Weird photos and moments of life – Page 3

New Year’s Eve – Matera 2019, Basilicata in the very South of Italy

This is a little story about a little area in the South of Italy, a little region named Basilicata (maybe named after ‘basil’ or ‘basilica’ – the ancient Roman churches). This region is not very big and economically advanced, that’s why is not so common and some people still don’t know it exists. But thanks to the last award for ‘Matera 2019 bid book – the European city of culture‘ it’s becoming even more interesting, popular and beautiful.

And this is also why in the next New Year’s Eve there’s gonna be a great event in its biggest square – Vittorio Veneto Sq.

There’s gonna be the biggest concert of Italy with a lot of national and international artists, there’s a huge stage in the centre of the square where the old fashioned part of the city starts: Sassi, these very ancient rudes where people used to live. Now they are part of the World Unesco Heritage property and they have been relocated and restored as Italian bars, pubs and art galleries, souvenir shops and narrows that look like if you are in a painting:

It will be the first time and the first chance for the city to be on TV and have a so prominent role. Hope it will play a great role by showing its charming landscape and pieces of the past…

#NoteOfTheDay ‘Basilicata is on my mind’, by Rocco Papaleo, a popular actor from Basilicata

Last minute gifts, cheap and a little chic

No time to shopping, no time to look for something useful, beautiful, that reminds you of tthe person you would love to give a present? Don’t panic, you just need half an hour to go in a little accessories shop or in a big store..ideas are already here!

Ideas about cheap presents – for friends, sisters, colleagues…

Cheap gift - ballerinas for rings — Cheap gift – ballerinas for rings

…they’re are perfect for your colleagues and friends who love and wear rings!

Cheap gift - pie de poule hat — Cheap gift – pie de poule hat

It could be ideal for your trendy friends who love the latest trends

It’s for an easy person who love to wear comfortable

ideal for lovely and delicate persons

for cute and happy people who love to have fun!

The perfect present for the friends you share your aperitivos with! So you can Aldo enjoy your homemade finger food ape!

Chiese or Japanese chopsticks — Chinese or Japanese chopsticks

…to enjoy together the take away sushi dinners!

Cheap gift - lovely chocolate — lovely chocolate

#NoteOfTheDay Souvenirs by Steve Goodman and John Prine (a lovely guitar duo), 1989

No panic, enjoy Brussel, even after Paris attack

This is what I want to share with you. It was planned that on 18th I would have been in Brussels for work. The unplanned was the attack to Paris of some days ago and above all, the panic that media are able to create.

Media have obviously the aim to inform people and it’s exactly what you expect to see that it’s shown each time you watching your TV or listen to your radio; everything converges into a challenge for the scariest news. And mass-media become the way to spread the panic more than the info.

Anyway after lots of hours spent searching for the latest news, here you are what my mind figured out..

Step 3: the super regular and strict squares of Germany

And then some world news…

World news about terror in the air - and suspects on the ground 😥 — World news about terror in the air – and suspects on the ground 😥

But here we go, I’m in Brussel. It’s cold, it’s dark – ’cause it’s after 6pm – and at the airport there was this slowly motion scene where everybody seemed to feel quiet; not any tragic views, nor police everywhere 😳

Destination reached: Place de Luxembourg

This is one of the central square of the city and maybe the place at most risk because it’s where the European Commission is…exactly one of those place that many articles or news cast suggest to not go during those days. And obviously I was there ✌️

Just 5 minutes walking from the Museum of Natural Science full of dinosaurs remains and bones, projections, music and special guests- where I spent the belgian night enjoying the ceremony of .EU Web awards:

Music was very unconventional, by an Italian band named Khora Quartet and also the special guest was very unexpected: Flavia Pennetta, the winner of US Open 2015, Pilar del Castillo from the Euro-Parliament and members of Eurid, the European registry for .eu top level domain

Giovanni Seppia - Eurid — Giovanni Seppia – Eurid

and then Brussel, here you are some shots:

#NoteOfTheDay Attack by 30 Seconds to Mars

Landscapes of autumn: high level of pleasure in Tuscany countryside.

