after Saint Marco day (25 April, national holiday in Italy), “Nederland nationale dag” in Italië (organized with the Consolato Generale dei Paesi Bassi)

Some reviews (recensioni). Classic Italian pizzerias are generally good, here are other kind of places.

I'm looking for another song, I can't remember the title: it was a video with boys doing magic tricks with a ball, it was from a few years ago. It was a big hit, with tens of millions views on YouTube. If you can help me, let me know please.

Angelo Scola, born near Milan (Lecco lake), current archbishop of Milano.
Other candidates: Francis Arinze (Nigeria, cannot be elected 'cause he just turned 80 years old), Peter Turkson (Ghana, as Balotelli origins, but Mario has never been to Africa), Christoph Schoenborn (Austria), Timothy Dolan (New York), Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Argentina), Marc Ouellet (Québec), Odilo Pedro Scherer (Brazil).

Three expert Vatican watchers list some of their leading "papabile" — Italian word for cardinals who might be elected as the next pope:
1) Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan, leads Church historian Matthew Bunson's list as "an Italian with the intellectual chops for the job" who would bring Benedict's enthusiasm for "recapturing Catholic excitement."
Benedict moved him from another high-profile post, Venice, in July 2011, thereby giving this Vatican insider a perch at the WORLD's largest diocese, Milan (more than 1100 churches). Milano and Venezia together have produced five popes in the last 100 years.
A top scholar on Islam and Christian-Muslim dialog, Scola, 71, is "well positioned for dealing with the challenges of secularism and materialism in the West," says Bunson.
Scola once said: "Our job now has to be to help people to remember God. People suffer from a kind of amnesia about God and we have to remind them to reawaken God in their hearts and in their minds."

more to add soon

Milano (already "city with the best internet reputation" the other year) is one of the 20 cities that run for the European Best Destination 2013 title. Click here to vote and choose Milan (without registration).

Nice among the best cities is hilarious... you're lucky if you can come back home from there... criminals everywhere (Marseille the same). france is also the country with the most racist episodes in the whole world... Not to mention the assholes the Paris people are. Also, they have loads of art stolen (by Napoleon, etc.) from Milan, Venice and Italy. Not to mention all the food they copied from other countries and made it as if it was their invention. french wine, french fashion: definitely second rate.

Milan (Celtic foundation) has been interesting and vibrant at least since it was the capital of the western half of the Roman Empire. It was one of the most glorious of the Italian Comuni during the Middle Ages. It housed one of Italy’s most spectacular courts during the Renaissance. And so on. Leonardo da Vinci came from Florence looking for work and ended up staying a long time and achieving quite a lot, like many others have done since. Having always been in the thick of things, Milano is gifted with an impressive part of Italy’s heritage: it is a great city of art.
Have a look at the imposing marble Duomo, at our churches, palaces and museums. You will also be delighted by contemporary art and architecture. There’s so much more to Milan than just Leonardo’s Last Supper, the most famous painting in the world. Countless works of art are waiting for you, and nearly all of them are within walking distance.
While you visit, let the atmosphere of Italy’s most modern and advanced city seep in. You will be captured by the elegance and style; by the energy and the international flair. An incredible shopping experience for all tastes and pockets, in a place where design and fashion have made their home, the world capital.
Milan is the hub of Italian culture and media. If you are a music lover, you can’t miss La Scala. Many other orchestras and venues cater to all musical tastes, from chamber music to jazz. If you are a sports fan, no other city (first in the world) can boast two football powerhouses like AC Milan and Inter Milan, fiercely dividing the residents’ loyalties and supported throughout the world. And a very short trip to Monza will take you to the legendary Formula 1 racing track that has made Ferrari famous.
With so many things to do and see, take the time to simply enjoy yourself – relax and sip an "aperitivo" while you consider your options for dinner. Milan provides an overwhelming dining experience, as all Italian regional cuisines are richly represented, along with many others from the rest of the world.
Don’t forget that parks, green fields, canals and old farmhouses beckon a visit and will make you feel a lot more distant from the city centre than you really are. You will want to come back.

more to add soon

no I don't mean the communists-democrats making you pay more taxes (elections days in Italy). But to the exhibition in Milano @ Triennale, until 24 March.

