Ti Amo Italia

Sunday Night: Our Italian friend’s bf picked us up from the central station of Milan and we went straight ahead to a local Italian restaurant. Therewe have pizza, pasta, red wine, creme lemonchielli. The food was so amazing, finally I have tasted authentic Italian pasta the one I chose was thicker and whiter than spaghetti, it was served together with mushrooms and chestnuts.Our waitress tell us that she works for Dolce and Gabbana by via Montenapoleone and she wanted us to come and visit her. Her english wasn’t perfect so I thought she told us that Stefano and the other guy was actually supposed to be there (wrong of me). I become soooo extremely excited. After the huge dinner we went back to the apartment and had a wonderful sleep, although I had screamt in the middle of the night because I dreamt of being Nancy Drew.

Monday:   First day exploring Milan, first we went to this cute coffee shop and I had my first authentic Italian coffee (latte) and another pasta dish (penne with some white sauce) after the breakfast/brunch we decided to check out the Castello Sforzesco, it was so huge and so powerful. The weather was also perfect, almost near 18 celsius degrees. It couldn’t get better than this! We finally walked to the Dome and the piazza. It is so beautiful by there. The Domo is amazing, a white gothic church in marble.

After visiting the Duomo we decided to check out the designer shops along via Montenapoleone. The street is not fancy at all but it’s only filled with designer shops like Prada and Emilio Pucci. After lots of walking we become so tired and decide to eat gelato. I love Italian icecream!!!

In the evening we were going to visit our Italian friend’s parents. They live an hour away from Milan in this town called Licco (?) (George Clooney has a house there). Their house was this typical beautiful big house in Italian design. I absolutely loved it. The dinner was amazing, I couldn’t breathe afterwards. They served salami, parma, cheese, 

sparkled white wine, bread as appetizer. Then the pasta came out and it was soooo delicious. After the pasta we tried Italian pies filled with onion, spinach and meat. I have no words to describe the dinner. Nothing beats to eat in a local Italian family’s house. The mother had made three different desserts for us, ad it’s not only the food that was good but also knowing how much effort the family had put into this dinner for us. I’m forever thankful for this experience. 

Tuesday: On Tuesday we went to Venice for the whole day, we passed Verona (Romeo and Juliet) and finally reached Venice after 3 hours. The first word that came into my mind when I stepped out of the train was WOW! The Grand Canal, all those renaissance buildings. Everything really looked like in the movies. The gondolas, the small shops, the bridges, san marco square, everything made a big impression on me. We also went to this island outside Venice called Murano, there we met real people who lived there, and it felt like a dream. It’s hard to imagine that all these real people like us live in this peaceful city. I have never visited a city alike Murano. WOW! WOW! WOW!

The funniest/saddest moment of the day: My friend got some pigeon-shit in her hair. The pigeons in Venice freaks me out. We returned to Milan close to midnight and yet again we ate at some Italian joint called Panino Augusto. I had the best panini in the world!! I also had the best icecream in the world!! YUMMY! After the dinner we walked to a small red cozy bar, that was fun to see how the local Italians party. I was so tired that night so I didn’t really enjoy the feeling when we walked back home and saw the canals that Leonardo da Vinci had built (Naviglio Grande) or the feeling to sit in a tram from the 1920’s.

Wednesday: Last day in Milan we just went back to the Piazza

and shopped. I only bought a black cardigan from Benetton. I was a bit disappointed of the shopping there, it’s Milan for god’s sake but I thought the shopping there was almost worse than Stockholm’s. Maybe I didn’t find the good places. After the shopping we went to this local Italian restaurant close to my friend’s university. WOW! Again, the food was amazing and so cheap. 12 € for risotto, roastbeef, bread, sparkled water and dessert. I think I had the world’s best tiramisu and chocolate salami there! WOW! I really had a hard time to leave Italy, it was such a wonderful experience. And I haven’t laughed this much for a very long time. Italy was needed to cheer me up. Another thing that cheered me up was that I got the job I applied for at a Swedish Financial Consultancy company in the heart of Stockholm.

On a break

             27th - 31th January Milano and Venice

Stockholm night

At Cafe Opera in Stockholm.

The most famous club in Sweden.

My eyes hurts

Today I woke up at 9 am, had breakfast and then studied til noon, bought some chocolate and studied til 5pm with some small breaks in between. I don't want to study anymore. 

I keep saying that I shouldn't study a lot the last week before my exam but it ALWAYS happens. I'm sitting here so nervous about tomorrow. We have a grade scale of A to F,  A is the best and F the worst grade. I don't want to get a D!!! E would be a nightmare! I got B in my last course so I would be very happy if I could get B this time as well but pretty sure I won't  :(

Anyhow wish me good luck for tomorrow! I want more chocolate, bye! (I think I'm stress-eating)

Yesterday I was out with a friend that I met in Shanghai and some others, we had an interesting discussion about career, China and university life. I realized that the thing I most love to talk about is not about fashion, but about work opportunities and career options. :)

I am disgusted

Bluh, I feel so bloated!