Well, the autumn has started some days ago, but Tuscany doesn’t seem to be aware of it. So lucky. That’s the reason why, on last Saturday I decided to have a trip in the countryside and breath a little of freshness and smell those flavors and perfumes you can only have among the fields, trees, olives, grapes, under the sun.

It took just 1 hour to get there, in Montefioralle, Greve in Chianti – Florence area.

It was love at first sight, a very small village (like mine) on the top of a silent hill that looks like abandoned, a ghost village. I passed the day just in front of it, where a little family of farmers welcomed my friends and me to have a little tour there with a final wine tasting stop. Glamourous.

Tuscany - Montefioralle, Greve in Chianti countryside — Tuscany – Montefioralle, Greve in Chianti countryside

It was lovely to spend hours just by staring at those colors: graveyards were half yellow, half orange, pale orange, and also red, maybe brown too. But the grass was so green that it was hard to think those leaves were going to fall down and cover it completely.

Also, while listening to our favorite team leader explanations and descriptions about the wine process and olive oil productions, it was impossible to not get lost in the surrounding… yes, everybody was always ahead toward the next explanation and room, but I took my time in order to have those souvenirs I’m gonna show you right now:

Tuscany Landscape - Greve in Chianti agriculture and cultivation — Tuscany Landscape – Greve in Chianti agriculture and cultivation

The last one picture shows you a little example of how much the farmers of Tuscany are keen on new trends and technology: it’s not about how virtual they are, but it’s about how can they grew their business just improving little by little their activities, remaining still so nature. Anyway, what I want to say you it’s to pay attention looking at this pic: www.pastaalpesto.com and cooking lesson are the signal under the windows, so smart! Have a look at their websites if you’re interested in having cooking lessons about traditional Italian homemade pasta.

But let’s go further to have a look in the surrounding area: here we are the wine cellars, where the wine is stored, and the welcoming barrels which show you the trail for they called winery !

Wine cellar - Montefioralle — Wine cellar – Montefioralle

Barrels - Montefioralle vinery — Barrels – Montefioralle vinery

Gallo nero - the black cock guarantee — Gallo nero – the black cock guarantee

Maybe the Black Cock – or better Gallo Nero is one of the most recognized certified wine labels in the world. It is clearly related to the Chianti area but the cock is only for those wines from the premier central region – Chianti Classico is the best one. Why a black cock? Its origins are historically-based, here you are a great explanation and a funny old story.

Then, let’s see the most tasteful lines of this article: homemade products, bread, ham, chees and a refill wine card you can top with your money and use by enjoying several type of wines:

wine, bruschetta with chees and ham and special wine card

It’s extraordinary to see how these little villages build their business and help growing their tourism by taking care of the customers experience and its total engagement.

La Ménagère – Cupcakes, coffee, salads, aperitivo, flower shop, what else? In Florence.

la Menagere - Florence — la Menagere – Florence

This is how it introduces itself: a bunch of things, interesting, nice and a little vintage. But the place is much more…completely restyled, it’s very huge and you can enjoy every parts of your day inside of it: it works for breakfast, lunch, a simple tea with friends, very good meals – those which sound and taste a little American 😉 – even if the name it’s French and its business card says Florence since 1896 (?!)

Anyway, what I found most interesting was its internal design and weird furniture. In fact La Ménagère shows exactly how much the static and conventional things are changing, including also the restaurants that maybe are one of the most traditional concept we have – ore better, we had.

Now you can enter a trattoria and buy flowers, cakes, stylish chairs or pictures, things for your home and so on..it means to buy the whole experience.

Have a look:

As you can notice, my pictures aren’t exactly based on their menu and meals 😁 maybe because I appreciate the sorrounding concept more than the restaurant. They got it.

If you are around Via de Ginori (near Cappelle Medicee and leather market of Florence) have a look inside this concept-restaurant!

OneDay #ExpoMilano2015 – How to eat (and drink)

#OneDayExpo would be the very correct hashtag for this article, seen that all the pictures and adventures you’re gonna read have passed in one only Saturday.

