off the press.

At Zibetti Orsini, we saw more fabulous embroidery. Unlike Lesage in Paris, all of the embroidery was done by machine and not by hand. It was still breathtaking though! It is family owned and the owners were so sweet. They even gave us 2 huge bundles of excess fabric they had . I would've loved to take more of it home,but all of us were concerned about the weight of our luggage to begin with.

Lastly, one of our last appointments of the trip was Columba Leddi . What she does is truly unique. She scans nature ( I.e leaves, rocks, flowers) and also fabrics at the same time to get a textural effect, but she prints on nylon! Again, I wanted to buy something
from her store, but I was suffering from a case of Fundsarelow.

Since there was not much nightlife in Milan surprisingly , the girls and I had some movie nights where we stocked up on snacks and other things of the nom nom variety , so you know, we don't starve or anything.

I finally dissevered something in Italy that was close to iced coffee. It's called shaken espresso and it's prepared just like an alcoholic beverage. They take shots of espresso
, throw it in a shaker with ice and shake away. Then, asking for whipped cream was such a job! I literally had to describe it with a visual of me " pressing the nozzle down in a circular fashion " with the matching sound effect of. " qqqqqquuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuueeeee" , you know, the whipped cream sound.

Oh the highlights of Milan.

The last night , we all went out for a nice group dinner. It was then that it set in thatni have had the best time of my life and I really made life-long friendships with such wonderful ladies. We shared so much and grew so close, I feel like I've known them for years. Of course after dinner, we had to hit up one more chic bar. As per usual, we attracted a creeper named Marco ( go figure, everyone's name is Marco). Mind you, I was wearing wedges and I was probably about 6'3" . This man was like barely pushing 5 feet. Anyway, that was the highlight of the last evening. In the subway station, there is espresso machines and vending machines, and they usually have European brands. BUT behold, we found peanut M&ms in this one ( the Duomo stop) . At this pointnin the trip we were beginning to miss our good old American brands, so we were overly excited. Then as usual, natives were looking at us thinking " those crazy American girls, definitely from New York" . So predicable we all are.

Venice!

I think it is 100% safe to say this was my favorite destination so far. When Sarah and I walked into our hotel room at the Hotel Tintoretto , we opened up the windows and BAM, there was a canal with gondolas. Okay, again CANNOT BELIEVE MY LIFE RIGHT NOW.

To make life even better, on our way out to dinner, we made a lovely encounter with a sangria stand. Enough said. Honestly, the best part about it wasn't even the wine, it was the delicious fruit and the really nice lady that was letting us sample all of these smoothie concoctions. Its the little things that excite me.

We found a cute little outdoor bistro for dinner and I consumed an entire onion pizza along with alot of bread and olive oil, house wine and finally, GELATO. What else. C'mon now. After dinner, we went exploring, and wound up in a little passageway that brought us to the Grand Canal. Its safe to say that this was the most gorgeous thing I have ever viewed in my entire life. ( I've been saying that a lot on these posts....I've just been seeing such gorgeous things that I cannot even find the words to describe the impact that they've had on me. )

SATURDAY

As per usual, the day started with a cappuccino and an croissant...and a very mysterious Nutella imposter by the name of Nutkao.

From the courtyard of the Hotel Tintoretto, we were swept away ( well, not swept. At 9 am, no one is being swept, they are being dragged out of bed) by a petite Venetian woman with interesting pants. She took us for a brief walking tour of San Marco and led us to the Palazzo Ducale where we were passed off to another guide. We went on a little tour of the Palazzo Ducale with the most charming old fellow. My favorite part was when he was showing us the jail cells in the basement. I have to admit, he was my favorite tour guide just because he kept us really intrigued with his sly clever jokes. He definitely kept us exceedingly intrigued.

