Today I have spent a little time updating my online portfolio. If you're interested in Fashion and Textiles then take a look and hit the 'Like' button! If you're feel extra lovely today maybe you'll share it too!
Friday, 23 May 2014
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Erasmus scheme poster
As part of my module on the Erasmus scheme, i was asked to put together a poster to encourage students to take part in the experience next year. Here is my effort...
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Wednesday, 14 May 2014
My letter to students moving to another country...
I am writing this final blog post as a letter to students who are thinking about taking a year out of university at home to move to a foreign country to either work a placement or study abroad.
There's no doubt that the last 10 months of my life here in Milan have been amazing and i wouldn't swap any of it for the world! (maybe i'd swap a few hiccups.. but i'll get to that). Today i have booked my one-way return flight back home to the UK and i'm all overcome with a bit of sadness! The thought of never being in this apartment again and never seeing our Italian housemate, or the weather, even the dodgy Italian bloke that serves us in the supermarket. It's sad to think that this chapter of my life is over, but the best part is that i would do it all over again!.. with some small changes. Every bit of advice i'm going to give you will be able to find in deeper detail in my blog, but for now ill give you a heads up!
Finding An Apartment
Whatever you do, don't do what me an my friends did and think you can move to a foreign country, live in a hostel for a week and find somewhere to live in that amount of time. Number 1: It's not worth the stress and number 2: IT'S NOT WORTH THE STRESS. Make sure you research the area of your place of work or university and begin trying to find apartments in your price range online well before you're due to move - even send out some e-mails to push things forwards! My friends and I were incredibly lucky to find our apartment when we did - but if you're struggling, make sure you use the people around you! We'd still be in hostel if it wasn't for student services at university. People around you understand your situation and help is always there if you ask for it!
Deposit
Lord, do i wish somebody would have told me about the system for paying for an apartment in Italy! I'm not sure if this is the same for the whole of Europe but if you're going to Milan then you would be wise to earn yourself some spare cash over the summer holidays to cover your back! When we had eventually found an apartment which was to be our home for the next 10 months it was time to put down the deposit and pay up for first months rent. In this one single day all three of us had to pay up around £2,600 each! Hello student loan... Goodbye student loan. This single fee covered the deposit (three months rent) the estate agency fee and first months rent. As you can imagine, i had arrived in Milan and now i was broke! I'm not trying to scare anyone away with the cost of living in Milan because the university experience i have had here has been worth every single penny (that's what i tell my dad). Our landlord is a beautiful petite Italian lady and she has been very welcoming! We have been in touch constantly with our landlord (even though she doesn't speak English) and the whole process has been a treat because of her.
When finding an apartment you should ensure that you double check the lease on every apartment! Most landlords are looking for tenants that are going to be staying for 1 or 2 years.. as a student on an academic timetable, I only needed a 10 month lease - Maria was happy to do this for us. They are out there, it's just taking the time out to search.
Internet
Now. I apologies in advance but I cannot spend too much time talking about installing internet in our apartment. It's somewhat of a touchy subject shall we say.
Let me start by saying that here in Italy, words such as 'urgent' do not exist. When we moved into our apartment the internet was our responsibility - which is fine. We asked advice on the best internet providers and the response was primarily Fastweb. We went straight to the nearest Fastweb store and asked to have internet installed in our apartment as soon as possible and they were nice as pie! We left the shop with a date arrange for a technician to come and blah blah blah, he never came! After endless phone calls and visits the the shop in Duomo, two months later we had internet. There's nothing you can do about this i'm affraid! You are in Italy and you work on their timescale.
Learning the language
Learning the language of your new home is pretty important. You can easily get by without learning too much but personally i think it helps the enjoyment of your experience if you can speak confidently to fellow students and even ordering food and drink at a restaurant. The people here in Milan really appreciate you trying to communicate with them in Italian rather than just asking them if they speak English with zero efforts. My friend and I eat out quite a lot and we always order the best we can in Italian. Sometimes they just respond in English because it is easier for them but i would advise to take the help that is given to you through the free courses at your home university.
At NABA we are taught totally in English so there is no need to worry about confusion with classes.
