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Venice & Latte

December 7, 2011 in Italy by somethingboutrenes | 2 comments

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Apart from Florence, Venice is my second favorite city that we visited in Italy! I love the colorful buildings, the waterway, getting lost around the city and treasure hunting for the various tourist spots. It was gloomy in the morning but when the sun came out in the afternoon, we saw the true beauty of Venice.

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The rainy morning made us walk into many cafes for a hot cup of good old Italian coffee for him and comforting hot chocolate for me! Hot drinks never tasted so good! Haha. The boy didn’t look happy because he ordered Latte and in Italy, Latte means milk. He got a cup of hot milk instead. That was our first coffee lesson in Italy! He wanted Caffe Latte but lazy Singaporeans call it Latte. He told the guy he wanted Caffe Latte and they simply poured in a cup of Espresso. Haha. Epic fail.

Duomo di Milano, Milan

December 7, 2011 in Italy by somethingboutrenes | No comments

We landed in Italy via Milan and spent half a day exploring the fashion city! In Milan’s main train station, you can check in your luggage at a fee! It is really convenient and it freed us from lugging our luggage around the cobblestone pavements! Generally, there are only two things to do in Milan for a tourist, shopping or visiting the Duomo.

We chose Duomo and some light shopping around the cathedral. Upon ascending from the train station via the escalator, we were greeted by a huge, magnificent, breathtaking and an unimaginable sight of the church. I had my jaws opened for 10 seconds and it reminded me of how powerful Christianity was in the old Italy.

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Duomo di Milano is the fourth largest cathedral in the world and the largest in Italy! It took nearly six centuries to complete!

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Here we had our first taste of Duomo!

Venice: Bicycle Shop

November 26, 2011 in Italy, Travel by somethingboutrenes | No comments

We were at Venice and chanced upon a neighborhood bicycle shop! We got these accessories at less than SGD 40! Isn’t it amazing? All made in Italy, the bike seat, the rubber brown handle, a metal basket and a bell. Yes I lugged all these back because it is going to cost a bomb in Singapore and they are probably all made in China if you get one in Singapore!

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These were what we lugged home!

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Before we revamped the bike, it looks like this! Thank you Lennel for the bike again!

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After my baby revamped it for me, it looks pretty! We ride around our neighborhood very often and this little bike comes in handy!

If you want to know where the bike shop is, we stayed in Venice Mestre (Venice Mainland) at Triton Hotel which is just across the train station. The bike shop is just around the corner, ask the concierge where the nearest supermarket is and on the way to the supermarket, you will see the bicycle shop!

Mini Cars in Italy

November 20, 2011 in Italy, Travel by somethingboutrenes | No comments

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There are many mini cars in Italy and it is not just cars, they have mini buses, vans and trucks too! I can understand why they miniaturize every form of vehicles! Their roads are mostly narrow and single lane, and their parking areas are limited and at the roadsides! Unlike in Singapore where most of our roads are at least two lanes and multistory parking spaces are in abundance. Italians have to navigate the narrow roads between old buildings on cobblestone and share the roads with with pedestrians and cyclists. I just find it amusing whenever I see large man in a mini car! Haha.

Cornetto/Brioche: Croissant’s Cousin in Italy

November 20, 2011 in Food, Italy, Travel by somethingboutrenes | 2 comments

Another random post about Italy! I have so many random posts at the back of my head, it’s going to take months to clear! Haha.

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My personal favorite! We found this bakery in Milan!

This Italian pastry named “cornetto” in the Center and South of Italy and “brioche” in the North is a cousin of French Croissant! Unlike the French version which is crispy and buttery, Cornetto / Brioche is softer and comes with fillings! They dolled them up with fruits, nuts, cream, sugar and jam and filled them with puree, cream and chocolate! We have them at every breakfast in the hotels we stayed, you see them in cafes and bakeries and it’s everywhere! Yums!

Painting from Rome got Stretched.

November 20, 2011 in All Things Pretty, Italy, Travel by somethingboutrenes | 2 comments

Sino Trading & Frame Works

450 Clementi Ave 3 #01-281 Singapore 120450
Tel: 67771188

Remember I put up a post about a painting we bought at Piazza Navona in Rome? We finally got it stretched! Instead of going to JB which we thought is a hassle to save $20 – $30, I brought it to Sino Trading & Frame Works at Clementi! It costs $73 (after asking for a discount from $75) to stretch the canvas which was 24 inches by 34 inches! Not a bad deal I say. Skillful old masters do the framing and stretching at the store instead of sending them to a factory. They are also helpful and attentive to our requests. The material they used looks strong and of good quality! Total cost of this painting $243!

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Awaiting to hang on the wall

And about our painting, I love the red poppies in the foreground,the little house on the hill and the great blue sky! It is a view of Tuscany in Summer / Spring and it is beautiful! Different from most of the paintings found at Piazza Navona, it is less of a country style. Instead, it looks modern with the use of vibrant and striking colors! Most importantly this painting makes me happy while looking at it! I once went to an art exhibition and an art collector gave a talk on how collectors should buy a painting because they love looking at it, instead of its “collectible value” which makes them think “ah, what an ugly painting but I can surely make some money out of it in a few years” and I totally agree with him.

Duomo, Florence

November 20, 2011 in Italy, Travel by somethingboutrenes | No comments

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When we first saw Duomo – Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore – in Florence, we were awed. It was as though we have walked into a picture, it was magical! The magic soon disipate once we saw the queue to the church! The entrance to Duomo is free but to climb the dome, you will have to buy a ticket.

The Gothic style cathedral was constructed between 1296 – 1436 and the unique design was created using polychrome marble in shades of green and pink on its exterior. This basilica is one of Italy’s largest churches and it still remains the largest brick dome ever constructed. It is a must see in Florence!

Prada Space Outlet, Florence

November 12, 2011 in Italy, Shopping, Travel by somethingboutrenes | 16 comments

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There are two popular outlet stores in Florence outskirt and we chose to visit Prada Space Outlet. It looks different from what I have imagined! I thought it will be chaotic but really it looks like a nice Prada store with a lot of Asians (coming from Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Japan and Korea). HAHA. It is really easy to get there, take a train from Florence Termini Station to Montevarchi Station which takes about 35 mins (express train) or 45 mins to an hour (normal train). From Montevarchi, catch a cab at the station. Prada Space Outlet is the only tourist attraction at Montevarchi and it seems like the entire town survives on their tourist spendings. The cab drivers told us there are probably only 4 cabs in this town and they run to and fro the train station to Space outlet daily!

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We were told by the sales staff that they have limited pieces each day for sale and if you go on a weekend afternoon, most of the shelves will be empty already! So huge tip, visit in the morning! We went on a Saturday morning and were number 100+ patrons! They had a limit of 200 patrons per session (not sure how long is the session) but when we were there, it was busy but there wasn’t a queue to get in! So lucky us! We spent less than an hour there because we were very focused on what we wanted to get. Haha.

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Our loots! Ok mine, mine loots! Haha

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A leather bag for mummy! This is a classic design and it is made of full cow leather. It costs less than 400 euros!

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This is for me! A small one for special events! Similarly full cow leather and costs less than 500 euros!

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A wallet for me! I wanted a nice pretty wallet for the longest time! Similarly, leather and costs 189 euros

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My sister wanted a long black wallet and I thought this is a classic design. Haha. Leather and costs 189 euros too.

So you roughly have a sense of what kind of things they have and their prices! All these prices were before VAT tax refund of around 11 – 13% (I can’t remember)?

Nespresso, Florence

November 12, 2011 in Italy, Shopping, Travel by somethingboutrenes | No comments

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He bought our Nespresso machine from Europe and all our capsules are from Europe too! You may wonder, why do we lugged them all the way back home? For one simple reason, it is far cheaper than if you bought it in Singapore. We didn’t come across any Nespresso counters in Italy and thought there didn’t enter the Italy market. But we were determined so our best friend Goggle pointed us to a Nespresso boutique in Coin, a departmental store in Florence on Via dei Calzaiuoli. So yay to that! Here’s for all like-minded people who may be looking for Nespresso in Italy. Haha.

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Satisfied customer.

Bata, Italy

November 12, 2011 in Italy, Travel by somethingboutrenes | No comments

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If you ever wondered where BATA originates from, it is not Malaysia and yes even though the unofficial acronym for BATA is Buy and throw away it is not from our neighbors! Correction: Bata is from Czech republic! Yes! For the record, a lot of the shoes sold in Italy’s Bata is actually made in Italy! Haha.

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