A few hours and a few cones of Gelato later, we went to all meet at the columns to take the "bus" aka ferry ride over to the Fortuny showroom & factory. Again, I was not expecting this place to be so nice. First off, we walk into the showroom and it feels like we're in a living room of a Martha Stewart Living magazine. Or actually the next step up from that. I don't really know interior design magazines, but you get the point hopefully. Before we even started looking at the legendary Fortuny fabrics, the guide took us through the "garden" where we ran into this fairytale like pool area with all of these precisely shaped hedges and such. Again, cannot believe y life right now. To top it all off, there were cute little children running around who were the owners children. The whole time I was hoping they would adopt me. Uhm hello, I wanna be spending my life living partially in New York and partially in Venice! I am a very lucky girl, don't get me wrong , but those kids are just oozing with excellence. The funny part is, as lucky and "spoiled" as they could be, they looked like some of the most well behaved children ever. Even the owners were so down to earth. Just goes to show you that people who do have it all can still be humble. It refreshing to know that people like that still exist. Anyhow, enough with my ramble, on with my recollection of the day.

When we began sifting through the multitudes of unbelievable prints that were being shown to us , I was melting inside. If they weren't over 300 Euro per meter at the least, I would've purchased the entire showroom. Words cannot even describe the fabrics, and neither can pictures. I feel so fortunate to be able to get my hands on things like this!

Immediately following the Fortuny showroom, we all went out on a group dinner right on the water . It was lovely...however if I leaned slightly too far back I would've been swimming with the fishies. No, but seriously there were no railings or anything. The cruise ships were going by an it was so unreal. Again, a postcard moment. The waiter must've loved us because he gave us after dinner liqueur on the house! Oh, how lovely it is to be a group of lovely lookin' American girls.

I don't know what was better...Fortuny or a sunset Gondola ride. I'm going to go with a tie on this one. Sarah, Jennifer, Nicole, Melissa, Tara and I all went out on two Gondolas with these two comical gondoliers who were an absolute riot. One was spewing with facts, the other one was spewing with singing "Thats Amore".

Sunday

Our free day in Venice consisted of being complete VIPS and renting out a cabana on Lido ( a beach in Venice ) and literally soaking up the sun. I soaked up a little too much , being that I am the shade of a perfectly good lobster right now. BEST DAY EVER. As I was laying on my towel in Ventian sand and jumping in the water of the Adriatic Sea, I couldn't even handle my life. SERIOUSLY? I AM IN VENICE, ON A PRIVATE BEACH, WITH MY NEW BEST FRIENDS, GETTING TAN, AND NOT HAVING A WORRY IN THE WORLD. Life is good.

Along with being a wonderful cultural adventure, a food tour, a wealth of information from the fashion industry, a growing experience and also somewhat of a vacation, this trip was really an awakening for me of what is really out there in the world and that possibilities are literally endless. Also, I have met some of the most wonderful girls and I truly believe that we will remain in touch forever. When I signed up for this trip I wasn't anticipating the amount of genuine friendship .

Finishing Florence with a bang!

In the concluding days of being in Florence, we covered ALOT of ground. Two of the most fabulous appointments were Salvatore Ferragamo and also the Scuola del Cuoio ( School of Leather) .

-HAPPY PURCHASE OF THE DAY-

I bought a Ferragamo "Carmen Miranda" shoe USB DRIVE. WHAT?!?! SO CUTE! 29 Euro . So worth it! I've decided its too nice for everyday use, so what I'm going to do is put all of the pictures and videos from this trip on it and keep it on my mantle in my apartment, therefore all the memories are backed up.....on the cutest little shoe USB drive ever.

Okay, okay, the USB wasn't the only little purchase I had. I walked into this quaint little shoe shop and tried on a pair of italian leather oxfords. THEY FIT. Mind you, I have a size 11 foot. Shoes NEVER fit me, or places just never have my size. These were made for me. They were only 98 euro which is exceptionally good for the quality of the shoes. Not to mention the super cuteness. MEANT TO BE.

