I really miss my suede loafers.

So I have been gone for almost 2 weeks… The last time I remember being away for so long was when I went to Italy in sec 4 for two weeks. I still haven’t made any friends lol, but I was thisclose to meeting up with this really chill girl from Canada that is also an English tutor, but the mother in her family was like the witch from hell so she is moving to another family in Venice. I spent a lot of time last week exploring around the house on my bike, the Italian countryside is full of surprises! A ruined palazzo, country markets and the most adorable little villages. Thursday was my day off (even though I don’t actually work and can go to downtown Milan almost every day) and obviously, it was the one fucking disgusting rainy day. So I hopped around from museum to museum, doing touristy things, almost getting hit by a Mini, eating pizza, you know, a typical day in Milan. The most interesting thing I saw was Villa Necchi, a 1930’s modernist/art-deco house in the center of Milan. It was almost in its original condition, down to the perfume bottles in the bathroom and the staff uniforms in the closet! It was stunning. Ryan let me know that an article in the NYT actually talked about this house a couple of weeks ago because it is featured in the movie “I am Love” with Tilda Swinton. Check out the trailer, it looks amazing and features everything I have seen in Milan!

On Friday night we headed to Arenzano, on the Italian Riviera near Genoa and Portofino. I spent the weekend there with Nicoletta and her Nonna while the parents were doing renovations at the house on the Côte d’Azur. The apartment is basically a 2 story penthouse with huuuuge terraces on the second floor. The view is bonkers… the bay and the village of Arenzano in front, and vineyard covered mountains in the back. We headed to the beach on Saturday morning and spent the entire day there. We are part of a beach club, with a private changing cabana, reserved chairs and a tab at the bar, its pretty sick. Our part of the beach is right in front of the Grand Hotel and there are palm trees everywhere. It is basically heaven. Nonna decided to fatten me up, so she FORCE FED me focaccia all weekend long. Focaccia is a specialty in the region and is nothing like the crap we have at home. This shit is pure fatty deliciousness, especially the focaccia al fromaggio, which cannot even be described as bread but more like fresh mozzarella cheese with bread. Its ewey and gewey and yummy. Another discovery is nespole’s, a wild fruit that tastes like a bitter sweet peach with an oddly pasty texture. I eat like five a day.

Saturday night I walked to town to check out the nightlife, and I think it has potential for this summer! Once the season officially begins in two weeks, the whole place will be packed with young party animals. I decided that one of my goals for the summer would be to go skinny dipping in the Mediterranean after a drunken night of partying at a beach side nightclub. The only downside of the whole going into town thing is that I have to walk back home… uphill… for 20 minutes. Hence the great view lol.

In Milan yesterday, I finished doing my essential purchases to live the dolce vita : slim leg linen pants, a straw hat and another short-short bathing suit (what is standard gay boy attire in Montreal is just the norm here, love it). Then I went to collapse in the park to people watch… ahem watch the topless soccer players…

This is a pic of my idea of quintessential Milanese style, but not in summer obviously. The shocking thing is that you actually see guys like this everywhere.

Style her is sooo different from Montreal, it is much more elegant and somehow simpler. I now understand what sets apart style in Milan from style in Montreal, or even in America: they have no hipsters. And the ones that you would think are somewhat hipstery, are actually just designer clad fashionistas. But the main difference is that THEY ARE NOT DIRTY LOOKING!!!!! I was shocked. You know how I love to look trashy sometimes, how looking homeless is a pretty normal thing in Montreal, well not here. In Milan, it’s all about the tailored pant/not too skinny jean with a beautifully fitted dress shirt (often with a monogram) that is tucked in, or a nice polo, with an elegant belt (no giant D&G belt buckles here, they love their woven nautical belts… I left mine at home. FML) and loafers (Tod’s, Prada or Gucci). They also all have amazing sunglasses, mostly Ray Ban’s (score, that’s all I have) or Persol, and obviously designer bags that don’t look too gay. If they wear shorts, its cuffed and fitted jean shorts (like my DIY ghetto Parasuco’s. Mouahaha), tailored shorts that come above the knee or these kinda harem-pant like shorts. I have to find myself a pair, probably at H&M.

Another key factor in the style here is that guys really take care of themselves, and I don’t mean just the gays. Their hair is always impeccable, no trashy over styled Mohawks, skin moisturized and glowing, beard either expertly shaved or trimmed properly (If they cant grow a proper beard, they don’t. I just hate these guys that look as if they threw some pubes on their face and decided they seemed manly.) and the eyebrows tweezed. It takes awhile to get used to the eyebrows, since some of them are obviously over tweezed, but it just proves that you can’t let these bad boys go wild.

Oh an on a final note, did anybody see SATC 2? I am dying to see if, I just have to find a theater that plays it in English.