Nov 21

Evening friends! It is 10pm here in good ol’ Milan, and I am babysitting! So I figured, what does one do when stuck alone in the apartment? Blog obviously. I had this great idea to be like “hey guys, I am going to upload a new blog every Wednesday” but then I thought to myself, why am I limiting myself to one day? Who knows when creativity is going to hit you! Maybe creativity is having a day off on Wednesday…anyway you get my point. I hope you don’t mind the sporadic posts, but I am afraid I just can’t commit be limited to one day a week.

So I believe we are on to number three in things to do in Milan!
Shopping obviously, but be prepared to break the bank! A few of the spots that I [window] shop at are Via Torino and Corso Buenos Aires. They are both SEMI decently priced, it’s still expensive (for us au pairs anyway). Corso Buenos Aires (metro stop Porta Venezia) has more then one H&M, Zara, Nike, Puma, Footlocker, OVS, and many more. Lots of shops that I haven’t heard of, smaller Italian chains I am sure, but you can find some pretty sweet deals down there if you are willing to spend a while there and check out  each shop. Via Torino is right next to the Duomo, and has a lot of the same stores as Buenos Aires, and some more slightly more expensive stores. But if you are on vacation and having money to blow, then go for it, knock your overpriced Italian socks off. If you are looking to blow a lot of money, head to the Duomo, and all around there you will find lots of stores that sell fancier products. Such as Prada, Loui Vuitton, Gucci, and some more that I have never heard of, but still nice to look around and pretend that you can afford it. (even though I am sure that the sales people know as soon as you walk in if you can afford it or not).
I know that there are more places to shop at, all of them seem to be in the general vicinity of the Duomo, but we don’t head there much, window shopping is only fun for so long.

Now for my expert fashion advice!
Gentlemen, scarves are totally in. Not just the hipster rag around your neck, but like, a real scarf. In some cases I have seen, the bigger the better! Apparently there are specific ways to wear your scarf, I however am not privy to this type of information, but I think the picture below explains pretty well:

Please note that wearing a  scarf like the Jonas dude (he is a Jonas right?) is NOT COOL. You might as well tie ribbon around your neck and call it a scarf. It looks ridiculous. Jake and Brad are pulling of the scarf look quite well though. From what I can tell from my powerful observations, you have to wear the scarf as if you don’t care what it looks like, as if you didn’t spend an hour trying to perfect the “just thrown on look”.

On a more serious note, my friend Elin and I have decided to train for a half marathon! With the Christmas break coming up, she is returning to Sweden for a week, and I am in England for a month, so training begins in January. We plan on running in May. We run quite three days a week right now. We have gone from lazy smucks to 5k runners in a month, so I think we are doing okay! But if anyone reads this and happens to have run a marathon, or is in training, or has any type of advice, our ears are open!
This is Elin and I:

we are: friends, au pairs, broke, avid runners. 

Nov 15

OKAY,second blog post in two days…looks like I am on a role!

The number two thing, that I think you should do when you come to Milan! (these are in no order, it is just what ever comes in to my mind)
2. Check out the markets!! The markets here are great, and have lotsof hidden treasures, but you got to dig around, a lot! I have currently been to two good markets. The first one is located in the Nagvigli area, it is at the end of the Naviglio Grande canal – it’s hard to miss, so just look for it. The first time I went I had no money so I didn’t buy anything, the second time I went it was pouring rain, sooo I bought a burger and left. BUT it has great clothing bins priced anywhere between 1-5 euros (on average) – yes, some of the stuff is garbage, but there are hidden gems in those baskets. So keep looking. Also, the burgers at this place are fantastic (and they even had hot sauce, so I was very impressed).  If markets aren’t your thing, then you should go just for the burgers. THE SECOND market I was at today, is located on Via Osoppo (metro stop Gambara – red line). We didn’t really stay for long because we were all way to hungry to dig around in baskets and fight through the huge crowds, so we bailed after 15 mins to go get pizza. BUT from what I saw, and have heard about it, it seems legit and worth trying out if you have an hour or two too kill. I found it a little more pricey then the other market, but hey, what can you do.

Milan generally has markets on the last Sunday of every month as well, which are suppose to be great. But , I have yet to check one out! Rest assure though people, that as soon as I check it out, I will report back ASAP.

Aaaah, also, a new part I shall add to my blog. Current fashion trends! Woohoo! I have no hard evidence to prove these are actually trends, it’s more just what I notice people wearing A LOT.
Fashion Trend numero uno:

GIRLS! Sneakers with a wedge. I see girls/women wearing these all the time, and its not the tacky lace ups with a white, plastic wedge heel, those are not cool. It’s..well see photo below:

BOYS! I will have to come back to this…I will start paying more attention to what they are wearing.

Still out there?

Alright, I am well aware that it has been way to long since my last blog post. I am not as dedicated to this whole blogging thing as I had originally planned to be...but here I am, blogging again!
Well, i hav been here almost the three months as planned, and its been greaaaaaaaaat. The frist little bit was obviously a bit rough, because it's hard making new friends, and getting adjusted to living with a family again/livig with a strange family. But it is totally okay now, I got very lucky with my family! They are so nice to me, they don't treat me like a worker or anything like that, they treat me as if I am part of the family and make me feel comfortable being here. And too be honest, what i do is prettttyyy easy, so there is nothing i can complain about. In ythe mornings I walk to school with the kids and the mum, or i sit and wait for the house keeper to let her in if she is running late. Then I have the entire day to my self, which is usually spent at the gym, running, drinking gallons of "America Coffee" at a cute american style cafe with friends, orr wandering the streets of Milan looking for things to do lol, which suprisingly is scarce. Unless of course you have an unlimited supply of money.
HOWEVER if you are planning a trip to Milan, here is a list of things i reccommend you do!
1. Visit the duomo (obviously), during the day and at night. And be sure to climb to the top, the view is amazing. But we warned of the men that try to sell you bracelets...they say there free, but as soon as you take it they ask for a donation...and are very persistant. 

I am only going to post one a day, so that you dont get overwhelmed with all the overpriced great things Milan has to offer...

Also..NEWS!
I AM STAYING IN MILAN TILL JUNE 1ST!!! I was suppose to leave in December, but the family liked me sooo much they asked me to stay longe, and i said SI!

Anyone is free to visit me at any time :D

miss you all