I believe prior to that, I bought an ostrich doctors bag from one of the vendors infront of the Duomo. After the Scuola del Cuoio, I learned that the bag is indeed real italian leather, however it is not real ostrich. It is indeed "stamped " ostrich. Which is actually better in the long run I think because real ostrich looks too grid like, whereas mine has a nice scattered pattern making it actually look real?!? It makes sense if you get the lecture from the cute lady at the leather school. <3

Prior to the Scuola del Cuoio , we visited the Roberto Capucci Museum which had fascinating displays, but I think we were all more interested in the view that was in the garden of the museum. We were all standing there with our mouths wide open , gasping and asking ourselves if that was real life.

I was absolutely in my glory at the Scuola del Cuoio. I was immediately lured in when we were walking up the steps and the aroma of real italian luxurious leather was pouring out of the doorway. The woman who was showing us around was such a doll. I literally wanted to take her home with me, she was the cutest little thing ever. She almost looked like the mother from the Missoni family . ( Oh, speaking of Missoni, may I mention that I got a knockoff Missoni scarf from a little stand infront of the Duomo?!) ITS GLORIOUS.

Okay, back on track. We saw everything from the masters, to the apprentices, to the students. I was just fascinated with the level of workmanship everything contained.

After revising this blog entry, I realized that Florence was indeed a shopping extravaganza and I am 100% satisfied with every single one of my purchases.....including the many gelato splurges. Tehehe.

FLORENCE at LAST!

We've all been long awaiting Florence for a few days now, just because we were all extremely eager to cover more ground! Turns out, I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived! For some reason, I was not expecting much from Italy. I honestly had a mini heart attack when we arrived yesterday and started wandering around. First off, there is legitimately a Gelaterie on every corner. Basically , they're like Starbucks because they pimp out every corner. Oh, then Ben & Jerry's has the audacity to open up right next to a gelaterie right next to the Duomo. GET OUT OF TOWN. LITERALLY, GET OUT OF TOWN. Brand name stores feel sacreligious to me in Europe.

The first night we wandered over to this adorable restaurant right near Ponte Vecchio. After spending all of my money in Paris with rediculously overpriced food , it was reassuring to see an entree for 7 euro after seeing nothing that was under 15 in Paris. THE BEST PART OF THE WHOLE MEAL was the fact that first off we got a jug of house wine for 5 euro. I was hailing to the gods of wine. Second, the moment the penne alla arrabiata touched my lips, I was SOLD. Mind you, this is before I even bought my tiramisu gelato right on the Ponte Vecchio while watching boys put a canoe in the water. The sun was setting, and the view is dreamy. We also walked into the first leather store and I melted. That was it. I did myself in for a shopping expedition.

Today ( 6/21/2011) , we went on a lovely tour of Ufizzi with a professor from Polimoda ( the branch of FIT in Italy) . It was extremely informative and also a great review from Art History last semester. When I knew the artist, style, title or detail of the painting, I couldn't help but be like "ohhhhh yeah, check me OUT remembering this information from a Friday night Art History class. " GOME. Anyhow, besides that victory, we found an adorable little cafe in which we visited multiple times today because we were treated like goddesses by the lovely waiter, Eddie. Oh the stories.

Good thing for Eddie, he was able to recommend a lovely little spot for us to eat another fabulous unreal dinner with more cheap wine. Aka the only thing that really matters. We were literally sitting steps away from the Duomo outside while a woman was belting out beautiful opera. It made us all sit back and be like " check out our lives right now" . When I was eating my pasta tonight with the bolognaise sauce, I was having flashbacks of when my grandmother served me in her cute little 1960's kitchen in East Meadow , NY . Tears were literally coming out of my face. I think the Italy part of this trip is definitely more emotional for me because of my grandmother. She is my favorite person in the whole world, and she is the reason why I am so cultured and why I enjoy really old school Italian food. My grandma basically raised me since my parents were always working ( ofcourse I'm not complaining because I know my parents work so hard to give our family a wonderful and happy life, and they sure make my dreams come true) . Anyhow, I was always at my grandma's. We'd watch old Esther Williams movies, Thats Entertainment, The Ed Sullivan Show, Johnny Carter, Red Skelton, etc. Everything about my grandma's house was magical to me. It felt like she'd always pull out treasures and memorabilia from the past. I think this is why I am so interested in traveling, and the world and just discovering beautiful things. However, the most important lesson I ever learned from my grandmother was to just enjoy life. It was the most simple advice, however it made the biggest difference to my outlook on life. I am a very lucky girl to be blessed with such a wonderful family.