Let’s start from the morning, 12pm at Rho station, where Expo is located: go there with your very old friends is one of the coolest things you can do. The younger you are, the most you can enjoy music at nightime; the more adult you are, the more you can enjoy pavilions walks and nice aperitivos with mixed food from all around the world. Guess in which category are my friends and me 😁 ?!

Let’s begin – it’s gonna be a very long storytelling

pieces of Milan Cathedral — pieces of the Milan Cathedral

Korea 'two' like the hours we waited to enter — Korea ‘two’ like the hours we waited to enter

Guess where are from?!

Japan – Korea – Sri Lanka – Italy – UK, everybody in the same line 🇯🇵🇰🇷🇮🇳🇮🇹🇬🇧

Korean Pavilion:

Its aim was to show the harmony of food, how a part ofthe world should not been overfed and how to eat:

world's consumption of bad food — world’s consumption of bad food

first exhibit representing words about all the food in the world

Here it follows a series of projections about fruits and food mixing sorrounded by a perfect ideal sound (you should live this immersive experience!)

Korean tables - view from the top — Korean tables – view from the top

Keep on the tour

Artistic Italian 500 made by architect Fabio Novembre:

#kazakistan - the great missed pavilion, 5hours queue!! — #kazakistan – the great missed pavilion, 5hours queue!!

Going towards Holland luna park:

#Holland - share grow live — #Holland – share grow live

Tree of Life and Italian pavilion on the right – more details later 😉

The Chinese Vanke Pavilion building created to symbolize the red dragon: all the bricks are red metalized and made by self-cleaning and sustainable material 👹

Chinese building by Vanke - the real estate leading company — Chinese building by Vanke – the real estate leading company of China

#Montenegro Republic

Egyptian sacred cats 'Mau' — Egyptian sacred cats ‘Mau’

Here you are the Italian mascotte representing the 2014 business wedding:

Alitalia - Etihad mascottes — Alitalia – Etihad mascottes

Alitalia - Etihad, Expo Milano 2015 — Alitalia – Etihad, Expo Milano 2015

American Pavilion 2.0 – actually I didn’t go inside, I just saw it was based on trucks and US main brands about food, as you can see here:

At night, instead, projections were very impressive, with colorful lights projected on waterfalls coming from the flag and watering plants…

View from the top: Italian Pavilion on the left, Tree of life in the right – the very symbols of the Expo created by Orgoglio Brescia, a consortium of northern Italian businesses and designed by Marco Balich

It has been inspired by the Campidoglio in Rome,starting from a oval-shape with a 12 pointed-star that symbolize the constellation:

work of art 'alive' — work of art ‘alive’

#Ecuador pavilion - the top colorful — #Ecuador pavilion

Now, let’s see one of the top innovative Country of this Expo: Israeli. Its vertical grain and corn fields are shown all around the pavilion – walls are completely covered by these cultivations. It has a very low environmental impact and it’s one of the new evolutive trend in the agricultural fields in the world!

vertical fields - Israeli fields of the future — Israeli fields of the future

red horse in the fields of France pavilion

On the roof you can see all the basic activities for human being and resources fo the French land, from phishing to lavender, wines, cheese…

Now it’s on South America:

It was a damage to not have the chance to go inside these wonderful sails named Kuwait

Here’s Qatar: parts of The pavilion representing The Jefeer, ora typical food container made by palm leaves:

And finally, let’s end with colore and seeds, the Japanese ones:

Here it ends the #oneDayExpoMilan2015, too short to visit everything, fair enough to have a look around and think a little bit about the gap among the different countries, the gap you can taste just by considering how the pavilions look different, how smart they are, how they use specific materials trying to avoide the waste of time, resources, energy, food. Because there are countries, people, who cannot. #FeedingThePlanet #EnergyForLife

The most popular ‘schiacciata’ in Florence

The most popular schiacciata in Florence is made by the staff of All’antico vinaio in Via De Neri, near Santa Croce.

It’s a very old and typical place where if you’re lucky enough you can sit inside the little restaurant. In the most of cases, you will enjoy a wonderful huge schiacciata by sitting on the pavements in the streets.