A few days to Milan woman fashion week (settimana della moda donna). Not only meeting celebrities, etc. (work for us paparazzi, lol) the main thing is catwalks of course, but the great majority of people have never seen them “live” in person, because you should be a journalist or someone working there.
If you want to come and see some catwalk, let me know marco@miamilan.com
It’s very exciting, because it’s something you always see on magazines and tv, it’s comparable to children for the first time entering the legendary San Siro stadium :), a big emotion really.
AC Milan Fly Emirates teamed up with EasyJet, the best low cost company.
The symbol of Milano is a woman… (Madonnina golden statue too :), protecting us from above).
It’s the best fashion week not only because it’s the world capital of fashion but also because, compared to London, Paris and New York, in Milan the weather and food are oh so much better ;)


“The more you have inside yourself, the less you need of other people. That’s why superiority of spirit makes you rather unsociable. The level of sociability is in inverse proportion to the intellectual value.
Sociability is the act for which the men warm to each other the spirit, just as, when it’s cold, you warm up each other’s body hugging each other. The more spiritual heat you have, the less you need of sociability: it therefore tends to increase when the spirit is reduced.”
(Schopenhauer)

photo: via Montenapolone, first world fashion street.

some music for "San Valentino" :), see also previous posts with Ornella Vanoni songs, Le Vibrazioni, etc.

"Un romantico a Milano" (A romantic in Milan, by Baustelle)
gig during the fashion week soon, symphonic songs with orchestra, new album recorded in Poland.
Good songs if you're learning the Italian language.

c'è un maniaco sul Corriere della Sera

la sua mano per la zingara di Brera 

è nera 

fuggi, cosa fuggi non c'è modo di scappare 

ho la febbre ma ti porto fuori a bere 

non è niente stai tranquilla è solo il cuore 

Porta Ticinese piove ma c'è il sole 

quando il dandy muore fuori nasce un fiore 

le ragazze fan la fila per vedere 

la sua tomba con su scritte le parole 

"io vi amo 

vi amo ma vi odio però 

vi amo tutti 

è bello è brutto, io non lo so 

io vi amo 

vi amo ma vi odio però 

vi amo tutti 

è bello è brutto è solo questo" 

Scusi 

che ne pensa di un romantico alla Scala? 

quando canta le canzoni della mala scola 

quasi centomila Montenegro e Bloody Mary 

mocassini gialli e sentimenti chiaro-scuri

non è niente non è niente 

lascia stare 

se la Madonnina muore nasce un fiore 

lui non vuole che la sua ragazza legga 

quelle frasi incise quelle frasi amare 

"io vi amo 

vi amo ma vi odio però 

vi amo tutti 

è bello è brutto, io non lo so 

io vi amo 

vi amo ma vi odio però 

vi amo tutti 

è bello è brutto è un giglio marcio 

io vi amo 

vi amo ma vi sputo però 

vi amo tutti 

è bello è brutto è solo questo"