My life is a postcard and a movie all at the same time during this experience. I wish my eyes were videocameras and I could just tape every moment of my life. I think I want to upgrade to that ability in life.

Well now, tomorrow we have a bunch planned and it is going to be even better than today . It didn't happen yet, but I just have the funny feeling. You know.

Paris Bloopers.

A collection of slightly unfortunate and embarrassing photos that made my week.

And the winner is for the best Paris appointment is...

LESAGE EMBROIDERY!

AND THE BEST TREND FORECASTING COMPANY WAS:

TRENDUNION

Versailles & Eiffel Tower.

Last weekend in Paris.

Well oh well, this whole 9 days went entirely too fast. I feel like we just stepped off the plane at Paris CDG last Friday.

The last few days we really spent trying to squeeze every little last bit of Paris into our schedules. We hit Versailles on Saturday and it was absolutely marvelous. I mean, I knew it would be, but it was literally like we were approaching the heavenly gates. Well, maybe it wasn't like that because the second we were approaching the palace ground, the sky decided to make us feel like we were in an apocalypse. Of course for the 10 minutes we were outside waiting in line to enter the palace it was hailing, windy, raining and literally like *recite in stereotypical French accent* ze end of ze world . Oy vey though. That Marie Antoinette and her man Louis really had it all. I mean come on now, who really needs about 30 chandeliers in one room. THEY DO. This place was super overwhelming. The crowds made it a little unbearable, but we managed.

One thing I don't understand though. WHY MUST SOME PEOPLE THINK DEODORANT IS NOT MANDATORY TO GO OUT IN PUBLIC WITH. Not cool. I do not appreciate the aroma of B.O in my general vicinity. Had to just put that out there.

I was feeling a little pooped after that little rendezvous, but somehow sparked up the energy later on in the night to make a voyage to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night and go to the top. Julia, Nicole, Christina and I all went and I am so glad we did not leave Paris without the experience. The top of the tower was closed off due to the wind, but we were able to go to the second level. BRRRR. IT WAS FUH-RIDGE-EEEDDDDD. However, we got some pictures that were tres tres chic of our beautiful wind and rain swept locks of hair . I think the most magical feeling about being up in the tower was that it actually sparkled for us! We saw it twice, and finally figured out the method to its madness. Every hour on the hour for 5 minutes it sparkles. We saw it at 11 pm and 12 am. It really makes your heart stop. In a good way of course, not that tragic way. While we were up there, we were able to recognize all of the places we had visited during our trip, and surprisingly enough, were able to spot atleast 4 locations that fireworks were being launched.

ABSOLUTELY FAB!

Today, we went to the Paris Flea Markets. I must've been conjuring up some expectations in my head of everything there being under 10 euro or so, but I was wrong. I also didn't feel so safe. Couldn't quite put my finger on it, but something about that area was a little sketchy. Different grade of people, excessive graffiti, low upkeep on restaurants, vacant lots etc. Not going to lie, some parts of the trip felt like a horror movie. Especially when this old French coot literally punched Kristin out of her way while screaming some French mumbo jumbo. I was ready to leave at that point in time. That occurred within the first 2 minutes of us arriving in the general flea market area. When we actually got to the flea market, they had alot of antique furniture and house notions. I really adored the stuff, but I don't think AirFrance would appreciate my "special" luggage. I came across some really cute cat jewelry , however nothing I picked up was under 50 euro. Maybe I just have expensive taste ;) . Definitely a experience of its own.

After that little escapade, we all came back to Saint Germain and got some final macarons and baguettes for a quick lunch. We all went back and packed up our already overweight bags to get ready for our trip to Florence tomorrow.

