Milan taste experience part 1

I have to admid that I am about to write a review of a restaurant I know the owner.

photo by Dogan del Buongusto

Few years ago I got this very shy invitation from a young man who has a finnish mother and an italian father. Just to go to his restaurant for a free of charge wine tasting.
Free? What? Yes.
The wine was totally free. Few small glasses to taste some new label, he intended to add his collection of over 300 labels. Dogana del Buongusto actually holds theme evenings that varies of diner with a crime, inglish aperitif, pro wine tasting, just to mention few out of many.

I had my free wine I added to a dish of lovely Burrata and some other cheese plus ham and so I learned to know a lovely old place in a heart of Milan close to everything.
Just a walk distance from Duomo or from Navigli to give an idea how centre location this place have.

That is how I met Niccolo at Dogana del Buongusto. A new concept of cooking with a strong Italian tradition in it. Our friendship was sealed.
When ever I have guests I bring them to Niccolo, and each time they are enthusiastic.
(I have a sort of feeling they go there later on secretly without me, bringing new friends)

Life is about helping people and if this what I write about Niccolo and his exlusive dining helps him anyway I can only be happy.
We do not have any deal out of advertise his restaurant ro products. Not that I know about.

Last night I went there with a friend of mine who came to visit us from Rome.
Our daughters study together in the same university faculty and we as mothers like to talk how proud we are about them. And in an Italian way that happens in a diner table.
In my hometown I kind of feel I have to show the best there is and last night I brought my friend to Dogana del Buongusto.

As a starter we took wild ham trio that included boar, rendeer and deer.
My friend took mushroom and pork paste testaroli pasta, while I kept that wild thing with goose ragu home made fettucine pasta. And as a dessert we shared carrot and cheese cake.

Besides of the friendliness of all waiters and sommelier, the perfect timing and explanations of each portion and wine we took, we also had some small appetizers between each meal.

Photo by author march 2016

The table next to us took Cotoletta alla Milanese, that was huge.
Dogana del Buongusto is concidered as one of the best places where to eat one in Milan, according to other blogs that write about food and wine.
I know that Niccolo also makes gourmet hamburgers for lunch I so often go to eat.
And I noticed some dishes for those that follow  vegan diet.

On our way back home we talked how Niccolo has been able to create a kind of experience of taste that is uncommon in many restaurants.
I start with one taste and in the end of the diner I had a whole tour.

Please, feel free to invite me when ever you plan a diner at Dogana del Buongusto.


http://www.ladoganadelbuongusto.it

My Tate Experience

I decided to go and visit my friend who lives in London to her birthday in June this year. 
At the very same weekend Tate's art museum got it's reopening. 

As an art lover, not a critic, I wondered what I might experience once there. 

London as a town gives me kicks no matter how good or bad the weather might be. The energy just flows throughout my body and I feel like I have a new life. 




As most museas in London, there is no such thing as an entrance fee, but it is kindly expected to leave an offer of £4 that I think it is more than fare. 

I thought of going to Grand Opening in the evening of 16th of June, but my experience in Italy with queuing for hours discouraged me out of such event. 

I decided to go the day after instead and dedicated the whole day for the visit. For my surprise there were no queues either. How is it possible to have no queues in an art museum? What ever reason english have for such comfort we should learn from them.

As a visiter to many museas, some artwork weren't new to me, like those of Picasso, probably seen as a copy in Paris, in Malaga, or in Barcellona. 

My favourite remain the couscous table or Untitled (Ghardaia) from 2009 of Kader Attia: I love food, and I like couscous and art, so I found inspirational his work that kind of tickled all my senses. Besides of the  contemporary art work, this artist is capable in different ways: His way of seeing art sometimes also from a critical point of view by composing them with a harmony, such as Tawaaf from 2009; a circle made of cans that looks like a fountain.  Reconstruction of 2016 express his ideology of rebuilding and the concept of repair. 





The photos of Sirkka Liisa Konttinen  looked so familiar to me that first I thought they were from our family album. Her shots are from 1970s when I was just a kid in an age of preschool. They remind me of my childhood in Finland. I think my younger sisters were kept in a carriage with such huge wheels. And just like these kids, we had the most peculiar places to gather and play in. 