I have been so extremely unhealthy these days except Sunday. It's sick how much I have eaten these last days. Yesterday I had an icecream when I didn't even really feel like having it, and then afterwards I felt this HUGE craving for Chinese food, so I went to the store to buy lots of ingredients. I ate too much of my own Chinese food although it was raaaaaaather healthy. But I just ate too much so it looked I was pregnant afterwards. Then these days I have also had pralines because there's a box of pralines in the kitchen for everyone >_<

Today I had whole grain chips with less fat, a small chocolate milkshake from McDonalds, and then I had LOTS of food at my friend's restaurant (had authentic Chinese food such as fried rice, fish and duck), and then she gave me a strawberry cake afterwards with cream. :'(

I'm so full that I can hardly breathe! I miss starving at the moment.        B-l-u-h!

Clubs are closing down :(

Lately a lot of cool places have been closing down in Shanghai. Yes, I do mostly spend time on the Bund, but sometimes it can be nice to just go to some place where the people don't expect you wearing that 2000 kuai dress or be sipping fresh apple martinis.

Some places that I have had the luck to discover while I was in Shanghai this summer was Pirates and 4 Live. Both closed down now. Pirates played pure electromusic, I know a DJ who would regurlary play his set there during weekends. Their drinks were cheap, the place looked cool, the people were h-o-t, a lot of hip French and Belgium people there. I really like that place, it was also close to my residence. 

Another place that I discovered was 4 Live, a bar with two floors and a scene where different bands would play. I wasn't very impressed with 4 Live, but I think such a bar is still essential for Shanghai's nightlife scene. Although there is a place called The Shelter which I haven't visited yet. Another cool relaxing place was Tanghui, it closed already in March 2007. I always went there before going to bonbon.

I also heard DKD has closed down, an underground club on Huaihai Road :(

The good news is that those places will be repampered so they will be opening up again except that they will have new owners. That's better than nothing! 

Thank you!!!

Just when I was planning to go to the kitchen to have some chocolate I saw this picture....so I decided to drink some more water to fill me up :(

Gemma Ward and Lily Donaldson on the cover of ID Magazine

Concerts in Shanghai

According to Shanghaiist,

Björk and Maroon 5 will have their concerts in Shanghai this coming March!

It's already official at Björk's website, but not yet Maroon 5's, but there are strong rumours saying that they will play in Shanghai. I would personally love to see Maroon 5, they are one of my favourite bands. I saw them play as a foreband in Detroit before the actual Rolling Stones-concert. Spice Girls should also tour in China some time this coming year, just don't know which date.

Anyhow, "She will be loved" is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Look at Adam's (the singer) eyes, they are so beautiful they make me cry...

If you're the spam commenter

I am laughing, I am laughing at those people who seriously don't have a life. Those who go to different blogs and spam their comment section. Seriously, don't you have a bit better things to do? Like maybe learn a new language, read interesting articles, go and take a walk, anything that is better than to sit in front of your computer spamming the comment section with vulgar words for 20 mintes straight. Dude, that must be so boring. Please do something with your life. In fact, I'm not laughing, I'm feeling sad. I want to help you, the world has so much to offer and you just don't care, but just choose to sit on your (fat) arse and write vulgar words with no point at all on my blog because you think you are annoying me.

GET HELP (before it's too late)

Oh, and by the way. You can keep spamming, because the more comments the better, in fact you're supporting me when you comment, my advertisers will just be proud of what an active blog this is. So thank you, but I'm just saying for your own sake, that you really should do something better with your life.

Anhow, I have changed the settings so everyone can comment, even if you're not a google member. ALL COMMENTS ARE ACCEPTABLE (except spam comments which I will delete)

I'm going to Milano in the end of January :D

The day I got Marc Jacobs in my arms

I have no job, I have no income, I'm a poor student and I got those shoes today at sale in Stockholm. 

Just let me tell you that I won't really shop for a while. I got those shoes in grey colour.  I   l-o-v-e   to just look at them. They are my new darlings.

The heel is 7,5 cm which is not high at all, I can wear them both during day and night. 

FYI, this was such an impuls-buy, I'm definitely a spontaneous shopper, which in all cases isn't a good thing.

But I just love them...

Since my first year of high school I loved the line Marc by Marc Jacobs. although I have to admit that he is  a bit overrated at times.

Oh Snap!

Pictures from FashionTrendDigest. 

My personal favourite is that oversized grey knited vest. 

I also like that black and white dress with a big bow in the middle (although I wished it could be made out of a better material).

That blue dress kind of looks slutty, really not my cup of tea. Well I wouldn't walk with it during the day! 

All those pictures are from Huaihai Road in Shanghai.

Gucci creates line for Beijing Olympics

With just 8 months left (I will be in Beijing at that time) Gucci has created a limited edition collection for the Beijing Olympics. No other designer brand has done that with other Olympic games! I really hope this Olympic games will become a successful one and gain special attention from people all over the world. Olympic Games in China for the first time! This is EXCITING!

