window shopping

We spent a good part of our Saturday morning poking around the world famous shopping streets of Milano. Everyone who's anyone in fashion really does have an address in Milan. Chanel, Gucci, Armani, Ferragamo, Krizia... the streets are lined with them. We were merely looking in windows but there are people of the world who are here to truly shop. For the most part they are already dressed in several thousand dollar outfits and at the very least have a miniature dog trotting at their heels.



Please note the above fashion disaster. If nothing else it serves as a reminder that everyone, and I mean everyone, is invited to poke around the shops. And should you be feeling particularly un-fashionable that day there will always be someone who looks far worse, and she may even have a daughter that she has taught to do the very same.

Additionally, guys in Italy love the color orange. Mostly because it goes with their tans.



I was thinking of popping into Dolce & Gabbana for a hayride gown. Nothing says "I've wasted a sackful of euro" and "I've never sat on the ground before" like a Dolce & Gabbana evening gown on straw. Are we laughing? Are we crying? Or are we just trying our best to understand the way the rich think?



Viktor & Rolf, a very fashionable & hip team, has the best designed shop here. If you'll notice, it is upside down. The chandelier hangs upward, the door handle is strikingly high. And when you look inside the furniture is sitting on the ceiling. We may not be able to afford their clothing but we must love their ideas.



And being Italy, there is always food not far away. This pastry shop & cafe was doing a very brisk business. The dove-shaped torta with the wild strawberries on top is only one of many Easter-themed food goods that is starring in shop windows of late. Easter is apparently a big holiday here if the sheer number of pastries devoted to it are any indication. Doves seem to be a central theme and also immense chocolate eggs worthy of display. I imagine these eggs weigh several pounds each being well over the size of an American football on average. No reports yet on whether the Easter Bunny comes to town.



And finally, a nod to the American tourists. This 480 euro Balsamic vinegar was in the window aging gracefully. Another American couple was taking a photo of it and in noticing that the signage is in English I think this shop knows exactly what it's doing. Maybe the Americans who take a ha-ha photo of our expensive vinegar will find our 35 euro porcini mushrooms a bargain and buy some for the plane ride home. We didn't fall for it and went home for a pizza.