Sunday, September 2, 2012

Ciao, Ciao...Arreviderci

This was our last day of our Germany, Switzerland, Italy summer vacation. A few short, action packed days in Germany, followed by a deliriously sweet visit to Switzerland. We ended our trip in northern Italy, but that was deceptive, as we kept wandering back into Switzerland. The border meanders around the lakes making it almost impossible to stay in one country.
We navigated trains, funiculars, cable cars, taxis, buses, planes and miles of city streets on foot. We are pros at reading maps in three languages.
Some of our highlights were having antipasto prepared by Miss Jeni. We enjoyed it in their garden in Waldenbuch. Hiking down one of the Swiss Alps....incredibly challenging but rewarding. We were sore for days. Sitting on our balcony in Varenna overlooking lake Como and sharing a glass of wine or two. Sitting on the steps in Bellagio and talking with my new friend Maria, in broken italian. And finally spending fifteen amazing minutes with Leonardo DaVinci and his Last Supper.
Of course there were many many other adventures, many memorable bottles of wine, and many wonderful people.
So until the next time Ciao Baby!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

The MotherLode

And I thought Paris was the shopping Motherlode. I was wrong. Every top designer is represented here in Milano, multiple times. I lost count as to how many Louis Vuitton stores we walked by today. Versace, Prada, Gucci, Benetton, Max Mara, Jimmy Choo, and of course one of my favorites, Missoni. If you talk to an Italian it's pronounced Missoooni, with reverence of course. The iconic zig zags and fabulous fabrics are beyond compare. Many try to reproduce it but all fall short.
There were dozens more fabulous design houses represented, all with extravagant store fronts. You have to ask yourself just how important all this is in making us happy. Do the clothes we wear and the accessories we don make us feel satisfied. You know, I have to admit, I love carrying my little LV Speedy I got with my dear daughter at the Louis mothership in Paris. We had so much fun on our mother-daughter trip....ah. I do get a certain satisfaction wearing some of my favorite designers. Vain? A bit maybe. Materialistic? I'm sure...so where's my Missoni I just gotta have some color today.