Course start date
Before you leave the country to start your new adventure to study at a new university abroad, make sure that you are totally clear on when your course starts. I was given a start date by the Erasmus coordinators at my home university in Coventry and so arranged my move to Milan for 3rd October. I booked my flights with two weeks to spare so that i had plenty of time to arrange my living situation and explore my new city - which i 100% recommend to anyone on the Erasmus scheme.
Unfortunately, all was not what it seemed and i actually arrived more or less on time for my course start date and found myself in a bit of a manic rush juggling the stresses of finding an apartment. But bare in mind this was not my fault! Make sure that before you leave the UK that you are 100% certain on the start date of your course and that you have checked and double checked with the course coordinators at both ends of your university.
Kit'ing our your apartment
Milan has three Ikea's - not necessarily the easiest places to get to but depending on your area just google map the closest one to you. For me and my friends we managed to get to one Ikea by a metro and then a bus. Don't be scared by the bus it's very easy! We actually met some English people on our journey and they told us about lots of places to go and eat and we even exchanged phone numbers.
Ikea is the obvious place to go for all your home essentials but if you need other small things for your kitchen etc then you really need to go to Tiger! In fact scrap that, even if you don't need anything you still need to go to Tiger - but be warned you may leave with bags of things you bought just because they're pretty and cheap!
Live your Erasmus experience to it's fullest
If there was one thing i could say to myself a year ago, it would be to make sure everything i do when i get to Milan is every I WANT to do! The great thing about the Erasmus experience at our university is that there is no requirement to return with a certain amount of grades or credits! We are marked on a separate module entirely from the work set at NABA university. In the first term i worked incredibly hard but i do not regret my efforts in the first term as i did everything i said i wanted to do such as experiment with menswear and textiles etc. I did all those things on my list and now i know my direct path and where i want to be in the fashion industry - i couldn't have realised any of that without working as hard as i did. However, my second term is quite the opposite! my classes are mainly lecture based and i even dropped a class to modify my term to suit me! Don't be afraid to swap classes around or even drop them - but make sure you try everything first and don't throw away opportunities!
I think i have covered all of the important stuff and i really hope this helps anyone with a view to moving to Milan. I really wish i had somebody to hand me all of this information in a letter so i wouldn't have made the mistakes that i did! Regrets aside - i wouldn't change a thing.
Finally, make sure you take pictures of everything! You will really appreciate them when you arrive back home and look back on your experience! Having lived in another country has developed me as a person and as a designer, culturally you are always learning - I'm almost confident this will not be the last time i live abroad!
The reason i applied for Erasmus was because i needed the time to experiment with my work and what place could have been better than Milan?! I cannot imagine finishing final year of university without this experience and if you have the same doubts i strongly advice that you do the same!
Good luck with your trip and happy travelling!
Emily Land - Former Erasmus Student, Milan
There's no doubt that the last 10 months of my life here in Milan have been amazing and i wouldn't swap any of it for the world! (maybe i'd swap a few hiccups.. but i'll get to that). Today i have booked my one-way return flight back home to the UK and i'm all overcome with a bit of sadness! The thought of never being in this apartment again and never seeing our Italian housemate, or the weather, even the dodgy Italian bloke that serves us in the supermarket. It's sad to think that this chapter of my life is over, but the best part is that i would do it all over again!.. with some small changes. Every bit of advice i'm going to give you will be able to find in deeper detail in my blog, but for now ill give you a heads up!
Finding An Apartment
Whatever you do, don't do what me an my friends did and think you can move to a foreign country, live in a hostel for a week and find somewhere to live in that amount of time. Number 1: It's not worth the stress and number 2: IT'S NOT WORTH THE STRESS. Make sure you research the area of your place of work or university and begin trying to find apartments in your price range online well before you're due to move - even send out some e-mails to push things forwards! My friends and I were incredibly lucky to find our apartment when we did - but if you're struggling, make sure you use the people around you! We'd still be in hostel if it wasn't for student services at university. People around you understand your situation and help is always there if you ask for it!
