Aren't they cold?

On mu way to work I, like most days, met my friends the flamingos that was having breakfast in their garden. But one thing hit me, flamingos can't like the Milaneese winters - it's around 5 degrees during the days and it goes down to 0 - -1 during the nights.

I feel sorry for myself that I have to live with this cold but they must be suffering even more?

Xoxo
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Hyvää yötä

= Good night in Finish ;)

Off to bed. Working really early tomorrow morning, zzz.

Good night!

xoxo

New years eve STRESS

WHY WHY WHY does it always be such stress around New years eve... every year the same thing and I just hate it. New years eve must be the greatest day of the year and everyone are planning and organizing like crazy. I'm not organizing anything so instead I have to choose what I wanna do and I just can't. I don't know what I wanna do, or more correct is that it's so much things I wanna do. Now I'm choosing in between four evening plans and I hope that someone else is gonna choose for me...

1. Dinner and house party with Ilaria, Silvia and their friends. Great gang and it's good that dinner and party is all in the same place. BUT the party is a bit far away, taxis are a mess on new years so in other words I would be dependet on someone to give me a ride home...

2. Dinner and house party with Stefano and his friends. Not really sure what the real plan is but they are a nice group of people.

3. COST! My favourite bar in Milan are orginizing a new years eve dinner and party and it's obvious that I would love to attend that. If I would go there Rosella would come with me and I think Steffo would come along with 4-5 friends too. The dinner cost 120euro but now it looks like it's fully booked. In that case we have to wait until after dinner to go there and then we have the problem where we would eat the dinner?

4. I just heard from Mario that said he will come back to Milan for two days and they are organizing a big open bar party at a loft somewhere in south Milan. Haven't seen my lovely friend Mario since September when he moved to France and I would love to spend new years with him. But it's the same there, looks like the party starts at 23.00, so what would I/we do before that?? But I'm sure that's gonna be a fun party too as Mario's parties always been lots of fun.

However I think and hope sweet Rosella is gonna come with me whatever we decide to do, so I'm sure any of these would end up being a good new years eve for us!!

xoxo

Did you hear about the Morgans?

Tonight I saw the film "Did you hear about the Morgans" with Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica. Hugh Grant is one of my favourite actors and Sarah Jessica Parker is the great Carrie from Sex and the City so it's since long I wanted to see this movie and tonight I luckily found it on SKY.

The movie was sweet and entertaining but not really a five star movie ;)

xoxo

Super lazy day

How come time flies so fast when I have my days off. The day is gone and I haven't manage to do anything, almost...

The plan for today was to unpack my bag, pay my bills, study a lot and then go to the cinema with Steffo tonight.

I have unpacked my bag, paid my bills, made lunches for the next coming 5 or 6 days and organized e-mails and things for the blog. That's it. Haven't been able to study at all and I'm not going to the cinema either as Steffo didn't feel well. A days more and less waisted. And the strange thing is that I feel more tired after being at home doing nothing all day than I normally do when I work all day and go out in the evening. Wierd.

Now I gonna eat dinner - it's still kind of Christmas so I'm still aloud to eat a lot, right? ;) Then I guess I gonna watch a movie or read a book tonight. Like I said, lazy day and lazy evening!

xoxo

New surname?

MARIA-ALEXANDRA MILANO

My sweet friend in Swizerland sent me a Christmas card looking like this and I start to wonder how on earth the postman could find my door. But it's quite funny... it's actually kind of a trend here in Milan that night club promoters change their names on their websites and on facebook translating their first name into an american version and putting Milano as their surname. And now I'm Maria-Alexandra Milano, I kind of like it!! :)

xoxo

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Lunches alla Maria

This is how I prepare my lunches - mass production. As I'm working tomorrow, Friday and Sunday and 6 days next week it's not like I have lots of time to cook at home so when I finally take my time to prepare lunch boxes I make a lot. Today I made six of them containing;
- Spaghetti with mushroom and cream
- Pasta with quattro formaggi sause
- Spaghetti with salmon and cream
- Spaghetti with tuna and tomatoes
- Pasta with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil
- Grano with tuna fillets and tomatoes

Around where I work we have some fast food places and some restaurants. In Rinascente we have some bars, a sushi restaurant, a coffee place and something else. We also have a special restaurant for all the employees with nice dishes for a good price but I had enought of all of it so I prefer to bring my food from home, eat it in the sofas and read a book/ or chat with colleagues. I save money and I find it more relaxing so this is how I do. I know it looks funny but it's a clever way of doing it.

xoxo
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A Venditti song I haven't heard before...?

~ Antonello Venditti ~ Regali Di Natale ~

Like most of you know I'm a big and faithful Antonello Venditti fan. I think almost all his songs are amazinly good, sweet and romantic and I know them all... I thought. Today I don't know how but I found a song of him I never heard before, and it looks like it's many many years old. Very strange. Anyway, it's equally good as his other songs so I want to share it with you.

Time to study!

xoxo

2010 Review - July & August

JULY

FIRST HOLIDAY MONTH. First week in July I went to Rome for a boiling hot vacation with my dad and grandmother. When back in Milan the heat was almost terrifying but I survived - I actually prefer that terrible heat instead of the painful cold we're having now. First floor was the place to be and we spent many good evenings there with Guffi (Alberto) and Catti (Marco). Went down to the beautiful Liguria coast twice and me and Stefania also had a small but great holiday together in Jesolo.

In Rome with dad

Fregene with dad - the beach coast outside Rome

A weekend down in Liguria with Francii and Edo - and I had my first motorcycle experience.

Amazing holiday in Jesolo with Stefania

Genova with Francesca

Cinque Terre with the gang

First Floor was the place to be! We had so many great night there. Here me, Stefii and Guffi.

Natalia and I - still at first floor

AUGUST

HOLIDAY MONTH NUMBER 2! Even if I had to work more and less the whole August I made sure to make the best of the situation. Instead of going away for one long holiday somewhere I made lots of small trips... I manage to see many many amazing places in north Italy and I realised Italy must be one of the most beautiful places in the world - so happy I'm living here! Johanna came to stay with me the first two weeks of August, it was so fun to live with her again and we manage to do lots of nice things together.

Reunion - The old gang from Ireland was for one evening/night back together...

In Como with Matteo & Johanna

Crazy pool party with my girls, Mario & his friends

Another night out with Mario...

In Lecco with Johanna

In BEAUTIFUL Decenzano del Garda with Johanna

In Arona with Johanna, Samuel and Jamie

Gardaland Aquapark with Natalia

Amazing days down at the Liguria cost with Francii and Karol

Had a great day @ Gardaland with Stefii

In Bassano del Grappa with Stefii & Matteo

@ Castello Maggiore in Veneto with Stefii

In Vicenza with Stefii

Two of the best months of my life I guess. Met so many great people, saw so many great places and just enjoyed every single second of it.

xoxo

Pub dinner in Milan

Tonight Stefano and I went for dinner at a Irish pub and we ate a mixed grilled meat plate. Like old times.... I actually really felt like being back in London for few hours - and I realized I kind of miss the londoners pub life. It's something relaxing about it and even if the pubs will never be as nice as all the posh bars I'm haning at I love them.

Today I've been working all day but I was deadly tired. Meeting all my friends and colleagues again kept me awake but now I just got home and I gonna go straight to bed.

Good night.
Xoxo
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