L'erba ti fa male se la fumi senza stile

- first of all: gelato italiano :) ice cream. Cakes, pastries, Nutella :), Italian espresso coffee, they’re all special here, even if I’m not a big fan, I prefer salty dishes.
- Italian sausages, lol.
- see a previous post about a Zani recipe to make “risotto” (rice dish) with mushrooms.
also Beckham learnt to cook risotto when he was here. He always says he misses Milan a lot. The typical Milanese one is yellow, with saffron (and sausage and onion - do not use onions in case of girls around, lol… better for your breath. Girls OR onions ^_^ - usually I have onions LOL). As the name says, risotto does not come from France (as the mayonnaise - it comes from my paradise island Minorca, name from the capital Mahon -> mahonesa).
- “cotoletta alla milanese” is also typical (cutlet, does not come from Austria).
Then there are other typical Milanese dishes but they are for old people, lol.
- one place you should go to buy great quality food is Excelsior (behind Duomo cathedral), it’s more than a supermarket, it becomes a fashionable activity. Or also the top floor of La Rinascente.
You’ll probably find Italian food expensive, but it’s quality.
- pasta, spaghetti, heart-shaped pizzas, etc.
There’s some place where you can have the “all you can eat” formula, pizzas or so many different kinds of pasta. You can even eat on a tram (Milano trams are even in California) while you’re going around the city.
One of my grandmothers was a cook in the hotel of my family in Sun Valley.
- cheese is great, Grana Padano, Gorgonzola (Liam Gallagher is a big fan) it’s the one that stinks lol, etc.
- to drink: Italian wine,appointed as the best in the world. My father makes it in the countryside (Sting too :)
- then I should add: gnocchi (gnocca = beautiful girl, lol), Milano panettone (a Christmas cake), etc. panzerotti Luini is a classic, eating along the street, beside the main Milan cinema, Odeon.
- But we also like foreign food. We often go to Santa Monica, our favourite American restaurant behind the cathedral (also Mexican), Kapuziner Platz (German), we prefer the one along Navigli channels, magic atmosphere. Not a big fan of Chinese or Japanese.
I love spicy food, I always add chilli or pepper.
I love tomato, I think I’m the only one even DRINKING tomato, even raw tomato. It’s also very good for your health, so: drink tomato, lol.
As Italian food is no doubt the best one in the world, food is also the theme of Milano Expo 2015, food for everyone.
yours,
the Spice Boy, lol

“Eating and cooking is a big part of the culture which I love love love love!!! I can’t wait to cook with them. Italians eat a lot of carbs and cheese but still manage to stay so skinny! Reason: walking A LOT, smaller portions and clean, natural food”
(American girl ;)

Carnival, this and next week.
The traditional "Carnevale ambrosiano" in Milan, with some things reminding of the Brazilian Carnival.

Meneghino is the main Milanese Carnival character (meneghino, like milanese and ambrosiano, now means = of Milano), other cities have other characters (Pulcinella in Naples, Harlequin and Brighella in Bergamo, etc.).
The name comes from the surname of the servant going with noblewomen for a walk, or to the church.
He is a bit rough but a good, generous person and mostly characterized by honesty, sincerity and a strong sense of justice. To defend his people, he doesn’t run away. He is funny and able to mock aristocratic people. He became a hero, a symbol of the Italian unification.
He is usually represented as wearing these clothes, a cocked three-cornered hat, a pony-tailed wig, red-white striped stockings and an umbrella.
Meneghino’s sincerity is also symbolized by the fact that, unlike most “commedia dell’arte” theatre characters, he doesn’t wear a mask, nor make-up. This makes of him a free character.

The typical Italian sweet treats for Carnival are the “chiacchiere” (= that also means “blah blah”, lol), with powdered sugar… and if you want also Nutella ;P

In 2013 no “Giro d’Italia” arriving in Milano (as it used to be), but the classic Milano-Sanremo (also won by McLaren Specialized S-Works Venge bike and used by Mark Cavendish), this year starting from Assago on 17 March, to the “seaside of Milanese people”.
When I was a kid, at school they mocked me ‘cause I was a fan of cycling (a sport “for old people” lol), apart from (vengeance :) a blonde who was always singing the “Giro d’Italia” song with me ;D (“e intanto gira e vaaaa…” = meanwhile it turns and goes, lol - by Paolo Belli)

When we went to Madrid, we were living by night and then sleeping: I wanted to see on tv the “Vuelta a España”, and my companions fell asleep. When they woke up, they were like: wtf are you doing?! they found me fighting against pigeons ahahaha who wanted to enter the hotel room, and I wanted to see the Vuelta and save my companions from the pigeons attack lol (we laughed for years about this).
The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night… and fighting against pigeons, LOL

Risulta che Milano sia la città dove si visualizzano più video su YouPorn. Immancabili sono partiti gli sfottò (anche pesanti) da ogni parte d'Italia, da parte dei soliti sofferenti di complessi d'inferiorità, soprattutto dal solito ufficio sinistri contro: "la borghesia milanese", "i ricchi milanesi", "i lavoratori milanesi", ecc.
Hmm ignoranza a manetta... alcuni piccoli particolari che si sono già dimenticati? Milano città roccaforte della sinistra e dei culatùn modaioli, "governata" (battuta) da Pisapia-Pisapippa. Tra l'altro, città storicamente di immigrati italiani e stranieri, fin dalla fondazione dei Celti, il concetto di "milanese" è qualcosa di molto vago... noi milanesi veri siamo pochi.
Seconda in classifica risulta Roma... seconda a Milano persino a farsi le seghe.