Separate from any official celebration or sponsor, Frida Giannini has created a special collection called 8-8-2008 Limited Edition that encompasses eight exclusive accessories with a sporty bent. The collection will only be available in Gucci stores in China and Hongkong (except the watches which will be sold worldwide). From the US$3150 set of Gucci mahjong to the US$3420 Gucci bicycle, Gucci has almost successfully captured the essence of Chinese culture. The only qualm I have is that almost everything is only in one colour which is called the China Red.

http://www.footwearnews.com/site/article.php?id=694

I really like that red bike!!! But the stuffed panda toy is creeping me out. The sneakers look good but I still prefer white Lacoste ones. I'm also quite disappointed with this watch, it costs 1415 USD.... I wouldn't mind that red oversized bag and that guy in the campaign! What do you think of the collection?

What makes me keep blogging...

Despite getting over hundreds of angry commenters saying my posts are useless, it can be nice to see that there are still people out there who supports me and actually still like to read my blog.

So with this post I'm going to put a small collection of what other blogs thinks of me, of course the good ones ^_^  I can always look back to this post whenever I feel like I want to kill this blog.

I heart Shopgirl's Shanghai,  She just puts it all out there, which is exactly what should be done on blogs like that. That blog is a trove for what young, hip, educated, and Worldly (the capital W was intentional) women are doing, thinking, and, most importantly, buying.

- China Law Blog

A random Chinese girl from Sweden shows the world the lifestyle of an in-touch Shanghai’s finest. She goes to cool parties and shops for lots of shoes.

- Joule China

Written by a 20-year-old Swedish-Shanghainese girl who spends a good amount of time in Shanghai. It does a great job of covering the scene as well as what life is like for a 20-year-old in university.

- Oneeyedpanda

Placed at 88th place on best blogs 

- Kineda

There are also other nice things that has been said about this blog but that I unfortunately cannot find online, anyhow I also want to thank all you guys who have put my blogs on your blog roll! Xie xie!

Shanghai Coffee

Starbucks, Coffeebean, Costa, Jamaicain, UBC...can you come up with any more big coffeechains?

It's amazing how all those big coffee chains are profiting from setting up their businesses in China. Considering a coffee is around 25 rmb, which is expensive! For 25 rmb you can buy 10 Coke bottles! In Sweden one Coke bottle is around 12sek (12 rmb), so 12 multiplied with 10 is 120.....the real price of a Starbucks coffee is 120 rmb!!!!! Ding dong surprise!!!!

Personally I prefer Coffeebean and Costa, Starbucks is so overexposed that I'm bored now. I have never tried Jamaicain but I have heard good things about it. Being honest I don't even drink coffee in a regular basis, if I'm drinking coffee I want to pose :)

I just heard that Jamaicain has just opened up on 5th floor in Citiq Square on Nanjing Xi Road. I'm glad because usually Jamaicain hasn't been available for me as I tend to hang out in very central areas in Shanghai. But it can't be more central than Citiq Square!!!! Just next to plaza66! YAY.

6th June - 14th August

I will be in Shanghai :)

Going with Swiss Airline, they have a new route from Zurich to Shanghai starting this year in March.

See you there!

2007 was a mediocre year

I thought that 2007 would be a great year, 7 is my favourite number and I was being too naive to actually believe that 2007 would be my best year. I turned out to be wrong. 2007 was supposed to be one of the most exciting years for me as I would start university, live by myself, be together with one of the best guys I've ever met, challenge myself and reach higher levels, etc.

All that, didn't turn out the way I wanted it to do. University sucked, I thought it was a bit too strenuous to go out and live the student life, I hardly ever studied which made me to do two re-tests in one semester, I sa in front of the computer waaay too much, living by myself made me realize that I will never be a good housewife, and that 10 points boy I really liked, turned out to not handling the waiting. Also we all know what happened to my internship...

The pre-half of year 2007 was certainly not a very good one for me.

But since I returned to Stockholm from my Shanghai trip, starting my second semester everything just got much better. I had great corridor friends, I became more outgoing as in going out to parties more, I also finally started to study more and got my first B in a 2 months course, I joined the Senior buddy programme and got to know more students, I also joined the business magazine staff which I love. And I went to Barcelona and saw more of the world. 

I really see that everything is going upwards for me. 

2008 will be a great year, I can't be wrong two times in a row, that's not the way I function.

Anyhow, I feel that being 20 really made a huge difference. I feel that just in December I have grown a lot, I go back to my favourite Xiaxue's blog and read it, and suddently I despise her for being so narrow-minded. Party and shopping is extremely fun, but life is not all about that (I have known this for a long time). What's most important for me is to widen my views, to be more openminded and more understanding. I'm 20 years old and I'm so lucky for everything I have. It would be a shame to waste my abilities on something that really doesn't matter much.

I know that a lot of people have had some problems with me and my opinions before. I can't satisfy everyone but I can influence you to be what I said earlier, more understanding; to see things from a different view and really understand why someone do the things the way they do. Be understanding that a girl needs to enjoy her youth, to make mistakes (that's how we learn) and some shallowness is sometimes still crucial for being a young girl. 

My new years resolution for 2008:

Work hard play hard! Lose weight!

To sum up how I feel at the moment, Paul van Dyk - Another way (instrumental but still beautiful)