More Design Week

Ongoings at Zona Tortona...

Milan Design Week

What's buzzing hot in Milan this week? It's Design Week! This event is held in conjunction with Milan's Salone del Mobili, which draws scores of visitors from all over the world. There's the furniture fair that's held at the Fiera, and then there are the countless exhibitions and parties that take place all around the city.

We decided to visit Zona Tortona yesterday after class to see what was going on. I really didn't know what to expect but what we found were a crowd of cool, young, hip people visiting the scores of exhibits. The vibe was really exciting. We just wandered around looking at all interesting looking pieces of furniture, clothing, accesories, paintings... anything and everything design related. We got to meet some of the designers - everyone was really friendly and excited about their designs. You could hear different languages spoken all around. Some spots were offering cocktails to celebrate the kickoff.

M and I stumbled upon this booth where you could film a short movie of yourself. A series of shots are taken and printed out for you to stick in a little booklet to make your own flip-book action film. We did a fight scene (think fake punches!) and then one with funny faces. It was silly and fun.

Soon it was past ten and the crowd had gotten even larger. There was still alot that we missed but we were running out of steam. It was time to call it night but I'm definitely planning on going back before everything shuts down on Sunday. If you're in Milan, don't miss this.

Spring is Here

No doubt! Here's the view looking out from from our terrace. The bright green leaves and grass seemed to have appeared overnight.

I have to admit that I'm enjoying spring. As much as I love California and the perfect sunny weather there, there's something about welcoming the warm weather after months of suffering in the cold. I experienced that in Chicago but that was years and years ago and I had forgetten how it was like.

N'ombra de vin

Last night after dinner we headed out to one of the hotspots in downtown Milan, N'ombra de vin in the Brera district. It's actually an enoteca, wine shop, that opens late. The cellar downstairs is pretty amazing. We had a bottle of sparkling white wine to toast Dario's birthday. I don't remember what it was but it was good!


Here's a picture of the crowd socializing outside. This was taken at 1am on a Friday night. No one looks ready to call it a night yet.

http://www.nombradevin.it

Felice Come Una Pasqua

The Italians say, 'felice come una pasqua' or 'happy as Easter'. I think it may have something to do with this...

It seemed like the whole Easter section filled with every kind of chocolate egg just sprouted overnight. Each of these giant eggs have some kind of 'surprise' inside. They range from silly plastic toys to the fancier silver jewelry. It looked like a huge marketing scam but the Italians were really buying it all up. The day before Easter, it looked like they might run out. Everyone had them in their shopping carts. Made me feel like grabbing a couple more myself. But we already had two at home.

Yum.

Happy Easter everyone!