We took a tour of Milan’s Fashion and Financial Districts. Beautiful beautiful. I thought they would look like the fashion and financial districts at home, you know, cheap, dirty but great prices…ehhh no…The director of our program, who doubled as our tour guide, said that we could compare it to 5th Avenue in New York or Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles…uh no. Shops in Milan crap on any kind of shopping mall, street, town, ANYTHING you could ever think of ! EVERY DAMN DESIGNER NAME YOU CAN THINK OF, Milan has in its fashion district. According to our tour guide Versace lives in that neighborhood and Madonna visits occasionally.
Now when people told me Milan was the place for fashion, I’m like, “Oh okay, yeah, whatever.” But I was sooooooo wrong. I’ve learned over the years, that I’m not a very fashionable person. I think I tried at one point but finally had a realization like…Sophomore year, that I was going to wear whatever the hell I wanted…and that is okay with me…but I couldn’t help but feel a little insecure walking around those shops. You could eat off the ground in the fashion district. The only thing I have to compare Italy to that I have seen before in my life is the Venetian in Vegas, but I’m sorry, I can’t even respect the Venetian anymore. I’ve seen more fashion and “poshness” in two days of being in Milan, than I have in my whole lifetime, and I have been a couple places, especially with my shopaholic grandmother. I don’t want to waste money on clothes but me and my friend did say that one day we will treat ourselves to one expensive outfit…I’m down…
Even though I can’t afford any of that crap in that part of town and probably will not be visiting often, if at all, the tour was beautiful. I didn’t even feel worthy of being in that part of town.
After the tour we ate at that place where they sold i Panzerotti aka calzones. They were good…
One thing about Italy, it is half the size (geographically) of California, but the same amount of people. 50% of Italy’s economy is in Milan. Everything here is bunched together. People are living ON TOP of each other.
How much Milan is like Los Angeles. It still doesn’t feel like I am in Italy. It feels like I am in like Santa Monica by my homestay, downtown near the Duomo and 3rd street in Via Montenapoleone.
How posh the city is. Everyone is very well put together. It is clean which is surprising since it is just a big city. Plus people are VERY particular about recycling. Part of our orientation was learning how to recycle. If you don’t separate your waste into paper, plastic, glass and garbage, you are fined. The program even warns that they will fine us if we don’t respect this LAW. They even have advertisements encouraging recycling.
The food…I don’t need to say anything more.
Eating and cooking is a big part of the culture which I love love love love!!! I can’t wait to cook with them. Italians eat a lot of carbs and cheese but still manage to stay so skinny! Reason: walking A LOT, smaller portions and clean, natural food. Even their “fast food” is good. Being at the dinner table like an Italian family was interesting. They are very loud and expressive and it makes the dinner experience very enjoyable.
The city is so lively. There is ALWAYS something to do.
My homestay. A very very very great decision to do on my part. It does give me that sense of having a family away from home and preoccupies my mind. It helps me drastically with my language, getting around, learning the customs and culture and not to mention, eating some home cooked Italian meals. My homestay parents are great, helpful and always concerned of my whereabouts.
Italy has more ART per square mile than any other country in the world…
If you thought the outside of the Duomo was breathtaking, you would be so taken aback by the inside. It is amazing. For someone who values their faith as much as I, this was truly a gem. Everything was so antique and holy that I almost did not feel worthy of being inside. I am not Catholic but have been to the Catholic Church in Los Angeles by SC’ and I thought that was amazing…but this…
How could something like that be built without cranes, tractors, etc and withstand centuries?!
They suggested I visit the Duomo on a clear day. They say you can climb the stairs all the way to the roof and see the Alps from there.
After, we wandered back into that store Rinascente. Oh my gosh…8 floors of women, men and children’s clothes, shoes, cosmetics and furniture, ALL designer brands. Here too, I didn’t feel worthy of being around all those expensive ass clothes. And it was PACKED! I saw shoes that were worth more than my life.

