Auguri!
I am in California with my family for the holidays. I am going to be taking a quick Christmas break from blogging. Should be back before New Year's... Happy holidays all!
Buon Natale!
(Auguri is "season's" greetings, Buon Natale is merry Christmas. Basic holiday stuff...)
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Shopping Picture
On Sunday the 18th, I went for my last minute shopping down in Duomo/ San Babila area. This is the big Replay shop, I liked their Christmas decorations in the entryway garden.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Haircut
My friend Dariush getting his haircut at Mario's:
I walk past this place on my way to school, and I was happy to go in finally. Dariush was very happy with his haircut, and the price was right (13 Euro)...
I walk past this place on my way to school, and I was happy to go in finally. Dariush was very happy with his haircut, and the price was right (13 Euro)...
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
London Trip's End
On Wednesday morning, Miranda took me out to the posh parts of her neighborhood. Belsize Park has lots of cute streets.
And there are lots of lovely trees.
We had pretty traditional breakfasts in a "Coffee Bar" pub place. I had the vegetarian British breakfast: veggie sausage, toast with beans, grilled mushrooms and tomatoes...
And then we went shopping at Sainsbury's, where I marveled over the British foods, including meat flavored crisps.
My flight back through Copenhagen was delayed, so I was stuck there overnight... Luckily they put you up in a hotel... One of the fascinating things was the alarm system. The TV gradually brightens and plays soothing music...
And there are lots of lovely trees.
We had pretty traditional breakfasts in a "Coffee Bar" pub place. I had the vegetarian British breakfast: veggie sausage, toast with beans, grilled mushrooms and tomatoes...
And then we went shopping at Sainsbury's, where I marveled over the British foods, including meat flavored crisps.
My flight back through Copenhagen was delayed, so I was stuck there overnight... Luckily they put you up in a hotel... One of the fascinating things was the alarm system. The TV gradually brightens and plays soothing music...
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
London 5
Tuesday morning, after class, I went to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. There's a lot going on down there! The Olympic countdown clock...
This ship in a bottle on one of the plinths...
In the National Gallery, they had a few Christmas decorations up.
After a fiasco involving Southern Rail, I ended up joining Mew back at King's College. The student union has a few spaces, we were at the Waterfront pub for a post party with the history program master's students.
We took the 13 bus home, and saw the lovely lights on Oxford street and the like!
Yay!
This ship in a bottle on one of the plinths...
In the National Gallery, they had a few Christmas decorations up.
After a fiasco involving Southern Rail, I ended up joining Mew back at King's College. The student union has a few spaces, we were at the Waterfront pub for a post party with the history program master's students.
We took the 13 bus home, and saw the lovely lights on Oxford street and the like!
Yay!
Monday, December 19, 2011
London Part 4
Monday last, I spent the morning in class with Miranda (the history of medieval Scotland) and then headed to Brixton to meet up with Peter. I got the full tour of his neighborhood! He's got a lot of his work in his studio, I got to see the wide variety.
He's a part of the Artichoke Print Workshop, which we visited in the afternoon. It's a large shop with several serious presses.
Peter makes lots of trouble in the studio!
Miranda and I decided to grab dinner at Wasabi, a Japanese fast chain. I really liked the food, and the variety of choices was quite impressive. You can buy single rice balls or single nigiri or two-packs of little maki roll bites, adding it up to a meal, or large soups and large dinner plates or bowls or salads and garnish with some little stuff. Downsides: you have to pay for individual soy sauce packets (a few p.) and like many English fast food places, you have to pay extra to sit at a table, even though they don't really serve you or anything.
We also bought some candy bars on the side for our night at the theater... They were all actually quite good.
We were at the Aldwych to see "A Round-Heeled Woman" with Sharon Gless...
Another fun night!
He's a part of the Artichoke Print Workshop, which we visited in the afternoon. It's a large shop with several serious presses.
Peter makes lots of trouble in the studio!
Miranda and I decided to grab dinner at Wasabi, a Japanese fast chain. I really liked the food, and the variety of choices was quite impressive. You can buy single rice balls or single nigiri or two-packs of little maki roll bites, adding it up to a meal, or large soups and large dinner plates or bowls or salads and garnish with some little stuff. Downsides: you have to pay for individual soy sauce packets (a few p.) and like many English fast food places, you have to pay extra to sit at a table, even though they don't really serve you or anything.
We also bought some candy bars on the side for our night at the theater... They were all actually quite good.
We were at the Aldwych to see "A Round-Heeled Woman" with Sharon Gless...
Another fun night!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
London Part 3
Sunday was a busy day. Almost impossibly so! We headed first to the Natural History Museum, which is famous for its dinosaurs. A pretty good exhibit. The museum is overall a little stuffy, but very beautiful. The outside is quite nice, also. I have more photos of it on my flickr, just click through on one of the pictures.