Deposit
Lord, do i wish somebody would have told me about the system for paying for an apartment in Italy! I'm not sure if this is the same for the whole of Europe but if you're going to Milan then you would be wise to earn yourself some spare cash over the summer holidays to cover your back! When we had eventually found an apartment which was to be our home for the next 10 months it was time to put down the deposit and pay up for first months rent. In this one single day all three of us had to pay up around £2,600 each! Hello student loan... Goodbye student loan. This single fee covered the deposit (three months rent) the estate agency fee and first months rent. As you can imagine, i had arrived in Milan and now i was broke! I'm not trying to scare anyone away with the cost of living in Milan because the university experience i have had here has been worth every single penny (that's what i tell my dad). Our landlord is a beautiful petite Italian lady and she has been very welcoming! We have been in touch constantly with our landlord (even though she doesn't speak English) and the whole process has been a treat because of her.
When finding an apartment you should ensure that you double check the lease on every apartment! Most landlords are looking for tenants that are going to be staying for 1 or 2 years.. as a student on an academic timetable, I only needed a 10 month lease - Maria was happy to do this for us. They are out there, it's just taking the time out to search.
Internet
Now. I apologies in advance but I cannot spend too much time talking about installing internet in our apartment. It's somewhat of a touchy subject shall we say.
Let me start by saying that here in Italy, words such as 'urgent' do not exist. When we moved into our apartment the internet was our responsibility - which is fine. We asked advice on the best internet providers and the response was primarily Fastweb. We went straight to the nearest Fastweb store and asked to have internet installed in our apartment as soon as possible and they were nice as pie! We left the shop with a date arrange for a technician to come and blah blah blah, he never came! After endless phone calls and visits the the shop in Duomo, two months later we had internet. There's nothing you can do about this i'm affraid! You are in Italy and you work on their timescale.
Learning the language
Learning the language of your new home is pretty important. You can easily get by without learning too much but personally i think it helps the enjoyment of your experience if you can speak confidently to fellow students and even ordering food and drink at a restaurant. The people here in Milan really appreciate you trying to communicate with them in Italian rather than just asking them if they speak English with zero efforts. My friend and I eat out quite a lot and we always order the best we can in Italian. Sometimes they just respond in English because it is easier for them but i would advise to take the help that is given to you through the free courses at your home university.
At NABA we are taught totally in English so there is no need to worry about confusion with classes.
Course start date
Before you leave the country to start your new adventure to study at a new university abroad, make sure that you are totally clear on when your course starts. I was given a start date by the Erasmus coordinators at my home university in Coventry and so arranged my move to Milan for 3rd October. I booked my flights with two weeks to spare so that i had plenty of time to arrange my living situation and explore my new city - which i 100% recommend to anyone on the Erasmus scheme.
Unfortunately, all was not what it seemed and i actually arrived more or less on time for my course start date and found myself in a bit of a manic rush juggling the stresses of finding an apartment. But bare in mind this was not my fault! Make sure that before you leave the UK that you are 100% certain on the start date of your course and that you have checked and double checked with the course coordinators at both ends of your university.
Kit'ing our your apartment
Milan has three Ikea's - not necessarily the easiest places to get to but depending on your area just google map the closest one to you. For me and my friends we managed to get to one Ikea by a metro and then a bus. Don't be scared by the bus it's very easy! We actually met some English people on our journey and they told us about lots of places to go and eat and we even exchanged phone numbers.
Ikea is the obvious place to go for all your home essentials but if you need other small things for your kitchen etc then you really need to go to Tiger! In fact scrap that, even if you don't need anything you still need to go to Tiger - but be warned you may leave with bags of things you bought just because they're pretty and cheap!
Live your Erasmus experience to it's fullest
If there was one thing i could say to myself a year ago, it would be to make sure everything i do when i get to Milan is every I WANT to do! The great thing about the Erasmus experience at our university is that there is no requirement to return with a certain amount of grades or credits! We are marked on a separate module entirely from the work set at NABA university. In the first term i worked incredibly hard but i do not regret my efforts in the first term as i did everything i said i wanted to do such as experiment with menswear and textiles etc. I did all those things on my list and now i know my direct path and where i want to be in the fashion industry - i couldn't have realised any of that without working as hard as i did. However, my second term is quite the opposite! my classes are mainly lecture based and i even dropped a class to modify my term to suit me! Don't be afraid to swap classes around or even drop them - but make sure you try everything first and don't throw away opportunities!
I think i have covered all of the important stuff and i really hope this helps anyone with a view to moving to Milan. I really wish i had somebody to hand me all of this information in a letter so i wouldn't have made the mistakes that i did! Regrets aside - i wouldn't change a thing.
