Eat my dust!

Think I can't handle a storm?  Eat my dust!  Here in DXB, it's quite often that we get a sandstorm out of the blue.  Last Friday was one of those days.  We were all going to Chat's amazing race/family day, an annual event from AP (company where she works).  It was held in Safa Park along Al Wasl road.  Rach, Rona and I woke up a little late and we saw posts about the sandstorm on Facebook and Twitter. The dust made the visibility low. We were discouraged to go out but then we thought it's going to get better in the afternoon. Unluckily, the weather continued to get worse as the day progressed.  We reached the park around half past twelve.  The AP group just finished lunch and starting a group activity.  We honestly wanted to pay attention and mingle but there were just too much dust flying around.  I was thinking of face masks, pretending I have one covering my face.  Lunch at the park wasn't that of a good idea too.  It felt like eating sand.  Everything I taste and touch feels grainy.  


After a half an hour of whining and trying to enjoy ourselves, we gave up.  The three of us left before the program finished.  We wanted to eat somewhere with a roof, away from the threatening sand and wind.  Rona and Rach knew exactly the place to calm us down.  You can never go wrong with Italian.  We went to Gelato on Sheikh Zayed road. Gelato is Italian ice cream, it brings me memories of my trip to Italy last year with my beautiful friend Tine - let me refresh you on our little Italian adventure - Milan, Rome and Venice.  The best gelato I've ever licked was in Cioccolati Italiani in Milan.  Dark Chocolate sure tastes like heaven.  


Before I drown in nostalgia let's get back to Sheikh Zayed road.  Gelato is an awesome little place to get Italian food. It's excellent but undiscovered. If you ever pass by this main road feeling famished, give this resto a try.

=)

A photo of Venice in the menu

Waiting for food

Looks inviting

You'll see later on how we'll deal with this wall decor

Freshly baked bread

Dip it in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, perfect!

Monster!!! =D

Starter (a bit spicy, I like)

Bruschetta is my first love

Focaccia bread base

PASTA!

I think it's Seafood Marinara

Pizza

Abundant black and green olives. YUM!

Busog na =)

Thanks for lunch BONA! Mwah!

=)

Sumunod si Chat.

Nakilafuks sa pagkain namin.

Pwede na ba? ahahahahahaha!

She looks so happy. LOL! =)

Perfetto!

Halata bang ang dumi dumi namin dito?

'Di na makita ang buildings sa likod namin.

Braving the sandstorm =)

On our way home

Looks gloomy

Filthy air

The end

In this life, everywhere we look there are storms brewing - either from nature or man-made.  Most of the time we wonder what our fate will be.  I've to admit every time the sky darkens my heart is filled with a little dread and fear.  Storms in our lives can be equally crushing.  One thing I've learned is that no matter how strong, it will pass.  All tremors will eventually stop.  Storms can wash away things that no longer has a purpose. After that, the air is cleaner.  We just have to clean up the mess and see things differently.  There's nothing left but to hope that peace will eventually replace chaos.  And I'm not talking about the sandstorm anymore.  

“Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Why? Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step. - Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

Ahh, MILAN!

Tine and I reached Milan on the morning of July 3rd. The streets were awfully peaceful and quiet.  The ride from Malpensa Airport to our hotel took about 45 minutes.  From the entire drive I counted the number of people roaming around the streets, it was sixteen.  I had this crazy thought that we were about to enter ghost town.  Milan is one of the oldest cities in the world so everywhere you look, you'll be able to observe the preserved architectural masterpieces as epitomized by houses, buildings, shopping malls and cathedrals.  So you can imagine how creepy it somehow felt entering a city glorified by old structures with no noticeable movement on the streets.  

Shuttle from the plane to the terminal

Tine = electrified

 A hot brunette and a guy we call Bono fetched us from the airport

 Peugeot taxi

 This is it!

 Let the good times roll =D

We stayed at the Hotel Pierre Milano, situated in a location very conducive for those who want to explore the best places in the city.  The Duomo is about a 15 minute walk from the hotel and we're a few steps from the Sant'Ambrogio Metro Station. Excellent metro and tram links equate to easy transit from one place to another.  

Hotel Pierre Milano

We're here, finally. 

Study area

 Spacious wardrobe

Our bed

 Couch

 View from the window

 View from the window

 Checking out places to explore

 A much needed nap

Free breakfast was not suppose to come about until the next day, but because we had a new found friend Kuya Nick, we were cordially invited to feast on the buffet that morning (hahaha!).  Kuya Nick is a Filipino from Batangas who has been working in Italy for about 25 years.  He told us stories about Filipinos working in there and believe me they are considered the richest of all expat Pinoys (talk about hectares of land in the Philippines).  He also was surprised to know that we work in Dubai and we're travelling on our own which I completely understand because we look like teenagers (chos! bawal kumontra).  After chika time over sumptuous brunch, we're ready to explore the city.  

I love bread!

 Madame Klaudia alive and kicking!

 These croissants are the best!

 I wasn't able to taste this cake

 More bread.

 Cold cuts

 Toast

 Egg, sausage and bacon

 Lafuks!

 Yummy brunch!

Our itinerary for Day 1 is solely dedicated to tour the fashion capital of the world, Milan.  Kuya Nick was kind enough to give us directions to the Piazza del Duomo, the main city square of Milan.  I don't know what got over us but we traversed the opposite direction.  But it was a good thing, we were able to see other places and the experience totally blazed our navigation skills.  The walk got me fixated on a particular element, the graffiti on the walls.  There's just something about it that got me captivated. It must be the "beauty of decay" vibes attached to it.  Maybe because I found the city ultimately impeccable and flaws like those wall vandalism made Milan perfectly imperfect to me.   