After leaving we received some free cough drops from this guy in a Dickensian costume. Miranda says Dickensian=Christmas in London.
The Science Museum is right next door. I feel like it's larger than the Natural History Museum. The hit exhibit for both me and Miranda was the 17th century science exhibit. This picture is a demo of an Archimedes screw.
Then we headed to Harrods, where we had tea and appetizers at Caffè Espresso, which is on a balcony in the food halls.
We walked over to Hyde Park, which was having Winter Wonderland. Whoa, it was packed, and huge. We actually didn't do the shopping side, just the carnival side, which was actually huge and great people watching. There were multiple fun houses, and that was our choice of ride. We picked the "Alpine Hotel", which had traditional fun house stuff (mirrors, moving floors) and then some odd vignettes of "being in the hotel". An odd bar scene with a moving floor, spinning platforms with spitting fountains, a fake elevator, and spinning barrel room. It was great! Here's Miranda at the very beginning of the fun house.
And then we headed to Camden to do a little last minute shopping.
It started raining like crazy, so we had a really good Chinese dinner before we headed home. We walked to Miranda's place through the Mews, which were back streets and stables back in the day.
After leaving we received some free cough drops from this guy in a Dickensian costume. Miranda says Dickensian=Christmas in London.
The Science Museum is right next door. I feel like it's larger than the Natural History Museum. The hit exhibit for both me and Miranda was the 17th century science exhibit. This picture is a demo of an Archimedes screw.
Then we headed to Harrods, where we had tea and appetizers at Caffè Espresso, which is on a balcony in the food halls.
We walked over to Hyde Park, which was having Winter Wonderland. Whoa, it was packed, and huge. We actually didn't do the shopping side, just the carnival side, which was actually huge and great people watching. There were multiple fun houses, and that was our choice of ride. We picked the "Alpine Hotel", which had traditional fun house stuff (mirrors, moving floors) and then some odd vignettes of "being in the hotel". An odd bar scene with a moving floor, spinning platforms with spitting fountains, a fake elevator, and spinning barrel room. It was great! Here's Miranda at the very beginning of the fun house.
And then we headed to Camden to do a little last minute shopping.
It started raining like crazy, so we had a really good Chinese dinner before we headed home. We walked to Miranda's place through the Mews, which were back streets and stables back in the day.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
London Part 2
Miranda's neighborhood is posh but a little quirky. Walking out Saturday morning we saw a guy in a Halo costume.
We went down to Brick Lane area, to head to the Water Poet Christmas Fair. The Water Poet is a large multi-bar pub, we had really great mulled wine and shopped a little. One cute booth had teacup candles.
There were tonnes of shops, flea markets, and Christmas markets around. One of the vintage shops had lovely old uniforms.
We met Peter down at the London Bridge underground and went to Borough market, an old Victorian market. We headed along the Thames and popped into the Tate Modern. The turbine hall had a Tacita Dean video exhibition. Not in love with it.
We crossed on the Millennium Bridge.
Over to St. Paul's... The shopping center next door has great views of the dome of the church.
And some fascinating stairs.
Peter and I went out to dinner in Chinatown. It was quite yummy! Hot deep fried tofu with chili and salt and pepper. After dinner I made it home to Mew's without too much getting lost. I figured out what "subway" means in London...
An under-pass for pedestrians. And this is pretty much what the street signs look like in London...
We went down to Brick Lane area, to head to the Water Poet Christmas Fair. The Water Poet is a large multi-bar pub, we had really great mulled wine and shopped a little. One cute booth had teacup candles.
There were tonnes of shops, flea markets, and Christmas markets around. One of the vintage shops had lovely old uniforms.
We met Peter down at the London Bridge underground and went to Borough market, an old Victorian market. We headed along the Thames and popped into the Tate Modern. The turbine hall had a Tacita Dean video exhibition. Not in love with it.
We crossed on the Millennium Bridge.
Over to St. Paul's... The shopping center next door has great views of the dome of the church.
And some fascinating stairs.
Peter and I went out to dinner in Chinatown. It was quite yummy! Hot deep fried tofu with chili and salt and pepper. After dinner I made it home to Mew's without too much getting lost. I figured out what "subway" means in London...
An under-pass for pedestrians. And this is pretty much what the street signs look like in London...
Friday, December 16, 2011
London Part 1!
London is a great city! The Christmas decorations were out in full swing when I arrived. I met up with Miranda in Trafalgar Square, where there were carolers alongside the Christmas tree from Norway.
Covent Garden was just awash in glitter, giant ornaments, and lights.
The evening activity for my arrival was to check out the National Portrait Gallery. All the national museums in London are free, which is awesome.
Miranda loved this statue of Victoria and Albert in Norman costumes. Overall, I quite like the Portrait Gallery. It's a good idea. While not all the portraits are compelling, they are at least interesting. If you are in London, it is an easy stop, and I would put it on the list. Bonus, late hours on Friday!