Finally, make sure you take pictures of everything! You will really appreciate them when you arrive back home and look back on your experience! Having lived in another country has developed me as a person and as a designer, culturally you are always learning - I'm almost confident this will not be the last time i live abroad!
The reason i applied for Erasmus was because i needed the time to experiment with my work and what place could have been better than Milan?! I cannot imagine finishing final year of university without this experience and if you have the same doubts i strongly advice that you do the same!
Good luck with your trip and happy travelling!
Emily Land - Former Erasmus Student, Milan
Planning travelling around Italy
Now that I am back from my trip to Madrid i want to seriously think about how important my university course is here in comparison to using the time wisely to travel around Italy. I'm not saying i'm not going to go to my classes anymore - i definitely am. However, in order to pass this year there is no requirement for me to gain any credits or grades from my time at NABA University. After arriving back to Milan after Easter i dropped a class as i didn't feel it was aiding me in anyway. I went to the classes for a large part of the term but decided i would actually benefit more from using this time to travel than to lose sleep over a module that wouldn't benefit after completion.
There are some places in Italy i already want visit such as Venice, Florence and Bologna but i have researched into other areas of Italy and there is so much to see here. As well as the popular names i'd love to find the time to visit places that are not spoken about everyday but are filled with terracotta buildings and beautifully cobbled streets with quiet restaurants and bars. I have also been told to visit the coastline. As far as Google goes, Naples is winning!
My friend Kayleigh and i decided it would be a good idea to get the metro to Centrale FS where the train station is to have a look at some prices for tickets. I personally would rather do day trips to lots of cities rather than doing over night stays in only a select few. To stay over night would be very expensive and there are a lot of places that could be seen in day!
Venice
We decided between us that Venice is a must and i really want to see the coast here in Italy so we also booked to see Genoa! We go to Venice this coming Friday 16th May. I'm so excited to finally get out of Milan and see what else Italy has to offer!
There are some places in Italy i already want visit such as Venice, Florence and Bologna but i have researched into other areas of Italy and there is so much to see here. As well as the popular names i'd love to find the time to visit places that are not spoken about everyday but are filled with terracotta buildings and beautifully cobbled streets with quiet restaurants and bars. I have also been told to visit the coastline. As far as Google goes, Naples is winning!
My friend Kayleigh and i decided it would be a good idea to get the metro to Centrale FS where the train station is to have a look at some prices for tickets. I personally would rather do day trips to lots of cities rather than doing over night stays in only a select few. To stay over night would be very expensive and there are a lot of places that could be seen in day!
Venice
We decided between us that Venice is a must and i really want to see the coast here in Italy so we also booked to see Genoa! We go to Venice this coming Friday 16th May. I'm so excited to finally get out of Milan and see what else Italy has to offer!
Genoa
Genoa is a beautiful city along the coast in Italy and as an attraction is overshadowed by more popular tourist attractions in places such as Venice and Rome. I'm so excited to see some forested hills, terracotta buildings and most of all, the sea!! I have researched Genoa and the city has lots of hidden gems to be discovered behind cosy alleyways.
The beginning of travelling! Madrid.
One of my best friends is also on the Erasmus scheme but in Madrid. Her university course appears to be way more relaxed than mine and she has lots of time of to travel around Spain and really see the country she is living in. My first term in Milan has been so intense that i couldn't even go away on weekends if i wanted to nor could i afford to due to living costs and the cost of fabrics and materials for my course. I've been so jealous of the experience that she is having out there compared to mine as she has a social life and travels constantly... But then i remember i'm studying fashion in Milan and get over myself.
When i compare the experiences that we are both having on our separate Erasmus adventures, it's really eyeopening to see the differences! For example, up until now i have been drown down with endless amounts of work, sometimes sitting up until 4am to have work to a certain standard for the next day - Despite the fact that this sounds awfully depressing, don't feel sorry for me, I live for this kind of rewarding stress! (I know right, who am i?) On the other hand, Imogen is that terribly annoying person on facebook posting endless photographs of her amazing time in Madrid and surrounding cities with her new friends. (Green monster) Luckily, my term at university after Easter is looking very nice in terms of time off - they're definitely going easy on us with mainly lecture based classes. Which meannnssss.... I can go travelling!!! And i plan to use the time i have left here very wisely!