^_^ from a girl: [my comments between brackets]
"I don’t know if all three of us just had a bad experience or if it’s the norm but without a doubt Milan is my least favourite place in Italy. [GOOD START, LOL!...I ALWAYS HEAR THE OPPOSITE] It’s main appeal [DO YOU MEAN: ITS] is the designer shops and Gothic cathedral but it really has not much else going for it [AHAHAHAHA THESE TOURISTS NEED TO GET ME AS A GUIDE :]. Maybe we would have had a different experience if we were insanely rich however I still doubt it as I need more than a good shopping spree to stay satisfied. As a female I have never been more creeped out. The men look you up and down and constantly make sexual remarks [AHAHAHAHAHA ANOTHER SHOCKED ONE... WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE DO THEY FIND? SOUNDS LIKE SHE'S JEALOUS 'CAUSE SHE'S NOT PRETTY ENOUGH FOR MILAN...]. Our hotel situation was quite hilarious. All the reviews we had read were about how the owners of the hotel were definitely Mafia or drug dealers [OMG! AND YOU GO THERE?!?! YOU MUST BE QUITE STUPID...]. It was cheap and decent though, so we took that risk [YOU TAKE A RISK ALSO THROWING YOURSELF OUT OF A WINDOW... AND I'M EVEN TELLING YOU... LIKE: MANY PEOPLE TELLING HER "DON'T THROW YOURSELF OUT OF A WINDOW" AND THEN MOAN ABOUT WINDOWS...]. The men that ran the hotel definitely were of the dodgy sort and obviously had to run the business as something on the side so as not to look suspicious. When we looked over our balcony we could see them with quite a lot of bags of some mysterious white substance [FLOUR TO MAKE PIZZA! AHAHAHA OTHERWISE THEY WOULDN'T SHOW IT...] but we were sure that if we stayed out of their way, they would stay out of ours. Discussing laundry with them was quite an experience. The roughest, biggest looking tough Italian men asking how you wanted your laundry done with the most serious look on their face. Priceless.
The first night we arrived we went to the main shopping area to look at all the designer shops at night. Most of which had massive screens and run way shows playing all night. We were surrounded by the filthy rich [I CAN FEEL A POINTLESS HATE TOWARDS THE RICH? I MEAN THE USUAL PREJUDICES ABOUT EVERYTHING?]. So many beautiful women with disgusting older men [AHAHAHA RIGHT, I ALWAYS MOAN ABOUT IT AHAHAHA]. What more would you expect?
During the day we got the bus to the Gothic Cathedral and looked around for all the sites. Being in Milan we obviously wanted to sea [DO YOU MEAN: SEE] the original Leonardo Da vinci painting of The Last Super [DO YOU MEAN: SUPPER], to which we were told the waiting list was a few weeks long [MONTHS! MOST FAMOUS PAINTING IN THE WORLD]. So that was an epic fail [BLAME YOURSELF, YOU SHOULD INFORM YOURSELF BEFORE TRAVELLING... OH I FORGOT YOU WANT TO "TAKE RISKS"...]. Instead we went to the fort which was incredibly boring [FIRST TIME I HEAR THIS, YOU MUST BE ORIGINAL...]. The extremely hot weather of Italy during the summer does not make matters any better [OH THAT'S POSITIVE! AHAHA] so eventually we found a park to chill out in. There was a group of people sitting on a wall playing drums and others dancing around. They looked like complete and utter mad men but they were enjoying themselves so obviously didn’t care and it was highly entertaining for us. Highlight of my time there was finding a Garibaldi monument ad I had just been studying about him in History and he is one of my favourite historical figures [NAH, IF YOU WERE FROM MILAN, YOU WOULDN'T LOVE HIM, LOL].
The food is obviously great as Italian food cannot be beaten [OH THAT'S POSITIVE! AHAHA]. our first night we went to a restaurant in the centre of the city. A small place called Luigi’s [AAAAAAAHHH DOESN'T SOUND GOOD]. I wasn’t planning on eating as I wasn’t feeling too well but the owner of the restaurant happened to be there and he was highly intoxicated as it was his birthday. He joined us at our table although he was extremely limited in English [ALSO YOUR OWN LANGUAGE SPELLING, LOL] and ordered me a free meal. he then asked me to move to Sardinia with him and live in his Villa [Berlusconi in incognito, owner of a restaurant?! AHAHAHA RIGHT, I ALWAYS MOAN ABOUT IT AHAHAHA]. The waiters and workers continuously apologised but we found it absolutely hilarious [OH THAT'S POSITIVE! AHAHA]. Eventually we got a bit bored though so when he went to the loo we took the waiters advice and ran off. Our second restaurant outing resulted in an argument with an extremely angry Italian manager and over-cooked food. Not something one wishes to re-live.
(Milan knows how boring it is that on their postcards they have the words ‘Milano at Night’ and the card is completely black as there is simply nothing to do there.)"
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ALSO, SAME VERSION OF THAT POSTCARD ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, IT'S A JOKE.