We had dinner at Fire & Stone, where I had a Thai pizza that was quite good and spicy. Then we headed back to Miranda's. Her apartment is in Belsize Park, a really nice neighborhood. It's a small place but quite cute!
Covent Garden was just awash in glitter, giant ornaments, and lights.
The evening activity for my arrival was to check out the National Portrait Gallery. All the national museums in London are free, which is awesome.
Miranda loved this statue of Victoria and Albert in Norman costumes. Overall, I quite like the Portrait Gallery. It's a good idea. While not all the portraits are compelling, they are at least interesting. If you are in London, it is an easy stop, and I would put it on the list. Bonus, late hours on Friday!
We had dinner at Fire & Stone, where I had a Thai pizza that was quite good and spicy. Then we headed back to Miranda's. Her apartment is in Belsize Park, a really nice neighborhood. It's a small place but quite cute!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Back From London
I just got back today from my London trip. I had an awesome time, and I will write about it later. Miranda was a great host!
It took me a while to get home. There were several delays, I was supposed to be back late Tuesday night, not Thursday morning! I was surprised by how much I missed being in Milan and how glad I was to get back to my apartment. I do call it home, but I don't quite think of it as that. I am a little anxious about how few days I have before I head back to Boston!
It took me a while to get home. There were several delays, I was supposed to be back late Tuesday night, not Thursday morning! I was surprised by how much I missed being in Milan and how glad I was to get back to my apartment. I do call it home, but I don't quite think of it as that. I am a little anxious about how few days I have before I head back to Boston!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Quick Graffiti Post
Just a quick post, as I am in London. More graffiti!
These two are near Polimi, by the Villapizzone train station. I like the clever use of the concrete shapes as drawers, and the shadows drawn in that give them depth.
The graffiti on this train car is pretty huge, the windows on the lower level are completely painted over. You see a lot of graffiti on trains here!
These two are near Polimi, by the Villapizzone train station. I like the clever use of the concrete shapes as drawers, and the shadows drawn in that give them depth.
The graffiti on this train car is pretty huge, the windows on the lower level are completely painted over. You see a lot of graffiti on trains here!
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
The Difference 2
Vending machines are big in Italy. Literally.
This is a single vending machine. It's huge! There's one single spot to pay, and there's a wide variety of things, from candy bars to crackers, sandwiches and cold drinks. There's lots of these in the subway stations. In my building there are five different vending machine locations. These are much smaller machines, but there are often two or three next to each other. Coffee machines are the most common. At my building back at MIT, which has about the same number of people, there are no vending machines. And as far as I could find, there's none in the next few buildings. Here in Italy, they would die if they couldn't find a coffee within 200 feet.
Another Italian thing I've discovered is gnocchi ripieni. Filled gnocchi. These ones have tomato and cheese on the inside. Why have I never heard of these before?
This is a single vending machine. It's huge! There's one single spot to pay, and there's a wide variety of things, from candy bars to crackers, sandwiches and cold drinks. There's lots of these in the subway stations. In my building there are five different vending machine locations. These are much smaller machines, but there are often two or three next to each other. Coffee machines are the most common. At my building back at MIT, which has about the same number of people, there are no vending machines. And as far as I could find, there's none in the next few buildings. Here in Italy, they would die if they couldn't find a coffee within 200 feet.
Another Italian thing I've discovered is gnocchi ripieni. Filled gnocchi. These ones have tomato and cheese on the inside. Why have I never heard of these before?
Monday, December 12, 2011
L'Artigiano in Fiera
On Thursday, I went to the other big shopping fair at Rho Fiera. Whoa, was it intense. I thought Oh Bej, Oh Bej was overwhelming, but I was wrong, it does not compare to the fair at Rho. After spending roughly 3 hours there, I managed to at least skim through the half of the show building areas. I decided to skip the international areas and just go to the Italian ones, since I couldn't possibly handle any more shopping. There were so many booths and isles that I couldn't possible even walk past all of them. Here's a few shots of booths.
I think most of the products available in these booths were actually Italian products. I bought all kinds of food for gifts.
I didn't manage to sit down in eat, since there was so much to see, but there were dozens of restaurants and cafes to choose from in each building.
The buildings were huge. There were upper levels, scenic ponds, weird pod-shaped rooms. Huge.
Well, the Italians really are into the shopping. I can't believe a medium-size city like Milan can support so much shopping. It's like the same size as Boston, with 3 times as much shopping!
I think most of the products available in these booths were actually Italian products. I bought all kinds of food for gifts.
I didn't manage to sit down in eat, since there was so much to see, but there were dozens of restaurants and cafes to choose from in each building.
The buildings were huge. There were upper levels, scenic ponds, weird pod-shaped rooms. Huge.
Well, the Italians really are into the shopping. I can't believe a medium-size city like Milan can support so much shopping. It's like the same size as Boston, with 3 times as much shopping!
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