Underneath some  snapshots from the collection of those I liked the most: the background belongs to German artist Gerhard Richter and it is called Strip from 2011. 

What comes to the museum itself, I found spaces open and large. Two buildings connected with a bridge at the 4th floor and in ground floor. An elevator that carries people up to the top roof to admire the view over London and the River Thames. 

I sensed peacefulness and enjoyed the art fulfillingly. 

Tell me about your Tate Experience, by leaving a comment.

Please ask permission from the author to share photos. 

San Tito

The storie goes like:

During the period of the separation between Catholic Church and the Lutheran one, Catholic Church thought that to rise up their popularity it would be a good idea if they spread their saint's bodies all over in Italy (and other places) so that these people having a Saint in their church would feel more comfortable to stay among the Catholic belief, instead of choosing the Lutheran one. 

In a small town called Casorate Sempone just outside of Milan, near Lake Maggiore and only a "drop stone" from the Milan Malpensa airport there is a celebration of Saint Tito. Casorate lyes in the old Roman build road called Sempione. And Saint Tito appeared to be a deacon and martire who helped poor people. He was initially buried among all the other deacon saints in the cemetery of Ciriaca at Rome.

my source Umberto

His body was given as a gift to Casorate Sempione by the priest Giuseppe Cusani in the early 1676, but it took the period of after the 1st WW, to start celebrations. Casorate Sempione as a town, according to Umberto; a student of engineering at Politecnico di Milano whom I interviewed, was torn apart by people who thought differently. Celebrating Saint Tito would make people co-operate with each other and forget their differences. This event takes place once in every 10 years. Still today the ladies in this small town meet each other three years before the celebration to plan and work out decorations all made by hand.  

Today the celebration goes through out several events, like Palio that is a horse ride competition. Each quartier fight of their dominance with a horse ride: Similar to the famous "Palio di Siena". 
I found interesting sites to visit among beautiful churches and of course Saint Tito's body in the Assunta Church in the top of the hill. 

For the event local bakeries prepared a special cake and the breweries a special liquor. Ingredients are typical from the area, such as figs, nuts and honey.  
I did't taste the cake, because I bought one.  Liquor was excellent as much as San Tito beer; Belgium blond brewed. 

The whole town is a huge flower show. Each neighbourhood is decorated differently. It took me that 8 to 9 km to walk to visit it all. And I have to admit that it was worth evecry cm of it. My favourites were the neighbourhood with "flowers and bicycles", "umbrellas", "Hortensia" and "Via Venezia" that stands for Venice Street. I must say that I admire all the work these women still do today and I wish this kind of committee with such commitment found place in other cities. 

This 10th celebration ends 13th of September with fireworks.

Please free to post comments on your visit at Casorate Sempione or at Saint Tito feast. 

All photos are by author; please ask a permission to share them. 

  

Canadian side of the Niagara Falls

In 2012 I visited Canada for the very first time. I have been to New York in 1993, that wasn't so far away for Niagara. But this time in Canada I wanted to see these Niagara Falls everyone talks so much about. 

We left with the rented car from Montreal early in the morning; me and my friend with our kids and a friend of my daughter. And like anyone not knowing the route to drive I put the navigator on. Luckily we had passports with us, because the navigator used the fastest route sending us to the US border and we were with no visa to entry. So we just turned around and got the third degree from the custom on our way back to Canada. 

 Our route did not include this huge bridge to pass the river, although the view out of it was magnificent  It made me think of Finland, my native country and all those summer houses we have along the lake side. 

Then finally we arrive at the Niagara Falls. 

I thought it would be just falls and thats all, but it turned out a "small town" with over 80.000 inhabitants. This town belongs to Ontario and it's situated along the River Niagara. 

Niagara Falls belong to two states: To the Canada and to the United States of America. 

This area has registered settlements ever since the 18th century; first by Iroquois then by europeans. 

Niagara has also a historical battle when 1759 French and English fought about the "ownership" of the area of Lake Ontario. French won with the help of Iroquois allies. 

This horse shoe form waterfall is to be seen only from the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls. 

The average flow of the quantity of the water is 2400 m3 each second. I can't even imagine how much water that might be. 

