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My wonderful little Parisian adventure.

fashion is fashion is fashion.

I haven't been able to update these past few days because I took just another weekend trip to Paris - you know, nothing special. Anyway, more on that later.

Its fashion week in Milan and I've already attended a show. Mr. Gabbana arranged for it. You see, Stefano is my homeboy and basically forces me to attend his events and such.
No, but really, my study abroad program organized the outing and a group of us were fortunate enough to go. And, no, it was not D&G.

I made sure to sit in the front row. I had to tell this child from F.I.T to back off. It was fine though, I told her that Miuccia Prada was doing a special book signing in the next room and free t-shirts were being awarded to those who showed up first. It was fantastic. Although only 25 minutes long (two designers), I was able to snap some great photos and absorb the poshness of it all.

www.internationalweek.it

I look in my school mailbox today expecting a package delivery slip, but what do I find? A flyer for INTERNATIONAL WEEK MILANO. International week is in reality, INTERNATIONAL YEAR. (language barrier difficulty?) It is a event run by Erasmus Exchange for foreign students, come me, that hosts "parties" most every night of the week. Typically, for stranieri (foreigners), the price ranges from free to 10 euro depending on whether you'd like the special drink offer included or not.

This week is AMERICAN WEEK. Today, Wednesday, is Old Fashion night. Old Fashion, a discoteca neighboring La Triennale Design Museum, is hosting an aperitivo. What does this include? Naturally: hot dogs, hamburgers, brownies, and cupcakes. Cocktail special: The Bronx. How utterly appropriate.
Let me note that the flyer pictures an image of a globe and on it, an American flag, the Empire State Building, a Starbucks coffee, the Hollywood sign, a basketball, a palm tree, the Statue of Liberty, and a Coca-Cola truck. Let me also note that the largest item on the globe in addition to the ones listed, is of course, a fat Big Mac. Far too giant for the proportions of the objects around it. Definitely not fit to scale.
What really hits the spot, is that during aperitivo, there will be a break dancing tribute to none other than Michael Jackson followed by a dj spinning tracks by Aerosmith, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M (??!), Nirvana, Whitney Houston, and Kanye West. I wonder what musically genius mind put that eclectic mix together.

So as much as it makes me sick to think about the fact that Americans are defined as fast food eating, caffine-guzzling, break-dancing fiends, it actually amuses me quite a lot. Well, mostly because its true.

per strada.

GQ , milan style.

The men in this city, specifically, have phenomenal taste.

Dressed to the nines, they fall somewhere in between the category of flamboyant businessmen and Armani runway models. Yet, they always manage to look very masculine and very sharp. Clean lines and perfect ratios make for an impeccable look. They are like works of art, really.

I wish I could take photos of each well dressed male I run into, yet I am neither the Sartorialist, nor at liberty to obliviously snap pictures and avoid getting glared at.

See http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/ and follow to Men Milan. Actually, the two pictured in "Guess Who's Coming to the Party!" are Milanese.

when in milan, do as the milanese do.

The third from the bottom makes me happy. People are so helplessly in love in this city.

moda.

Beautiful people, beautiful clothing, beautiful city. Vogue's Fashion's Night Out was complete with designer labels, the who's who of Milano, and endless amounts of champagne.

What better way to spend the evening than to snag a bottle of the bubbly and drink on the steps of the Duomo? When in Milan!

the riviera.

I cannot help but laugh when I think about lo scorso weekend and my trip to Cinque Terre.

Cinque Terre is comprised of five villages situated along the rugged coast of the Italian Riveria. It is quite a popular spot for tourists (mostly Americans) to spend time on the beach and hike, seeing as the region is unreachable by car.
After hearing that many students in our study abroad program were planning to visit there, my pals and I decided it necessary that we also partake. We took the metro to Stazione Centrale and waited in line, let me re-phrase...waited in crowded mess, to buy our train tickets. Naturally I asked, 'What's the cheapest ticket and can we get a student discount?'. The clerk answered, '12.5 euro, 7:20 am'. Done. We'll take it.

What happens next?
We miss our 12.5 euro, 7:20 am train. Naturally.

We were so impressed by our ability to act so savvy with our money, that we decided to celebrate the night before our trip. A little too much dancing into the wee hours of the morn' and its really no surprise you don't make it in time.
Nevertheless, we were able to take the next train (8:20am) and still get to Cinque Terre by noon. Tired and uncomfortable we arrived at our destination and headed to the water.

Schedule of day:
12:15 Arrive at Monterosso.
12:30 Slight disorientation, walk in the direction everyone's walking.
12:32 Realize water spilled all over the inside of my bag. My camera!!! My ipod!!
12:35 Bathrooms?? 2 euro. Nope, we'll wait thanks.
12:50 Explore village. This takes about 10 mins. Make multiple circles down the same streets. Still a little disoriented and upset about my camera/ ipod.
12:53 Sulk in corner for 30 seconds because my ipod refuses to turn on and my camera screen is fogging.
1:30 It has been half an hour and I've had a dark chocolate gelato and two lemon slushy drinks.
2:00 Beach time. Much needed. Hop into the clear blue water. I hope a shark doesn't eat me. Oh wait. I fall asleep in the sun for 3 hours. Somehow manage not to get sunburned.
5:00 Walk into town. Eat another lemon slushy. I cannot manage to eat real food. Too upset.
5:30 Still wandering aimlessly.
6:55 Train back to Milan. We literally get on the wrong train at first and the doors close on us. Bang on the doors and jump out. Close one.

Good news. My fortuna in Italy is benissimo. My camera and ipod work.

Thank God we planned a day trip because as soon as I got home I fell asleep and didn't wake till 15 o'clock the next afternoon. Viva Italia!

Some of these photos are taken at a pit-stop in Genova.