Oh, but wait, I can't forget to mention our last dinner in Paris at Relais Odeon ( our favorite spot to eat while we were here) and how I will never ever ever drink a Black Russian again in my life. bad choice on my part. Should've stuck to the wine and I'll tell you why. I literally needed to have 4 pieces of bread to make sure my stomach wouldn't burn off. AND I ONLY HAD ONE CELEBRATORY DRINK! Jeez louise. Or should I say JEEZ LOUIS XIV. Lame, sorry.

Well then, we concluded our lovely stay in Pariiiiii with seeing "Midnight in Paris" at the Odeon movie theatre. So cute . It was actually 10x more awesome because we were recognizing the spots in the movie. We're Paris locals now. Well maybe not. They still treat us like dumb Americans.

Official Report: Macarons.

Being the dedicated foodie I am, I have made it my business to test every macaron I found here in Paris to every one I tried in New York. Have to admit, GO NYC, you are fabulous at your pursuit of creating the perfect parisian macaron. I really don't notice any difference in the ones from Paris , besides some more crazy flavors ( such as olive oil, peas, sweet potato etc.) and also just more locations to purchase them. In New York, the best places to go are La Maison Du Macaron on 23rd st & 7th avenue, and also the Macaron Cafe on 36th st & 7th ave or 59th st & Lexington Ave. In Paris, my favorite was Pierre Herme. Second was Laduree. I prefer a chewy macaron over a softer or more crunchy one. I've spent a reasonable amount of time and energy being a macaron connoisseur , and boy oh boy, it has paid off. Obviously I self employed myself to be one. If that was a real job, I would drop fashion design in a heartbeat. Who needs fashion when you can be a glutton? I have even purchased multiple books and recipes for them and even attempted to make them myself at home! The initial cost of all the ingredients and tools were a bit pricey, but hey, anything for a little bit of heaven , right?

Well, after a lovely lesson at the La Cuisine Paris yesterday morning , I now know the tricks of the trade. The girls and I have made lovely macarons if I do say so myself. I also purchased a jar of the lovely salted butter caramel filling. NOMNOMNOM. I guess I know what my summer plans are... making macarons.

June 16th, 2011

Ahh, it felt nice to get some rest last night! That exuberant relaxed feeling will not last long though! We went on a tour of Marais today with Paris Walks and we had an extremely interesting Aussie tour guide. He even made me get excited about the carving of chicken being roasted on one of the choir seats in a church. I also learned more valuable information today. Now when I walk into Home Depot and I see gargoyles, I will know that they are called "gargoyles" because they make a gargling noise when they extract rain water from the side of the church to preserve the stone. ALAS!....someone concocted the name "gargoyle". Although this tour was exceptionally interesting, we kept on passing chic little stores in Marais that were literally calling my name. No but seriously. They were striking up a conversation with me as I was passing them and asked me in a dull roar to come inside to browse. I politely declined because I did not want to be rude and leave the group. I reassured the stores in a calm tone of voice that I will indeed be back in a jiffy.

Sure enough, tour ended and I kept my promise to those stores. In fact, we found this excellent thrift/vintage store in which I spent about 60 euro. Hey, better than a sharp stick in the eye. Especially when you now own several adorable vintage blouses from el Paris. I don't know why I am tempted to add some spanish before every word. I presume it makes me sound more worldly.

Quickly following after the lovely little tour, we mosied our way on over to the Pierre Cardin Museum. First off, I was jumping out of my epidermis. Then, we quickly found out that the two lovely ladies who ran the place actually worked with Pierre! One of them must've been one of the models , because she showed us a picture of her in the 70's with one of the outfits! If only, if only , if only I lived during that era. Anyhow, it was absolutely excellent. I WANT EVERYTHING IN THAT MUSEUM. I also learned another interesting tidbit. Pierre Cardin also designed furniture with an ulterior motive in what it represented ( eh em , naughty things) . I guess thats what makes it all the better though!

After another action packed day, we decided to go back to Marais and eat dinner since it resembled the Lower East Side or East Village in Manhattan. We wound up finding a cute little place as usual and ofcourse, sat ourselves down for about 3 hours just gabbing about life. Oh the simple things.

Oh, by the way , we also ran into this darling little Chihuahua named Fiji. <3