Milano & Mozzarella Farm

I combined these two trips since there was not too much to say about each individually:

Milano: whoever said that Milan is like the New York of Italy lied. In my opinion, New York is waaaay better. Much more exciting and lively than Milan, although I'm sure they rival in the night-life aspect. However, during the day you can go to Milan's main attraction: Piazza del Duomo. There, Milan has, obviously, its duomo, or cathedral, which is truly grandiose and something I recommend you lay your eyes on. I did not go inside, but the outside told me everything I needed to know. It was decadent and intricate, like the wedding cake you have wanted but could not afford. And for those of you that wanted a really simply one, just try to imagine.

To the duomo's right is the world-reknown Rinascente. We're talking Louis Vuitton, Dior, Miu Miu, Missoni, and other brands I've never even heard of but I knew were in league with the big dogs. To the left of the duomo is an art gallery, which was exhibiting Italian futurism and seemed to be a pretty big deal. I really wanted to check out the exhibit but the line for the museum got increasingly long so I skipped it. However, for the two days I was there I ate lunch at the same spot, endulging myself with panini that have altered my life--if not, at least the rest of this trip-- at a spot called Panino Giusto (ju-sto, meaning "right" or "correct"). Giusto it is! After eating panini at this spot, which unfortunately does not branch out to the capital, I cannot bare to eat another panino, at least not in Rome, because the ones in Rome are comparable to crap.

On saturday night my friend took me to a club that her friend, the DJ, was throwing a party at. It was a masqued party, celebrating Carnival. It was fun seeing all the people in strange masks, but the music got old really quick. Basically, I had a good time in Milan, and got some kick-ass heels out of it, but I would not rush back any time soon.

Mozzarella Farm: This past Saturday the group went to a family-owned Mozzarella farm about two hours away from Rome. Needless to say, the mozzarella was heaven. It is probably the freshest mozzarella I will ever have again in my life. At the farm we learned how the cheese was made: it comes from waterbuffalo, which are, of course, milked to produce the cheese. The milk is then put into a machine, which transforms it into a pasta-like paste. After the paste is produced, they are chopped up into tiny pieces and put into another machine that somehow turns it into cheese (sorry my memory gets a little faint here). However, the cheese still does not taste like the mozz. we have grown to know and love because it is not salted. The mozz is placed into a salty water and soaked there for about two hours and is then packaged into water-filled bags. It is best to leave the mozz in these bags at room temp. (not in fridge) to divulge at its freshest, although it would only last about 4 days. We got to have some of the mozz right out of the soaking bin...im a big fan!

We went on to see the buffalo...some were brave enough to touch them. I was not one of them, and I certainly did not want to get licked. The babies were really cute...but I still did not touch them. Afterwards we were fed a 13 course meal and were stuffed beyond our wildest dreams. However, I still ate dinner with my host family about 4 hours later.

Good times.