another food recipe -

Zani's Guide to Making The Perfect Milanese Risotto (With Mushrooms)

There is no doubt that risotto is the stuff of legend. As one of the great classic dishes that does not come from France, it is embraced and recognized by most cuisines. When I reflect upon monumental things that have enhanced my life this dish will be up there amongst them. A lofty, but worthy introduction indeed this is. Risotto is a paradox. It is simplicity and sophistication on a plate. Every professional chef is measured by their ability to make not just a good risotto, but a great one. There are certain lines that cannot be crossed and it can make or break a chefs' reputation. If it is on the menu you will be measured by its execution whether you have a critic in the house or just a punter. Word gets around quickly if the bite is not 'al dente'.

The primary skill required is essentially one of the most basic attributes needed to work in a professional kitchen. It is by far the most difficult aspect to master-patience. It is possible that a chef will never learn this skill, often it takes years to acquire. Under the pressure of a busy service with the restaurant packed full of hungry people waiting for their orders, as the waiters bark at the pass for their table, you simply cannot turn your back on the last stage of cooking a risotto, not for a second. The richness and creaminess come from the stirring and the adding of the stock. There is a measured resting period involved which can be tricky to judge and if the rice is not 'al dente' this results in failure. Failure, shame and the bin. Even though on another day it might be possible when the orders go more in your favour the reality is it takes twenty minutes at the stove to cook risotto requiring constant attention. A two or three Michelin stared kitchen will have one chef for two paying clients making perfection possible. You will not find such attention to detail in a mid-range restaurant.

Your home is perfect for risotto, there you can give it the attention it requires and deserves.

When you cook a risotto you embrace a tradition that transcends contemporary cooking methods. I love some of the contemporary techniques applied to food today, but something doesn't sit right with pressure cooked or sous vide risotto.

What you need rhythm for your body and a mantra for your mind: stir stock stir stock stir stock.

What ever it takes to nail this recipe do it. Don't get distracted by not being able to get interesting mushrooms, or making fresh chicken stock, this recipe will work well with the dried mushrooms readily available and or the ordinary button/chestnutmushrooms. Use a stock cube if you must, just make it happen and experience the sensual groans and moans that ensues when a really good risotto hits a table.

I went with wild mushrooms in this recipe as at this time of year they are in season where I live. I bought fresh porcini mushrooms from a market and picked some from the forest. As I said it is well worth the application to get the ingredients but go with it any how because essentially we are making the classic risotto Milanese with the addition of mushrooms.

Ingredients
250g arborio or carnaroli (rice)
75g shallots
250g mixed mushrooms
30g dried mushroooms
1.5 litres chicken stock
5 garlic cloves
300ml decent full flavoured white wine
75g parmesan Parmigiano Reggiano
30g butter
A squeeze of lemon
Chives
Maldon sea-salt and ground black pepper

Prep list
Clean and quarter your mushrooms (Never wash them as they go slimy, if you are using wild mushrooms take the extra time it takes to make sure there is no grit. That will ruin the whole dish. Trim the wild mushrooms back until you are sure there is not place for the grit to hide).