Madrid
After this awful rant about my jealousy for Imogen's life in Madrid, it only makes sense that i fly out and see her and find out what the fuss is about! My friend Kayleigh and I booked flights to see her on the 6th - 9th May. From the moment we landed we were in ore of the city! First off, people in Madrid look normal! (this isn't a dig at Milanese people, they're just skinny and olive skinned here) Everyone we met was so friendly and her friend in the apartment were very welcoming and accommodating.
Naturally on arrival we needed a cerveza! "We're on holiday". Imogen took us to a small bar called El Tigre in what was apparently the gay district... and yes, it was apparent. I have NEVER been to a place like this in my life! We each ordered a beer which cost us 2.50 euros and then they brought over four seriously loaded plates of food, which was awesome, best 2.50 i've ever spent! But then he just kept coming and coming until we had to kindly decline these never ending plates of amazing tapas food! He was like the tapas version of Mary Poppins.
After having a quick tour of Imogen's new home town we joined some of her new friends in a beautiful park that over looked onto a jaw-dropping view. We sat there until 9:30pm - completely unintentionally! But the weather was so beautiful that neither of us realised the time! We were due to head out to a bar that played swing music that night so we ate out at place called 'The Zombie Burger Bar' for some good grub before the night ahead. Do i even need to go into how good my goats cheese and caramelised onion burger was? I wouldn't be writing about it if it wasn't amazing!
The next morning was our first whole day in Madrid so we walked the length of Gran Via (several times) and then headed to Parque del Retiro to see the Palacia de Cristal (glass house). I fell in love with the Palacia de Cristal instantly! It is beautiful space made up of a series of glass windows. Birds have found their way inside and a handful of rocking chairs have been scattered around the room. Utter silence apart from the chirping of the lost birds and the caged heat (sigh) my idea of heaven!
The Parque del Retiro was a beautiful place to take some time out from the hectic city of Madrid. If i lived there (which i wish) i'd be down there as often as possible, grab myself a rocking chair and a good book! The actual grounds of the park provide great space for a walk around the park and time to appreciate the quiet and nature of Madrid. There is plenty of water features and cafe's to stop along the way for refreshments.
Also in Parque del Retiro is a small man-made lake with rowing boats available for hire and on one side of the lake is a huge monument which was made in remembrance of the king. Of course we got a boat...
After walking around Madrid for the majority of the day in 28 degree heat, i was certainly colourful (lobster red) and gagging for a cold beverage in a nice bar! Imogen took us to a great place called 'Gymage' which is a rooftop bar overlooking beautiful scenery. Like Milan, Madrid is a religious city. Therefore, churches really are everywhere. The rooftop bar is next door to one of these churches and i was dying for the bells to ring to see how loud they were! They did ring and everyone around stopped and watched the until they were finished. Gymage was a really great place for the late afternoon in the sunset - they even had cool water spraying above each booth!
The following day we took the cable car to Casa De Campo which is a huge desert-like area where most people go to walk or for a long bike ride. We walked for about half an hour before we were truly lost in these dusty roads- but with a bit of initiative and navigational skills, we made our way back in one mucky piece. The grounds of Casa De Campo go for miles and actually cover more acres of land than New York Central Park three times over!
On the last morning it seemed appropriate that we tried something new for brunch and found a gorgeous little french pancake restaurant. The restaurant was owned and run by one man, he was the chef, the waiter and front of house! I ordered a white chocolate macchiato and a chicken with goats cheese and caramelized onion pancake. I'm not going to sit here and pretend it wasn't weird - it definitely was weird! But it was so good! I could drink the white chocolate macchiato all day everyday! If your'e in the area and fancy something a little different, you should definitely get yourself a savoury pancake from this place!
Last but definitely not least! This is my top place of recommendation!
The San Miguel Market! If you haven't already heard about it then you need to learn about this place! I could have spent an entire day there - It's amazing for experiencing the way the Spanish do food and drink but within a higher price range. For us tourists its perfect for an afternoon to grab yourslef a sangria and few plates of nibbles. We bought sangria from a lady at a stall for 5 euros and it was so good i went back for another... if you have somewhere to be after your visit to the market i wouldn't indulge in more than two. Trust me! When people hear the words food market i'd say the majority of us picture an outdoor market with a number of white tents selling various things. San Miguel Market is a stylish indoor market with quite a high class of people. I wasn't going to walk around all of this delicious food and not try any of it! My friend Kayleigh and i shared some pastry goodies filled with chorizo, spicy ham and vegetables. We also shared a sausage and chorizo paella and a selection of olives. Crazy good food.
