Milano, Italia
Things To Visit
Duomo di Milano - Piazza del Duomo, 20122 Milano, Italy
The famous cathedral. Of course.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - Piazza del Duomo, 20123 Milano, Italy
One of the world's oldest shopping centres, for shopping luxury brands or just 'window shopping.'
L.O.V.E - Piazza degli Affari Milan, 20123, Italy
Statue of a middle finger which is named Libertà, Odio, Vendetta, Eternità (Freedom, Hate, Vengeance, Eternity) which is assumed to refer to the 2008 economic crisis in Europe.
Roma, Italia
After my first trip to Rome five years ago, I tossed a coin into the Fontana di Trevi. Luckily for me, my coin toss into the Trevi Fountain really meant a return trip to the Italian capital as two weeks ago, I decided to revisit to the Eternal City.
I only spent 3 days in the city, but it was 3 days travelling solo, meeting other travellers and some locals, wandering the city, and eating ALL of the pasta, pizza and gelati possible. Because Italian food = happiness. And let's be honest, I was really just there for the food (and the colourful buildings, because PINK buildings).
Italian has always been amongst my favourite cuisines, and so I seized the opportunity to do a pasta making course with Walks of Italy, which was definitely the highlight of my stay there. The lesson was taken by an Italian chef in an apartment in Rome, who taught us different styles of pasta, whilst we drank an abundance of prosecco and finished up with a group dinner of the pasta we had made. The group laughed about going home with Certificates (because we were all pro by the end) and recipes to make all the pasta dishes again.
Aside from the cooking, I also spent one night at a language meet up, which was fantastic for meeting Italian locals. I was really delighted to have the opportunity to speak the language, having studied questa bella lingua briefly at home about 6 months ago. Everyone there was really friendly and kind, and willing to help me speak a few more parole of italiano.
things to do:
Food
Pane e Salame - Via Santa Maria in Via, 19, 00187, Roma, Italia
For their Italian cheese &charcuterie platters, accompanied with wine.
Ristorante Anni Cinquanta - Via Flavia, 3, 00187, Roma, Italia
If you love your pizza with a high crust - for their delicious Pizza Napoletana
Gelateria Della Palma - Via della Maddalena, 19-23, 00186, Roma, Italia
For their 150 types of gelato - you'll have a headache just trying to decide!
COOKING
Walks of Italy - Pasta-Making Class: Cook, Dine and Drink Wine with an Italian Chef
With many tours of Rome's greatest sites also available.
LANGUAGE
Tandem Aperitivo @ Rec 23: Piazza dell’Emporio 2 – Every Monday at 8pm
To meet the locals and learn some Italian.
London, England
London, what can I say about you. I went shopping and found my haul of designer fashion, stationary and branded health foods at Selfridges. So London, you made me feel at home. Sort of.
Some of the things I did:
FOOD
Bone Daddies - 7 Locations in London
Japanese Soul Food & Rock Music - a London Ramen bar.
Pizza Union - Spitalfields & King's Cross, London
You guessed it.. pizza. For superfast 12" Pizzas, eaten on long communal wooden tables.
Press London - Multiple Locations
For your fix of cold-pressed juices and other health foods (kombucha, chia, fresh salads etc.)
COOKING
Jamie's Cookery School - Unit 1, 1078, Westfield Shopping Centre, Ariel Way, London W12 7GB, UK
From Italian to Vietnamese to Indian, there's a wide variety of cooking classes available at this celebrity chef's school. I did a knife skills class, and learnt different knife techniques whilst cutting ingredients to make a Thai and Prawn Mango Salad.
Shopping
Oxford St - Shopping area
Europe's busiest shopping area with more than 300 stores.
Selfridges - Oxford St, London, UK
High end department store with a plethora of fashion collections, designers, and more. This is where I found my bonheur.
Covent Garden - Shopping area
Another shopping area with an abundance of boutique stores.
Château de Versailles, France
Capturing the magic of the Château de Versailles.
Paris, France
Paris, you're fine. Je t'aime.