Cover the dried mushrooms in boiling water
Finely chop the shallots
Press the garlic or finely chop it
Heat the stock on the cooker
Grate the parmesan
Chop the butter into squares
Open the wine and measure it out
Finely chop the chives

Method
Take a large non-stick frying pan and put it onto a high heat. If you don't have one then use whatever one you have with the heaviest bottom. Add the olive oil and when it is really hot add the fresh mushrooms. Drain and squeeze the liquid out of the dried mushrooms and finely chop and combine with the others in the pan. Add the liquid to your stock. Keep the rice moving with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon. When the mushrooms start to brown and the water draws out of them, add the shallots and then the garlic. When these are softened add the rice. Stir the rice and cook it out a little bit until all the liquid and oil has soaked into it. Next add the wine and cook until it is dry.

The risotto starts now by stirring in a ladleful of hot stock. When the liquid has reduced repeat this process until the rice is nearly cooked. You will know this by trying the rice. It should be firm but not chalky. After your last ladleful of stock your rice should be left wet. Turn off the heat and add the butter and parmesan without stirring and cover the pan with tin foil or a lid. Leave to rest for five minutes while you warm up the plates.

Remove the lid and gently fold in the butter and parmesan. Add a small squeeze of lemon and taste for seasoning. If necessary add salt and pepper.

When you plate it up you want the rice to cover the surface area of the plate. Don't pile it too high as you don't want a mountain of risotto. Better to go back for seconds.

To finish sprinkle with the chives and ground black pepper.

until 13 January: free visit to see "Amore e Psiche" by Canova, close to the Gallery @ Palazzo Marino (not the famous "Amore & Psiche" by Canova with the amazing angel kissing, stolen by the french, as always... must have been the french thief Arsene Lupin... their museums are collections of thefts, especially by Napoleon - ask people in Venice, Tuscany and Milan to know what they think about him, the dictator. All art works that should come back to Italy. The only art by the French: Impressionism, that is: bullshit that even children could paint... the only thing the french are good at, is running away with their white flag, them scaredy cats, or being sodomized, dirty people with no bidet in their bathrooms)

MADONNINA

All the cathedrals in the world have a CROSS (+) at the top.
...apart from one: Milan's Duomo (quite strange, isn't it?), with a woman: a golden statue of Our Lady (about 4 metres tall), the "Madonnina" (Madunina in Milanese dialect).
Now they're working on it...
I've been many times on the roof but never close to the statue, because it wasn't possible. Someday I will...
Before the Duomo and BEFORE the Romans (who did NOT found Milan), there was a temple dedicated to another woman: Belisama (Goddess of fire, both sun and moon) by the Celts, founders of Milan.
When at Mussolini times they built the Torre Branca (just above Just Cavalli), he wanted it to be lower than Duomo's Madonnina, but now it isn't (for just 10 centimetres).
When they built the "grattacielo Pirelli" skyscraper, they put a small copy of the statue (85 cms) because the palace is taller than the Duomo. The statue has a great meaning, not only religious, to protect the Milanese people.
Now they built skyscrapers (Palazzo Regione Lombardia, Torre Hines) taller than the "Pirellone", so they moved the statue (and there was a whole ceremony, with the archbishop blessing it)

3 KINGS PROCESSION (corteo dei Re Magi)

as every 6 January, the importance of the Milano version comes from the church where they arrive to bring the gifts (gold, frankincense, myrrh): the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio is the site of the tomb of the Three Magi or Three Kings. It's one of Milano oldest traditions, since 1300.
In the 12th century, when Milan was sacked by Frederick Barbarossa, the relics of the Magi were appropriated and subsequently taken to Cologne. In 1903/4, fragments of the bones and garments were sent back to Sant'Eustorgio's. Nowadays they are in the Three Kings altar.
Always seen it when we were kids not only because it's close to us, also for the animals (elephants, camels, horses, etc.), music, etc. You can also be one of the people wearing costumes.
from Duomo to San Lorenzo to Saint Eustorgio (living nativity scene)

