La Plaza Residence, Favignana

We tend to procrastinate and found this at the last minute online. The problem was we didn't want to stay in a hotel... we much prefered the space and freedom of an apartment over a cramped hotel space. Also, I've always found hotels to be very impersonal.

Unfortunately, most of the apartments on the island were rented out by the week. The only one we found that was available for 4 nights was at La Plaza Residence. They also usually rent by the week but we lucked out since September is no longer the peak season.

Here are the stairs leading up to our unit, with our bikes parked out front.


Inside, there's a basic kitchen and living area. There was even a microwave, which is not very common here in Italy.


The bedroom was comfortable with an air conditioner unit... something we had not expected but it was really nice to sleep with it on at night.


The bathroom was clean with a nice shower.


And the location of course was just a 5 minute walk to the center of town. Not bad! And it cost us less than what the hotels in town were charging. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone visiting the island.

Pasticceria Berta

This pasticceria is one of Valtellina's best kept secrets. Morbegno is a town at the beginning of the Valtellina valley, one that we pass by on our frequent trips to Sondrio. Usually we drive through the town on Friday or Sunday nights. But on the days we happen to pass by on a Saturday morning when they are open, we make sure to stop by.


It's not exactly on the main street, but it's worth the extra 5 minutes to seek out. We usually pull up pretty excited. It's not every day we get paste (pastries) from Berta's.

S's family has been coming here for over 20 years. His father used to bring them home, back when the cost was only 0.3 euro/kg. Now it is 0.7 euro/kg. For the quality you get, this is a great deal. In Milan, pastries like these usually cost 1.3-1.4 euro/kg, and even then it's hard to find this kind of taste and quality.


We usually buy some to take home to his mum. Her favorite are the cannoncini's (above). These get placed on a cardboard tray and wrapped in paper and ribbon. And because we just can't wait any longer, we always get two or three to go in a little bag. These get scarfed down real quick in the car before we continue on our journey. ;-)


The pastries are always so fresh, and the cream they make is delicious and the perfect consistency. I know it's good when I savor each bite and am satisfied with even just one cream puff.

Pasticceria Berta
Via Credaro Luigi, 12
23017 Morbegno (SO)

Merdeka 2008

Today, August 31st, celebrates Malaysia's 51st Independence Day. I am proud to be a Malaysian!