I wanted to visit the waterfall a bit closer, that is possible by a small boat on witch I had to wear this raincoat in order to not to get totally wet. Not an easy job, since we went underneath of the waterfall.   

This town offers plenty of accommodation, restaurants, casino to get rid of every penny and if that does not help, the amusement park does the rest. As I am curious, I eat everything that there is to be offered, and Canadian food is very similar to the american food. Match with brittish pub food: Fish & Chips 

I also thought that Southern Canadia such as Northern America would have icy cold winters, with a lots of snow, and it apparently happens too in the area of Lake Ontario. But not in the Niagara Falls, where the climate is mite and very friendly to wineries. We visited few and tasted the famous ice wine. Some wineries organise tours, wine tasting in a cellar and give some appetisers too. 

I was truly surprised of the quantity of vineyards this area has and that climate seems to be so mite to give the possibility to grow wine. Many Italian among other europeans has moved here to start life all over and grow wine. 

An other odd thing that I found was that the Marple trees were cut down by Canadian authority in the area in order to let it turn out as vineyards. I understand that wine produce better than marple syrup.

Have you ever visited Niagara Falls? 

Please leave a comment behind and tell me Your Experience of it. 

Photos shot by author; please ask permission to share them 

Tour of Sardinia part 1: Sardinian style murals

Sardinia is an Italian Island next to Corsica, in the mediterranean sea.
This island has very special story of inquisitors around the whole mediterranean area ever since the aboriginals lived the island, before and during the Nuraghi period.

photo by author with the app Collagelt

I was on my way to visit Bosa when crossed this beautiful little town called Tinnura: Village of farmers and artisans.

Tinnura is an open air Museo with wall paintings in almost every house. These wall paintings got started as a form of protest for the local authority and later turned in to a street art with modern subjects. 
The mural art demonstrates how the life follows in these villages.  
The town hosts also various art work of famous local artists.
At Tinnura I found several artisan boutiques that sell straw items, such as vase or plates. 
These items are made by a hay that grows next to the street and is collect by hand, such as the elaboration of the objects. These are decorated with sun, or stars and coloured yellow, red and green next to the natural colour of the hay. 

Bosa is a small town along the only navigable river in Sardinia called Temo.

photo by author

Bosa used to be settled already at the period of prehistory, and it has several Domus de Janas as archeological founding  While in the bronze period as well as the Nuraghi period  it looks like there weren't much of a settlement in Bosa. As the whole island of Sardinia, also Bosa was occupied by Aragon after the fall of the family of Malaspina. 

The remains of Castle in the top of the hill gives a suggestive view over the bay of the Sardinian Sea. 

photo by author with apps SuperPhoto and Collagelt

Bosa is a beautiful little town where time seems to have stopped with its narrow streets and olive tree gardens. The down town walking street offers places to sit down, eat or just drink some coffee.
 While to the castle there are stairs to climb or a road to walk in. 

photo by author with apps SuperPhoto and Collagelt

Bosa offers several hotel B&B and rooms to let. Nice restaurants where to eat and drink. 

Feel free to leave your comment of your Mural experience. 

Kangaroos

I love animals. I love all the animals. But I have this feeling with kangaroos. And luckily I had a possibility to have very close contact with them on my trip to Australia. 

First meeting with the kangaroos was at Cairns where I went for a snorkelling trip at the Great Barrier Reef with my cousin. 
One day we went to this Tjapukai Aborigine Park, that is totally a touristic trap, but interesting place to visit. On a top of a hill there is this huge area with Australian wildlife, such as koalas, and kangaroos. 

We bought some kangaroo food, but these poor animals were so over fed that they didn't want to know anything about our symphatetic gesture to feed them. But I saw "my kangaroos"
Besides of the kangaroos and koalas, the park offers other activity, such as sight seeing with a guide in a special van that goes in mainland as well as in the water. And that was exciting. 
Then we met the aborigine culture, learned to throw a boomerang and watched aborigine dancing show.  

http://www.tjapukai.com.au

At my stay near Sydney with my cousin's family gave me an estraordinary opportunity to visit many national parks. One day we drew over to Canberra, that stands for Australia's Capital. Near Canberra there is this beautiful Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve where all the animals are kept free. 