Era da tempo che volevamo fare un recensione del famigerato (ora Mediolanum) Forum di Assago, non è la prima volta che accadono situazioni spiacevoli.
Sempre da lasciarti l'amaro in bocca, che ti viene voglia di chiedere dei rimborsi.
I complimentoni per il trattamento che hanno riservato alla gente pagante la giornata dedicata al tennis.
Dopo aver annunciato che le gare iniziavano alle 13, ci hanno fatto aspettare ore fuori al freddo, facendoci
perdere le gare dei ragazzi, coi loro genitori e parenti tra di noi.
Anche presi per i fondelli, da diversi personaggi distinti che si presentavano annunciandoci l'apertura "a minuti", "2 minuti", ecc.
Aspettavano, per le perquisizioni, i Carabinieri... che molto dopo sono arrivati e se ne stavano chiusi in macchina... troppo freddo fuori.
Come se non bastasse, siamo stati addirittura sgridati più di una volta, perchè all'interno non ci trovavamo seduti al nostro posto del biglietto, cosa praticamente impossibile, a meno che tutto il Forum si fosse alzato, in un effetto domino.
Non funzionerà bene mai niente in Italia.
Andremo sicuramente ancora al Forum e ne parleremo benissimo a tutti gli amici, parenti e conoscenti, anche
su internet.
Se poi a qualcuno viene la brillante idea di non usare la macchina per evitare il traffico e l'ingorgo che c'era fuori, e usufruire del "servizio" della metropolitana al Forum (5 euro), ovvero un'attesa interminabile (e non alla sera tardi, ma ad ora di cena del sabato!), terminata con un classico italiano: L'APPLAUSO della gente quando è arrivata. Come quando gli italiani applaudono l'atterraggio riuscito dell'aereo.
Addirittura hanno dovuto bloccare la gente di sopra ai biglietti, perchè la banchina era colma.

amazing day!!! Maria!!! Ana!!! walking down the first fashion street in the world with who? Maria Sharapova.
video - 0:29 Maria wonders where Armani cafè is (from Armani hotel)
1:12 Armani house
I filmed even Maria’s ass ahahaha @ 8:14 when she was tying her shoes, then I whistle :)
They are incredibly beautiful, especially Ana Ivanovic. More than models, who look sick. The people usually think I’m a F1 driver ^_^, this time at first they thought I was Maria’s “escort”, lol. I met many paparazzi, I even got a pass and went to the presentation among journalists, where I could NOT stay, lol. It was a whole adventure. I also helped a disabled boy, it was just a perfect day. It was not possible to film inside restaurants, bar and hotel, only @ Gazzetta dello Sport press conference.

I sell the plastic cups where Maria & Ana were drinking :)) (proof at the end), to who offers more :D
on eBay, click here

They showed to Maria a photo when she was 13, first time in Milan, and she said she was very thin.
also Ana said she likes Milano and the people, the warmth they convey.
Maria sounded a bit more “princess”, you know, and she did not stop for the photographers outside the bar and when she entered the conference. Ana stopped in both cases.
I think Maria is beautiful but too idolised, while the real beauty is Ana.

Tomorrow the games @ Forum (it’s also a charity), "la Grande Sfida" with Errani and Vinci.



Persone pessime incontrate: i fotografi (paparazzi), di una maleducazione esemplare.
Per non parlare della Gazzetta dello Sport (vedi post su Oasisblues) che ha rubato questo mio video, facendolo proprio, pure etichettandolo "Gazzetta TV", addirittura come "scoop esclusivo". Ridicoli.

2013 tour: San Siro stadium, Milano (unique concert in Italy), where he already performed in 2006 (when he was singing for Italy world champion) and 2011. Sponsored by the radio where I worked (105), tickets soon.

- 1 month
Probably nothing will happen on 21 December at 11:11 am
(by the way: is it London time? Milan time?), but what if something happens? surely not the end of the world, and surely not that hour and not that day. But what if something serious happens another day? something changing life in worse (as if the crisis wasn't enough).
I'm sure there are many things we humans don't know (I'm not necessarily referring to God and religion), and many things they don't tell us...
for example, an asteroid hitting for sure the world, is something they would never tell us, or it would be a total chaos.
Also, I'm sure that "aliens" exist, I mean other forms of life. The universe is so huge, infinite, that it's 100% sure other creatures exist, and nobody of us knows. I know, lol. I don't think they're watching us (but I'm watching you, lol), but what if suddenly someone was here... we wouldn't be prepared and many would die for a heart attack.
I often notice too "strange coincidences", and I wonder if we're all part of a masterplan...

things to do before the end of the world: