Monday, back to work.

On Monday, I had planned to go back to STMicroelectronics in Agrate Brianza where I used to work to have lunch with my former colleagues and check out the old stomping grounds. I arrived around 1 pm and was met at the entrance to ST by 3 of my ex colleagues. Not having my badge anymore, my colleague Andrea vouched for me at the entrance and we stated that I was with NYU, seemingly at ST for the afternoon for important business.

We walked through the plant, past familiar buildings and some familiar faces. Once we walked into the cafeteria, I spotted my group of once colleagues, now great friends. Just as if no time had passed at all, we took our spots in the lunch line and started joking around and the guys started playing the classic practical jokes that had been constant between us while I worked at ST. Even the lunch pass that I was given by my colleague Marco stated that I was a representative of Motel Rona, a skeevy motel just across the road from ST that we always used to joke about. Classic!

Lunch at ST is provided by the company, so it's free to employees. Five courses: first course is pasta or rice, a second that's meat based, vegetable sides, water, fruit, bread..! And not like the cafeteria fare you might find in the US either, this food is really tasty.

After lunch we went back to the building where our lab is located, enjoyed a post-lunch espresso and a cigarette, and then went into the lab. It was really great to be back there. I had been a part of the research group when we first opened that lab, and from when we first moved into the lab and were busy choosing new equipment and apparatus to being in there on Monday a lot of work had been done. The PCR device that our team has been developing for the past few years has advanced leaps and bounds since I joined the team 3 years ago, and made huge progress even in the past 6 months. Great job ragazzi!

Aperitivo!

Of the things that I miss most about Milan, I think aperitivo is probably number one. I've written about this before; but briefly, it's a daily phenomenon that takes place in the majority of bars in Milan where you order a cocktail and gain access to a buffet full of freshly prepared treats. Clearly, an aperitivo was in order during my short weekend in Milan.

Maria and I arrived at Yguana early, in order to hold down a table for the 20 or so friends I expected to show up. Yguana has an awesome spread when it comes to the buffet, and the cocktails are served in swimming pool-sized chalices. It's located right in Piazza Vetra, which is just around the corner from the funky/bourgeoisie area of Corso Ticinese and Le Colonne di San Lorenzo. It's like the Williamsburg of Milan, if you will. Hipster central.

Marco and his girlfriend Anna were the first to show up, and the four of us ordered our first round of cocktails. My drink, the Negroni sbagliato (or Negroni gone wrong), is a cocktail that became my beverages of choice while living in Milan. It was invented in Milan I don't know how many years ago in a historical bar called Bar Basso, a Milanese friend once informed me. If you've never heard of this cocktail, you're not alone: I haven't found one bartender in New York who has (much to my chagrin). FYI, here is the recipes for the Negroni sbagliato, and a picture of me and mine from Saturday evening:

Negroni sbagliato

--> The classic Negroni uses an equal part of gin instead of prosecco. These cocktails are usually served on the rocks and with a slice of orange. 

• 3 cl prosecco
• 3 cl Vermouth Rosso
• 3 cl bitter Campari

The evening went on, and friendly faces started pouring into the bar. Colleagues, best friends and their new boyfriends, old friends that were in Milan for the weekend from London and France all filled our table. We hadn't been able to make reservations since it was a Saturday night, but even if we had it wouldn't have helped much because I had no idea that so many friends would show up to share some drinks and catch each other up on what's been going on in the past few months. It was a splendid evening, with my only complaint being that it went by too quickly!

Here's a snapshot of some of my lovely amici Milanesi from Saturday night!

il rientro

After a quick flight over the Atlantic, I landed early last Saturday morning in rainy London. I don't know if it was the butterflies in my stomach or the lingering suspense of the Swedish thriller movie "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" that I caught on the flight, but for some reason I couldn't sleep. After dashing through the security checkpoint obstacle course in Heathrow's terminal 5 I made it to my red eye flight to Milan, and before I knew it we had landed at Linate.

Instantly, I felt as though I had arrived at home. Rowdy Italians joked around with each other while waiting for luggage and the distinct smell of rich espresso emanated from the airport bar while I briskly made my way to the bus eager to get to Milan.

delicious breakfast, Milano style!

 I had to wait for my friend Maria to finish work on Saturday morning, and to kill time I enjoyed a cappuccino and brioche al cioccolato (which amazingly costs just 2 €) and tried one too many incorrect PIN codes for my Italian debit card, which was then eaten up by the ATM. No big deal, I just had to wait 2 days for the bank to open and 3 weeks to get a new bank card sent to me (anything less would be un-Italian).

Maria met me at Porta Genova a little while later. It's the most wonderful thing reuniting with great friends; even if a substantial amount of time has passed, it can feel like you just saw each other the other day and practically pick up a conversation that you left off months ago. She was just as bubbly and wonderful as she always has been and it was such a treat to catch up on that sunny Saturday afternoon. The weekend was off to a wonderful start!

Milanese yearbook

Last week I went through all the pictures that I've taken during my time spent in Milan in an attempt to pick out the best ones and get them printed. Before I leave I will make a sort of yearbook, where I'll glue in some photos of some of my favorite Milanese memories and ask my friends and colleagues here to sign. Here are some of the photos I dug up!

Amongst my lovely colleagues in the lab at STM

Maria and I in the galleria

Gina, Eleonora, Cynthia, Marthica, Maria and I celebrating
July 4 in Milan representing in red, white & blue

My 26th birthday party at home :)

Cioccolata calda

This weekend I'm off to visit my sister in Switzerland and when asked if she wanted anything from Italy she asked me for cioccolata calda. Italian cioccolata calda is a whole different animal from the hot chocolate we're used to in the US. It is much more dense, less sugary and coats the mouth (and the belly) with a rich gooey chocolatey taste. In the US we're accustomed to ripping open a packet of Swiss Miss (complete with those dried-out crunchy mini marshmallows), adding hot water and BOOM hot chocolate, but Italians aren't known for such pre-packaged quick fixes. I've only ever had this treat in bars here and never having seen anyone make it at home I had to do a little research into how it's prepared.

Here's a recipe for classic Italian cioccolata calda:

• 1/2 liter milk 
• 100 g dark chocolate (<70 % cacao)  
• 50 g sugar 
• 10 g potato starch 
• whipped cream

Melt the chocolate, some of the milk and sugar together in a saucepan at low heat. When the chocolate is melted and the mixute looks homogeneous slowly add the rest of the milk while stirring. Add the potato starch and stir well. Remove from heat one it has reached the desired density. (If you want it really dense you can add even more potato starch to thicken the pot..!) Pour it into the cup and add the whipped cream on top. Sprinkle with cocoa powder on top and voilà!

Stealing back my stolen wallet

I have to give it to them; it was indeed a nice try. Had I not heard my lipgloss fall to the metro platform floor and had my lightening quick friend Maria with me my wallet would be lying in a heap with hundreds of others in some gypsy camp right about now.

This is how it went down: last night my friend Maria and I were on our way to catch the red line metro from Loreto. I pull out my wallet, tap it to the sensor at the entrance of the metro which sounds off a buzz and allows me to pass through the turnstile. I place the wallet back in my purse which is hanging over my shoulder and saunter down the stairs to the platform blabbering on with Maria about this or that. Once on the platform I hear something fall to the floor, and turn around to see my lipgloss lying there. As I reach down to pick it up Maria asks me if I have everything else from my purse, and when patted down with my hand I realize that my wallet isn’t there. Maria, who has been the unfortunate victim of several metro robbery attempts, starts telling me that the two 20-something girls who are standing beside us watching me have taken my wallet. I say to one of them, “Apri la borsa!” and she voluntarily opens her bag wide and I don’t see my turquoise blue wallet anywhere. Maria assumes the worst; that these girls quickly snagged the wallet and have already passed it off to an accomplice who made a run for it. I noticed that the girl had a second bag, under her other arm, which she was holding close to her body. I demanded that she open that one too, and went to grab it from her. As I held the straps of the purse I saw my wallet squeezed between the bag and her body. At first she tries to hide it from me but I grabbed it.

Swedish chef

I think my love affair with Milan is ending. We've had a great run, made amazing memories together and fallen in love over the years. Recently however, upon returning to Milan after skiing in the Swiss alps with my mother and sister, I realized that I might be moving on from my relationship with Milan. We just seem to be growing apart from one another.

In the past few months I have applied to a number of PhD programs in the USA and Canada. After a slew of rejections (I received my last rejection letter about 2 months ago) things have been suspiciously quiet on the PhD application front. This has given me plenty of time to make myself crazy with all the "what ifs?" that are swirling around in my head. So what if I'm not accepted anywhere? At this point I've already given my 3 months notice to my landlord and we've even found new renters; expected to move in the first week of June. Will I stay in Milan, even if my head and heart have already moved on? Or should I move closer to my family in New York, even though I don't have anything solid lined up there? Believe me, it's not an easy desicion.

I've recently been toying with the idea of changing careers (please don't tell my mom, she'll kill me). Yes being an engineer is rewarding and I love the work I do but there are other options and I have other passions which I might find just as much pleasure pursuing professionally. For example, I might want to try my hand at being a pastry chef. Baking has been a hobby of mine for a long time, and with positive feedback from friends and colleagues I've been motivated to consider this as an alternative to chemical engineering... I mean afterall, they are really similar: selection and preparation of just the right ingredients, mixing components in precise quantities, heating to a specific temperature for just the right amount of time to permit a chemical reaction to occur, and ensuring the final product comes out just right.

Who knows, I might be the next Swedish chef!

2 ships passing

Yesterday after work I went to the central train station in Milan, the elegant and imposing Stazione Centrale, to buy a train ticket to go visit my sister in Switzerland in May. I walked up the stairs from the metro and to my surprise right in front of me was a very familiar face, that of my first love. For about a year and a half of my time spent living in Milan I was paranoid that I might run into him; and if I did, what then? Would I make a run for it? Or look straight past him with cold and unforgiving eyes? Or greet him as I would any old friend with a big hug and a warm smile?
As it turns out, after all that time has passed, my reaction was the latter. We had a chuckle at the chances of running into each other in such a busy transit point at rush house, I accompanied him to buy a train ticket, and we embraced and shared a quick kiss before he ran off to catch his train.
He went his way, I went mine.

TGIF

My Friday consisted of this:

Woke up a little before 9 am. Got dressed, at 9:30 am went downstairs where my knight in shining armor was waiting for me on his white horse.. and by white horse I mean scooter and by armor I mean helmet. The 2 of us drive to Stazione Centrale; this weekend we're going to visit Anais in Lyon and we had to buy train tickets. With 2 round-trip tickets from Milan to Lyon totaling close to 300 € we decided we'll drive it instead.
Leaving the train station we head over to my favorite bar to have an Italian breakfast of café macchiato, or an espresso stained with just the foam of a cappuccino.
After breakfast we split up, with an embrace, a smile, and a "buona giornata." He buzzes off on the scooter and I hop on the metro to head down to the Porta Genova area to make a stop at the best enoteca I know around here, Bottega del Vino. This store is filled with so many delicious wines, some of which I have the pleasure of recognizing with fond memory. I pick up 3 bottles: a Pinot Grigio by Livio Felluga, a Nebbiolo by Pio Cesare, and a Barolo. A sign behind the register read "Compri 2 bottiglie di vino e ti regaliamo un bicchiere gratis" or buy two bottles of wine and we'll give you a free wine glass. I walk out of the enoteca with my bag of treasures, 3 bottles of exquisite wine and the free glass.
Walking up Corso Genova I reach Oasi del Gelato and I can't help but to go in and get an ice cream. Today was one of those lovely late summer days; still warm enough to wear a summer dress and walk around eating an ice cream cone. Today it was lemon and raspberry.
I continue to walk towards the center of town, stopping when I reach Chiesa Santa Maria Presso di San Satiro. A few weeks ago I was told by a Milanese friend that there is an architectural secret inside this church which lies behind a gate, hidden on a small side street off the busy Via Torino. Apparently it only catches your eye as you walk up the central aisle of the church. Curious as I was I asked him not to tell me the secret, I wanted to discover it on my own. Seems as though today wasn't the day though; the sign outside the church told me it was closed, I had come right in the middle of their modest 11:30 am to 3:30 pm (Italian-style) lunch break.
I passed Piazza Duomo, quickly glancing at the magnificent cathedral but not venturing into the tourist-filled Piazza itself. Tram 1 came clunking down the street, I got on and was on my way home. Made a quick lunch of a frittata and insalata caprese, hopped on my bike, and headed down to l'Università di Politecnico where I had a meeting in the afternoon.

And that was my Milanese Friday.