 A cathedral we passed by, we forgot the name though.

 News stand

 Caught staring at the mini =D

  Walk the talk

 BikeMi - means of transportation, bikes for rent 

 Hello, telephone.

 =D

More walking

  Libreria - almost all books are in Italian

 Vespa is LOVE!

 Their version of Pasig River =D

 =D

 I love this street.

=)

 First attempt to try the Metro  = Epic failure

 Graffiti!

 =)

 If this shop happened to be open, 2 ladies are definitely going under the needle!

 The WALLS!

I love this! =)

 More writings

I love the smell of old books.

Fashion (shopping) is one of the reasons why most people visit Milan.  Designer clothes and furnishings attract fashion conscious tourists.  When finally after about and hour or more of walking, we reached Piazza del Duomo.  When I set foot on the square, I was dazzled.  The Gothic designed structure is such an amazing sight. We took a moment to sit by the stairs of the cathedral to just enjoy the view, Tine and I were speechless.  In that plaza you will also find the world's oldest shopping mall, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuel.  Frankly, Milan is a good place to shop, you'll find a variety of great brands.  But from where we reside (Dubai), you'll find the same shops with no remarkable difference in the price so shopping was not really on top of out list of "to do's".  We were far more interested to examine the sights.  By the way, one thing I'm not really comfortable with is the gazillion dogs trotting the streets.  I think the Milanese peeps have this serious love for dogs thing and they almost do everything with them - walk, shop, eat, drink, have coffee, get lazy, travel, etc.  Milan is dog friendly land, and that's a good thing right? But I am extremely afraid of dogs so walking the streets without a companion would kill me.

Duomo Cathedral

 Piazza Duomo

 Tine 

 Street food!

 The tourists

 Yipee!

 Tambay

 Happy!

 =)

 The oldest mall

 She's so happy!

 =)

 Hinde ko alm kung anong pose ang gsto ko ma-achieve dito! Hahaha.

 Cathedral door

 One of our few pictures together

 Exploring the mall

 Massimo Dutti

 The devil wears this

 LV

 Ceiling

 Shoppers

 Prada Milano

 Gucci!

 2nd floor, Gucci

Tram

 Souvenir shopping

After hopping around the Duomo plaza, we got monster hungry.  We need decide to have late lunch in a place near the piazza so we can still enjoy the view while eating. Brushcetta is a favorite appetizer of mine that I actually attempted to make one about two years ago. It originated from Italy and obviously I wouldn't miss this chance to savor the authentic flavor.  I picked the Brushcetta Mare - Salmon, basil and butter. It was heavenly.  Tine ordered Tomato Rissotto.   I have living a "riceless" life for almost three years now and when I got a taste of this rissotto I almost went back to eating rice.  The tomato flavor was simply delectable.  When we finished eating, we went back to exploring stores and and souvenir shops.  

 Beh!

 Ahahaha, can't manage to force a smile, I'm super hungry!

 Rissotto and Brushcetta Mare

 Ferrari Store

Drive your dream car booth

 Are you up for it Tine?

 It's super expensive to drive this red hottie around

 Tine is in love with this mouse

 Tired but happy feet. Please don't go sight seeing with jelly slippers on

 Smart act!

 Just like a print ad

 Tine and the doves

 Tired? hahaha!

 I needed to sit down.

 Elvis!

We got so tired and weary after half a day of sightseeing.  We discovered this gelato place called Cioccolati Italiani on our way back to the hotel.  It was just across the street from where we're staying.  We ordered dark chocolate and hazelnut, and my goodness it was divine.  The gelato was the best reward we gave ourselves after a tiring day.  We decided to freshen up and take a short nap before having late dinner.  We found this pizzeria about 10 minutes walking distance from the hotel.  Woodstock 3 pizzeria has normal pizza slices that's bigger than our faces and the taste was so delightful.  The cheese was so thick and tasty.  Thinking about it makes me so hungry but let me tell you this, Italy is Pizza Heaven.  

 Cioccolati Italiani

It comes with a suprised liquid chocolate inside the cone

In a few minutes, the chocolate is up our chins

 Woodstock 3

 Impatiently waiting

 Smile =)

 Tried the draft beer

 Pizza is bigger than my face..

 ..and hers too. 

 Can't finish it

 Having a hard time breathing, so full.

 Salute!

We forgot our pizza, good thing Mr. Pizza called our attention

 Instant peers, strangers posing with Tine =D

 Bus stop

 =)

 Pizza delivery

 Empty streets at 12 midnight

 Graffiti again

 Almost home

We're here!

 Thank God for Wifi!

Getting ourselves updated with the outside world

Milan is truly a haven of gorgeous people.  It's a place where one can be wild and laid back at the same time.  Lovers, dogs, stylish tourists and locals congest the streets of this city.  Tine and I were bewitched by its beauty.  

Check out this video clip of our Milan tour.

We wouldn't dare leave Italy without visiting Rome and Venice. I will post a blog soon about those lovely places.  Thank you Motorola Middle East for this opportunity.  Thank you also for patiently working with us on the last minute rescheduling.  The trip was all worth it.  Thank you to our family, friends and even strangers who took time to vote for us and made all these possible.  We shall be forever be grateful.

"I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad." - George Bernard Shaw

All photos and videos were taken by me and Tine.