Cornetto Perfetto!

Even though I grew up eating various croissants from the ones in the bakery I worked in: Boulangerie ( the first official French bakery in Seattle ), to real French croissants in Paris ( where I lived in 1985 )....I have to say that I absolutely adore the delicate orangeflower icing and lightly buttery flavor of the semi-flaky and semi-chewy Italian 'Cornetto Simplice'. There is nothing better than to start a day with one of those and the most amazing cappuccino, that can basically be found anywhere in Rome. So there I said it, I might like Italian style croissants better than French ones; at least for now!

La Vineria and Zena- Milano

La Vineria is a quaint wine and olive oil shop offering 1 euro glasses and 3 euro bottles of wine that can be consumed while using the wine barrels as tables. A place where comingling with the locals is expected and welcomed.

I met 3 local milanese who 'adopted' me for the evening and dragged me ( oh poor me ) to a wonderful dinner of exquisite ravioli and coniglio ( rabbit ) with a large consumption of vino rosso at Zena also a place I would highly recommend.

Did I forget to mention that I had already had a yummy ravioli dinner Trattoria alla Vecchia Maniera (via Alzaia Naviglio Grande, 62) and was heading back to the hotel for the night when I stumbled into this fine establishment and new friends.

This small wine boutique and bar is quintessential of the Naviglio area: convivial, local and typically Italian, a locale where many unique wine bars and restaurants fill the area. Most tourists and even people I travel with who have been to Milan countless times, don't make it to this area.

This is, what I consider to be, one of the best neighborhoods of Milan.

There are numerous pasty shops and small artsy boutiques that you pass as you walk to this area or you can ride a tram that dates from 1928 right to the canals. Called the Venice of Milan, Naviglio Grande never ceases to please.

La Vineria

via Casale 4 Milano

Naviglio Grande

Zena

Ripa di Porta Ticinese, 37 Milano

Wordstyle Custom Names and Letters

Wordstyle on Etsy by Duane Georges

I am so proud of my husband and his new shop on ETSY...you can custom order any 3 dimensional word, name or letter and have it handmade by him in practically any font and color. This is an incredible gift idea for the holidays for a one of a kind item for you and your home, family or friends ( or their babies! and children ). He will take your request and create a unique work of art for you. Letters start at around $10 each! Just look at the one he made for me, I love it!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Wordstyle

also visit his work site for signage, lighting and sculpture at

www.georgexdesign.com

Spice of Life Blog

My good college friend who now lives in Stuttgart, Germany, has also started a fabulous travel blog called Spice of Life.

Please check it out and check him out too...he is an incredibly intelligent and stylish individual with flawless taste in all he does.

His recommendations are better than any boutique travel book out there.

For more fabulous haunts, I'll be traveling to Milan this weekend and I'll be back with some more surprising delights from a city that people often pass over...I love the 'happy hour' scene in Milan and the shopping cannot be beat. The canal area ( zona naviglia ) although the place to hang out in the warmer months, has a unique charm in the colder months and many great restaurants to indulge in. Check back next week and find out what I discovered.

Il Baffetto

This pizzeria named after a moustache near Piazza Navona in Rome will definitely serve you a delicious pizza that will leave its remains on your upper lip! You will be licking your chops and hoping for more. This is a real dive and a touristy spot but nonetheless the pizza is flawless, thin crusted and induced with flavor that will satisfy the pickiest pizza connaisseur. I definitely suggest the 'Il Baffetto' pizza which basically has everything on it. Get there by 630pm so as to not wait in line. This is a great place alone or with friends for a quick bite and they are not shy to get the tables turned over to make a buck. Still worth a try through all the fuss.

http://www.pizzeriabaffetto.it/

La Piogga a Roma ( Rain in Rome )

I love the rain and got caught in it or up in it while walking the cobblestoned streets of Rome this past weekend. In between two cappuccinos and a great glass of Barbera d'Asti, I got to splash through the puddles, slip on the shiny pavement, savoring the crisp air and feeling of autumn that is my favorite season in Europe. The fall is much past the tourist traps and ripe with visions of average daily life. This is the time that you witness what it is to be truly European, as families huddle in warm ristorantes consuming their favorite meals, artisans work diligantly in their shops creating pre holiday wares, stylish couples stroll the streets together under umbrellas, cafe windows steam up with customers sipping espresso and indulging in prosecco, the buildings reflect their mood onto the puddles positioned precariously close the narrow sidewalk you are manoeuvring as you make your way to meet a friend or have a meal. The rain gives me a feeling of sweet melancholy bordering on the mood of hibernating with a good book or favorite beverage.

Caffeine CURE

So we are finally back from our "vacation" in the South of France....although there were many good moments, our visit was overshadowed by our daughters 4 day stay in a Hospital in Bagnols sur Ceze. Instead of focusing on the negative you have to admire this photo of the coffee service offered to us in the ER ( Urgences ) at the Centre Hospitalier Louis Pasteur. After my daughter had an IV in her vein one of the nurses ( or the waiter? ) asked me "Vous voulez du cafe?". I had to nervously laugh at this incredible adherence to typical French tradition of graciousness. No matter where you go in France, you are always offered something...and when you are invited to someone's home for dinner or a party, bringing a gift is expected. The town of Bagnols sur Ceze is a great small town with lots of pedestrian streets and I got to look down upon the town and the moon shining above it while I lived in the hospital with my daughter as the "accompagnant". Although my worries were sometimes personally overwhelming and my daughters pain was too real for words, I had to smirk when I opened my meal to find a fabulous warm quiche lorraine, salade frisee, baguette, camembert and red wine!!! as I dined next to my daughter who was imbedded with tubes and catheters. Not your average hospital fare but not your average relaxing vacation either. And as I sit here still jetlagged from the experience, I'll make myself another cup of coffee and CURE myself of fatigue once again.