Couchsurfers

About 2 weeks ago I updated my profile on the travel website couchsurfing.org. It's a website created for travelers who would prefer to stay at someone's home than in a hotel, and supported by people who don't mind hosting a few nomads for a night or two on their couch. I had been registered on the site for about 2 years already without ever having explored it. When my good friend Cynthia registered herself on the site and reminded me of its existence I decided to give it a second try. Familiarizing myself with what the site is about and what kind of people are signed up, I quickly realized that this is totally up my alley. Meeting foreigners? Check. Being hospitable? Check. Possibly making a new friend or two? Double check. I got to work on my profile page, posting some pictures from my travels and some of me just doing my thing here in Milan. Added what languages I speak, some of my interests, and a blurb about myself and what kind of people I enjoy meeting, and most importantly, I changed the status of my couch to "available". I kid you not: within minutes of my profile update my email inbox was receiving so many requests to sleep on my couch that I didn't even have time to respond to all of them. Since the update, I have been receiving about 20 email requests per day from travelers all over the world to sleep on my couch! I never knew it was such a desirable destination.

I love the idea of hosting people. Even if at the moment I myself am not out exploring the world I can always live vicariously through the stories of others, and even hope that when I do put my traveling boots back on that someday, somewhere, someone might just return the favor. Through all these requests I decided to ease myself into this whole couchsurfing phenomenon by accepting to host a young American woman working as an aupair in Berlin, traveling through Milan for a night on a vacation in Italy. She's arriving next weekend, which worked out well because I knew my roommate Maria wouldn't be around as I didn't want to intrude by inviting strangers into our home. When I told Maria about our future visitor her reaction was, "Oh it's such a shame I won't be here then to meet her!" Little did I know that Maria's also registered on couchsurfing, and has already done some surfing of her own in Barcelona. Judging by her reaction I thought it'd be fine to ask her if we can host other people, and so last night we had our first couchsurfers stay in our living room!

Three 20 year old Swedish guys from Gothenburg spent the night at our apartment and I was proud to introduce them to Milan by way of an aperitivo. In addition, we also have a cat who's couchsurfing this week as our friend went away on vacation! So our house is full of surfers!

In the next few weeks before I go on vacation we'll be having lots more couchsurfers… so stay tuned for some updates!

Date night, Milan style.

Dating in Milan brings to mind just one word: aperitivo. Aperitivo is a truly Milanese tradition, where each evening from around 7 to 10 pm bars all around Milan serve up an unlimited buffet of food, mix up over-sized cocktails, and quickly fill up with young adults out to socialize. You pay just the price of a cocktail (around 8 €) and eat until your belly’s content, surrounded by the laughter and chit chatter of gregarious Italians. (Check out this article from the NYTimes written about Milan’s aperitivo scene to get an idea: http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/in-milan-the-best-meal-deal-in-italy/?scp=6&sq=milan&st=cse)Essentially, it’s the perfect activity to propose if you want to take someone out on a date.

Don’t ask me how it happened, but this week I found myself with 4 invitations for aperitivo from 4 different people. I’m a big fan of aperitivo, but does it get old if you do it every night of the week? I suppose I’ll let you know when the week is up…

That being said… suggestions for a 2^nd date that are not aperitivo-related are very welcome!

Quarter century mark

I did it. I’ve arrived at the quarter century mark.

Yesterday was my 25^th birthday. It seems to be a remarkable number of years, judging from reactions I’ve been getting from birthday well-wishers. Some, like my colleague Alessandro, can’t understand why I’m happy to celebrate my birthday. “Ogni volta che compili gli anni vuol dire che hai uno meno da vivere” or in English, “Every year you celebrate another birthday it just means you have one year less to live.” His reasoning leads him to the conclusion that each birthday should be a mournful event, remembering the year gone by and grieving its loss. Hmm! Interesting, but I can’t say I agree. In my opinion, every birthday you have means that you’ve done well enough to keep yourself alive another year, which should certainly be celebrated. I mean it’s easy enough to live to be 5, you don’t really need to do that much considering you probably have someone looking out for you: giving you food, shelter, putting bandaids on your scraped knees, and making sure you get your vaccinations. But when you’re 25? Seems like the number of things to take care of grew exponentially from when I was 5, and what’s worse, I’m expected at this point to be able to take care of them myself. So far I’ve managed quite well, which is why I decided yesterday was a day to celebrate!

Hitting the ¼ century mark I somehow feel like I’ve entered adulthood. Not that anything in my life has changed, mind you, but it’s just something about that number, 25, that seems so grown-up. That’s why this year for my birthday bash we (my friends Maria, Cynthia, and I) decided it was time to kick-it up a notch and make the theme of the party “Creative Black Tie.” I figured at 25 it was about time I wear my first tie, and what better way to do so than in the company of my equally dressed peers?

Here are some shots taken at the party, enjoy!