I had hard time leaving the park. As a matter of fact, the park ranger needed to come and seek for us so that he could close the park and get home for diner. 

http://www.tidbinbilla.act.gov.au

Then the last kangaroo experience I had was probably also the best one. Near Sydney along the cost line towards south at Helensburg there is this small animal park called Symbiozoo; a bit like a zoo, where it is possible to meet kangaroos. 

I had a very special board meeting with kangaroos about the food they sell there. These kangaroos were attracted by the Cairns kangaroo food I had very little as a left over. We had to decide how to get some more of it.  
And the only way would be me going back to Australia, visit Cairns and bring a lots of kangaroo food with me. 




If you go there before me, bring some food to these guys 

There are moms with babies too. 

http://symbiozoo.com.au















Now I am an active follower of "kangaroo Dundee  at Facebook  starring Brolga Barns and it is located some where near Alice Springs; my next Aussie visit.
https://www.facebook.com/kangaroodundeefanpage/?fref=ts



Feel free to leave a comment behind and tell me about your kangaroo experience. 

All photos are shot by author, and I'll be pleased if you'd ask my permission to share them. 

With the bus around Europe

We as europeans are not costumed of travelling by bus just like Americans. 
In the United States, it is normal to take a bus from New York and wake up after three or four days in California. Or almost. 

figure by thetimesweekly.com

One of the main reason is probably that when we move, we move with our furnitures and do not leave them behind. We don't have a garage sale and then just take personal items and jump in a bus. 
And travelling by bus used to be expensive, uncomfortable and totally out of any schedule. 
Most people also prefer either their own car, train or an airplane. 
But lately public transports are getting more and more expensive or offer services we don't want, need or let us pay for those services we never get. And who wants to drive day after day anymore? 



Today's European bus service is totally different. 
It should be possible to travel from Paris to Amsterdam with just 1€ or from Dubrovnik to Madrid with 5€ only. There is a new tendency to have a sort of "interbus" instead of interrail. 

To figure out if all that is possible, I tried two out of hundreds available. 

First I tried Student Agency in Czech Republic and later German owned flixbus here in Italy.

photo en.wikipedia.org

At my trip from Prague to Karlovy Vary with "Student Agency" that took about two hours, in the bus was a driver and a "waiter", a sort of male hostess. This serving person gave me a newspaper I couldn't read, because it was in czech and a cup of tea. I also had films to watch and free wifi. This was all inclusive for the price of my ticket. I could buy some coffee, juice fruit and some snacks too. Toilet was functioning.
Seats were normal bus seats.  
One way trip costs proximately 10€

photo www.flixbus.it

For my trip from Milan to Perugia with Flixbus I had a seat. A normal bus seat. 
Toilet didn't function or was kept closed. 
There were no such thing as a coffee, tea or a waiter that served me. 
Nor there were films to be seen, or free wifi. A newspaper? What is that? 
In the entrance there were some old weekly magazines. 
The trip from Milan to Perugia took 6 hours with a stop of 15 minutes. 
The web offer for that trip is proximately 19€ 

I can't say I was totally satisfied. After that Czech experience I had, this German owned company was nothing but an ordinary bus trip and it took me from point A to point B.
I truly wish these companies invest in hostess, because it is comfortable to see there is an extra care, some drinks to be bought and toilets that function. One stop in 6 hours is far too little. Also movie panels in the seats could help both; the customers and the company.  
I am willing to pay more for each trip in order to see "some student" or unemployed to get a job and travel with some comfort.  



P.S. I wonder who get those 1€ trips

At the Market

Although many countries have given up the weekly appointments with street markets and moved towards to big malls, or Designers outlets Italy still keeps it's tradition.

One day I happened to be in this small town just outside of Milan called Canegrate where they had their weekly market on Monday's.

As anything in Italy, it starts with a cup of espresso:

I imagined that the market would be small and only with few sales activity, but it turned out to be my physical exercise of the day. The whole main street was close for the traffic as well as some smaller side roads.

I have always enjoyed visiting markets. They give me the feeling of a good energy. People actually want to help you to find you products, chat with you while shopping. The atmosphere is so familiar.I feel like at home. That's what happens to an extrovert like me: I charge my batteries just by being with other people. 

Most of the times  when I visit markets I buy things I don't really need, but it makes me happy to give to the artisan a possibility to make her/his living.
This time I bought green coffee (I need to know what for), some bee honey, underwear that I could get from the shop just stone drop away, a t-shirt made by the stand keeper, and some gifts to Christmas.
Yes, I really start with gifts in the summer.

And as any Italian village, it has it's main square and the church, with it's fountain

Some years ago, Market was an excellent place to find Italian custom tailored clothes and shoes that were difficult to find from shops. And meet friends and chat with them with a cup of espresso. 
At Canegrate I was totally out of my own area, and knew no one to chat with. That didn't stop me, because Italians are so easily to be led on small talk. 
You may always talk about soccer or about the wether. This period is very hot, and what else I could talk about than about the summer clothes, they still kept selling. 

Most sales personnel nowadays are foreigners, like central africans mostly selling bags and other simil leather goods, or Chinese selling "one size fit all" clothes. Northern africans are concentrated on selling household items, and Italians keep on with their culinary delicates. And as in every market, I found here too that one stand giving demonstration of how to use something new sold only on tv. In this case an electrical hairbrush that straighten hair just by brushing it. But I wasn't looking for that. I was looking for a vegetable slicing machine where all the parts can be deposit in it in a special box. 

That reminded me how hungry I was, and got my self a table in the local restaurant. 

To figure out wether there is a weekly market at your town, and where precisely, just seek market and the name of the town with web research. 

Now I'll enjoy my spaghetti with tomato sauce. 

Happy Belgrade

My friend had been inviting me to visit his hometown Belgrade for several times, but for one reason or another, I never went with him.

Then one day, I said yes.

I booked a flight with Airserbia that turned out to be a pleasant surprise. They belong to the Etihad group and my flights were just perfect.

I did't do any background research of Serbia nor about Belgrade, because I didn't want to have expectations nor fixed ideas. I wanted local people to lead me. And it was the wisest thing I could have done.

My first meal at the very first day was indeed very special: a home made rooster soup that in my plate looked like this. And it was delicious  After it, I definitely needed a beer:




What could I possibly have been better choice  with + 30°C heat and with all that adrenaline I had? 

There are plenty of terraces to sit down and people are really nice. Price of a pin is proximately 1,8€



Down town area offers a lots of shops and a sort of mall, where artisans sell their own products. I bought two shirts and one of them I'm wearing while writing all this


To sit down for a bit quieter area and fine dining I found this beautifully decorated street

Belgrade has a long story of changes and inquisitions mostly ottoman and muslim. As a matter of fact they are not really keen of muslims and due to that old hate they apparently behaved not truly civilized during the last Bosnia- Herzecovina  war. 
Belgrade is situated between two rivers: Sava and Donau and is as high as 116 meters above sea level. 

view from the fortress

With the friend of mine I had the opportunity to visit the town of Belgrade by city sight seeing, walking kilometres under the burning sun and enjoy lovely local food. In the centrum area there is still this one quartier Skadarlija with it's street from the period of Turkish inquision, that has the most uncomfortable pavement for high heels. And a lots of excellent restaurants.  

Tri Sesira

Skadarlija quartier

I felt in love with the quartier of Zemum. An old town that used to be in the border of Austria. 
It looked like nothing had changed ever since. 
The river side hosts many fancy restaurants. In one of them we had a great sea food diner.  
In a top of the hill there is this beautiful Cardo's tower from where I could admire the view over Belgrade, two rivers, the Battle Island, and the magnificent landscape. 

I can imagine that visiting Belgrade does not pump in to many people mind. My advise is to go there. The city is in the movement, and is really convenient to investors. 

photo www.failedarchitecture.com

Savamala, that is the area near river, just close to the centrum area, has actually lovely out door places such as discos and bars. Around 1830 gypsies started their settlements with their hovels. 20 years later brick houses were build in the place of hovels that artisans later took over. Today the city of Belgrade wants to improve the area and has ambitious plans about it. Once it is done it will look like Dubai

photo www.citylab.com

In case you are planning a business trip to Belgrade, I am more than willing to be your tour leader. It would be my pleasure to go back to Belgrade. 

Please fell free to leave a comment