Easter Placement - Sirdar
It't the 3rd of April and tomorrow is my 21st Birthday!
Unfortunately i could only get flights home the day before my birthday due to an intense term at university in Milan. However, it felt like the perfect time to return home! I landed and met my mum, dad, and twin brother. I miss them so much when i'm away so it was great to return home with a celebration! The following Saturday my brother and i celebrated with our closest friends in York - I had the most amazing time and was a real reminder of how sweet home really is.
Although i'm loving my time in Italy, there are certain things you just can't get like you can at home...
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For the Easter holidays i had a whole three weeks off so needed to fill my time with some form of work or at least searching for placements for the near future. I managed to get myself a weeks paid placement at a company called Sirdar. They are a company that specialises in hand knitting yarns and have been established since 1880. It was a real pleasure to work for the company as i am really into textiles and knitting is a new skill i have become obsessed with. During my time at Sirdar, i was set the task of producing yarn rosettes for presenter displays. Once i had made the rosettes i then arranged them in the according presenters ready for display for a meeting with John Lewis at the end of the week. It was an amazing opportunity to work as part of a team in a working environment and experience real business in the fast pased fashion industry. Whilst working with the company i gained a real insight into each department that is the foundation of Sirdar and how demands from each department are equally as important to keep the company running at full speed and of high quality.
Unfortunately i could only get flights home the day before my birthday due to an intense term at university in Milan. However, it felt like the perfect time to return home! I landed and met my mum, dad, and twin brother. I miss them so much when i'm away so it was great to return home with a celebration! The following Saturday my brother and i celebrated with our closest friends in York - I had the most amazing time and was a real reminder of how sweet home really is.
Although i'm loving my time in Italy, there are certain things you just can't get like you can at home...
For the Easter holidays i had a whole three weeks off so needed to fill my time with some form of work or at least searching for placements for the near future. I managed to get myself a weeks paid placement at a company called Sirdar. They are a company that specialises in hand knitting yarns and have been established since 1880. It was a real pleasure to work for the company as i am really into textiles and knitting is a new skill i have become obsessed with. During my time at Sirdar, i was set the task of producing yarn rosettes for presenter displays. Once i had made the rosettes i then arranged them in the according presenters ready for display for a meeting with John Lewis at the end of the week. It was an amazing opportunity to work as part of a team in a working environment and experience real business in the fast pased fashion industry. Whilst working with the company i gained a real insight into each department that is the foundation of Sirdar and how demands from each department are equally as important to keep the company running at full speed and of high quality.
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| My workspace at Sirdar |
Lake Como, Milano
So one day i heard along the grapevine that Mr George Clooney has a house on Lake Como, So i bought myself a train ticket and searched the premises immediately.
Not really - that's what i should have done.
One of my best friends came to visit just before the easter holidays, i was so excited to have her here and to show her this part of my life, but it's just so hard to spread the sightseeing out over the duration of three days as you could literally do it in a day! We looked at getting train tickets to Como the next day and we only paid 10euros for a return and the journey was only 40 minutes each way.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect of Lake Como, of course there was going to a lake, but i had done no such research on the town itself. The surprise was wonderful. As soon as you step off the train you can see that the town i surrounded and enclosed by the trees and green woodland with vertical climbs to the next town.
After we had walked around the lake as far as our little legs could take us, we noticed that people were on the lake in pedalos. What a better way to see the lake than to get on a rusty red boat with no stearing?! I reccommend the pedalos to anyone wanting a bit of fun around the lake! Of course we were not the only people on the lake - people in speedboats were having fun with us creating waves for our pedalo to struggle over. By the end of our half an hour we had a small audience laughing at the three strange blonde girls screaming in the pedalo!
After plenty of time walking, sitting, pedalo'ing, ice-creaming and sightseeing, we walked away from the lake and into the town of Como. I literally felt as though i was walking into Duloc (The fictional town in the movie Shrek). By using this reference i guess what i'm trying to say is that the town in unbelievably pretty and it just doesn't appear to be real - there is something to catch your eye on every corner. The town is so small and everyone seems to know everyone. Como is built up of gorgeous skinny cobbled streets that link very easily therefore it is impossible to get lost! To save ourselves some pennies we packed up a lunch so that we could sit and take in the view and made the decision to chose from one of the bars to have a 'cheeky one' in the afternoon before heading back home. We chose a quirky looking bar / cafe right in the center which had an outside sitting are in the square. I could have sat there for days drinking red wine, nibble on breadsticks and staring at the beautiful people of Como.
In another section of the town we found a small cheese and ham fair. On one of the stalls a man was selling chorizo in all it's form and flavours, he offered me a taster which i took and as i chewed he made a "eeee oooorrrrr" sound repeatedly. At first i thought he was 'oinking' at me and calling me fat but it turns out he'd given me a piece of donkey chorizo... that's right ladies and gents. I ate donkey. AND I LOVED IT. At the small fair somebody had set up a game in the middle on a carpet. The aim was get your hoop over the neck of the wine bottle - which is pretty impossible when the hoop is on the end of an insanely long stick of bamboo! I'm a pretty determined soul so once i picked up the bamboo i wasn't putting it down until i had won! Here is a photograph of my victory - it only took me 16 minutes...
Not really - that's what i should have done.
One of my best friends came to visit just before the easter holidays, i was so excited to have her here and to show her this part of my life, but it's just so hard to spread the sightseeing out over the duration of three days as you could literally do it in a day! We looked at getting train tickets to Como the next day and we only paid 10euros for a return and the journey was only 40 minutes each way.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect of Lake Como, of course there was going to a lake, but i had done no such research on the town itself. The surprise was wonderful. As soon as you step off the train you can see that the town i surrounded and enclosed by the trees and green woodland with vertical climbs to the next town.
After we had walked around the lake as far as our little legs could take us, we noticed that people were on the lake in pedalos. What a better way to see the lake than to get on a rusty red boat with no stearing?! I reccommend the pedalos to anyone wanting a bit of fun around the lake! Of course we were not the only people on the lake - people in speedboats were having fun with us creating waves for our pedalo to struggle over. By the end of our half an hour we had a small audience laughing at the three strange blonde girls screaming in the pedalo!
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| The best ice-cream in Italy! |
If when you read this you are planning on taking a trip to Como yourself then you should do the following! When you arrive at Lake Como there is an gelataria with a huge but fast-moving queue outside, if you are wise you will take my advice and plonk yourself on the end and queue to spend the best 2 euros of your life! Slight exaggeration you say? I beg to differ! Tiramisu fans, your're in for a treat!
After plenty of time walking, sitting, pedalo'ing, ice-creaming and sightseeing, we walked away from the lake and into the town of Como. I literally felt as though i was walking into Duloc (The fictional town in the movie Shrek). By using this reference i guess what i'm trying to say is that the town in unbelievably pretty and it just doesn't appear to be real - there is something to catch your eye on every corner. The town is so small and everyone seems to know everyone. Como is built up of gorgeous skinny cobbled streets that link very easily therefore it is impossible to get lost! To save ourselves some pennies we packed up a lunch so that we could sit and take in the view and made the decision to chose from one of the bars to have a 'cheeky one' in the afternoon before heading back home. We chose a quirky looking bar / cafe right in the center which had an outside sitting are in the square. I could have sat there for days drinking red wine, nibble on breadsticks and staring at the beautiful people of Como.
In another section of the town we found a small cheese and ham fair. On one of the stalls a man was selling chorizo in all it's form and flavours, he offered me a taster which i took and as i chewed he made a "eeee oooorrrrr" sound repeatedly. At first i thought he was 'oinking' at me and calling me fat but it turns out he'd given me a piece of donkey chorizo... that's right ladies and gents. I ate donkey. AND I LOVED IT. At the small fair somebody had set up a game in the middle on a carpet. The aim was get your hoop over the neck of the wine bottle - which is pretty impossible when the hoop is on the end of an insanely long stick of bamboo! I'm a pretty determined soul so once i picked up the bamboo i wasn't putting it down until i had won! Here is a photograph of my victory - it only took me 16 minutes...
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| Imogen and I - Como |
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