Genova

We headed to Genova, my boyfriend and I a few weeks ago now. Why Genova? Well, it’s famous for focaccia and pesto, is that reason enough? We arrived and it was beautiful, it's a small seaside town by the sea with gorgeous architecture. We only spent the weekend and our plan was to eat as much pesto and bread as we could physically manage. Who would have known that it would be so difficult to find restaurants that serve pesto? Nowhere, I repeat nowhere sold the apparently famous pesto! Disappointing to say the least. 

But by luck we stumbled across Savô a so called “gourmet pizza” place. I’m so pleased we didn't find anywhere else because we had the best pizzas ever! We thought the restaurant was full until we were shown downstairs where there was no one. We had half the restaurant to ourselves, it was perfect! We may not have had pesto or focaccia bread in its purest form, but we did enjoy a pesto pizza and a focaccia one - amazing is the only word to describe it! 

Not only was the meal to die for, but our hotel - Hotel Le Nuvole Residenza d'Epoca was incredible. Well, first of all we nearly didn't find it, we finally asked someone where it was, and realised that we had been stood in front of it for about 10 minutes without even realising it. Finding it was one thing, but how to get in was the next. Who would have thought that finding a buzzer would be so difficult. We contemplated calling each and every one of the names registered on the doorbell and then when we eventually opened our eyes there was a plaque purposely for the guests of the hotel.

The hotel was a mix of modern and old, with huge Italian paintings covering the walls in one corner and a modern photograph in the other. It was pretty cool to say the least. The thing that got me truly excited was the free food. There was free focaccia bread, apple tart, biscuits and tea and coffee. It was like being in a candy shop! We spent most of our time in the dining room taking full advantage of all the freebies. The breakfast was a feast too, we must have spent most of the morning filling our boots before waddling out of the hotel. 

A weekend away was just what we needed, and Genova was the perfect place!

Things not to miss in Genova:

• Discover the old city, taking a stroll through a maze of cobblestoned passageways.

• Visit the Palazzo Reale, if you only get to see one of the palaces make it this one!

• Visit the aquarium, one of the largest housing more than 5000 sea creatures.

• Take a stroll along the sea front.

• Eat a pizza in no other than Savô!

Downward Dog

It was evident that living in Italy, I was bound to consume large quantities of pizza and pasta, but little did I know that I would actually eat so much that I would begin to look like one. For those of you that know me, I can eat! But it does tend to get embarrassing when you not only finish your extra large pizza, but finish your friends and have an extra slice of another friends too! Ok so I might have a slight addiction to pizza but there is worse things to be addicted too!

After several weeks of giving into my Italian food cravings, I told myself it was about time I did some sort of exercise, otherwise it was becoming clear that I would end up like the back end of a bus. 

I’m not really one for doing sport that feels like sport, I mean I’m the occasional jogger, if I know I’ll have take out that night, or the type that will run for the bus. I can break a sweat just doing that! Also it doesn’t help that I am actually the worst when it comes to every single sport. No seriously, I mean its actually quite shocking! I can’t catch, throw, kick or do any other sort of sporting gesture. It usually ends up with me in a heap on the floor after tripping over my own feet. 

So I have turned my attention to yoga; quiet and peaceful yoga. Or so I thought it would be. I was all prepared and super eager signing up without even doing the trial lesson. I even went on a hunt for a yoga mat - who knew that would be so difficult? So for the first lesson I turned up at yoga mat in hand, and shocked at how many people came, the class was full. There wasn't even enough mats for everyone, I mean crazy or what? Numbers fell after that, the class now consists of a mere 6 of us. What does that tell you? The first lesson, surprisingly was tranquil and calm, little can be said for the classes after that. A few of my friends from my Graphics class decided to sign up too. Well, that was peaceful yoga out of the window. I mean in-between the falling over, slipping on the mat, changing mats, the occasional yelp and hysterical laughing, there is the odd occasion that its quiet. Never did I think I’d find exercise so entertaining. Thank god they joined. Yoga really did turn out for the best! 

MTV EMAS Milano

Who knew that Milan was hosting the MTV EMA awards this year? Personally I didn't until they began constructing the biggest outdoor stage in the Piazza del Duomo just a week before. Milan isn't the city that screams from the rooftops everything that’s going on, which is both good and bad. Good because you end up stumbling across some of the best events ever just by chance and bad because if you aren't lucky enough to discover them on the off chance, then you've gone ahead and missed them! 

Last weekend we had 2 nights of free concerts before the awards themselves. Ok I have to admit as eager as I was to get there early I had no idea who the first few acts were, but if you don't know who Duran Duran, Ellie goulding, Martin Garrix and Afrojack are, then I’m sorry but where have you been the last 10 years? It has to be probably the coolest FREE event I’ve been too.