But what’s schiacciata? Here you are the answer:

Generally, the bread in Tuscany is without salt – that’s why it’s not considered as one of the most delicious, and that’s maybe why schiacciata became the most popular one 😁

The menù looks like having lots of schiacciate also called focacce (my favourite one is La Favolosa):

All'antico vinaio menu- Florence — All’antico vinaio menu- Florence

Here you are some other ingredients you can add in your schiacciata:

tomatoes, mozzarellas, mushroom and cheese creams

That’s it! Here you are a little souvenir from the Antico Vinaio of Florence, if you want to enjoy it, just go in this legendary street Via de Neri in the back of Palazzo Vecchio, just five minutes walking from there.

Sun(ny)day in Bologna

Just taking blablacar for the first time in my life to go spending one day in Bologna, and today it is supposed to be the Patron Day of the city.

Fortunately there were not so many people going all around, and fortunately somebody already booked for me in a very tipical restaurant 😎

Let’s start from some squares and the most popular streets of Bologna:

the famous 'Via Zamboni' — the famous ‘Via Zamboni’

Piazza Verdi - Bologna — Piazza Verdi – Bologna

San Donato's Church - Bologna — San Donato’s Church – Bologna

torre dell'Asinello - Bologna — torre dell’Asinello – Bologna

San Petronio - Bologna — San Petronio – Bologna

Going down the streets you can discover lovely places where you can taste typical foods like prosciutto (ham), meat, tortellini (traditional pasta), good wine and so on…

In one of the corner of the city centre, here you are the oldest cafe: Zanarini with one of the best coffee in Bologna, famous for its cakery, where all the bolognesi go:

And here you are some nice and weird shots ☺️:

Et voila! Here you are the best you can have: piada, crescentine, squaquerone and prosciutto – that is to say: typical pastry with cheese cream and smoked ham, everything is absolutely handmade and taste special!

piada on the left, crescentine, squaquerone and prosciutto

lots of different salami and cured meats

typical pasta named 'garganelli' with saffron and black cabbage — typical pasta named ‘garganelli’ with saffron and black cabbage

Here’s my day in Bologna! See you on next trip!

Ibiza 2015 – party calendar #tastetherealibiza

#tastetherealibiza is what I’ve just read on the flyer I took ad a souvenir from my vacation on the isle.

I’ve just realized it’s the whole ‘temporada’ – how it is named the party-season, from June until the end of October.

Just to have a clear idea of the isle, here you are the northern side with the fantastic Sant Antoni and its bays like Cala Comte, Cala Tarida and so on…

One of the most advertised activities are the boat-parties film of entertainers, live music, club transfers, shows, chill out and sun areas and all makes you think about funny beats and crowds!

Here we are, let’s go talking about the less known places where I’ve spent some days, to finish with the most popular and maybe necessary places to go (otherwise it’s not worth enough to go to Ibiza 😎)

Mambo Cafe to enjoy a subasta aperitivo or dinner; it’s opposite to Cafe del Mar, but even more better if you love alternative-funky music. Whereas Cafe del Mar, I think it’s more for posh people, maybe for breakfast or a prosecco, for lovers. Then, Satrinxa, in the Southern coast, where you must have aperitivo with music – but take your drink and go directly into the sea!

Just one more note about Satrinxa: there you can see the famous las salinas of the isle, where the popular ‘Salt of Ibiza’ is produced.

Here some other places as Can Yucas in Cala Tarida – wonderful restaurant, and Can Berri bar restaurant – a more bohémienne and rural place in Sant Agustí:

And then the tiny and welcoming Rock Cafe at the harbour, runned by an English lady, where an Italian guy can show you his artistic cocktails:

the Rock bar - Ibiza — the Rock bar – Ibiza

And then the 2015 calendar for the summer, sponsored by Pacha:

Monday: Aoki's playhose — Monday: Aoki’s playhose

Wednesday: Martin Solveig - My house night — Wednesday: Martin Solveig – My house night

Thursday - fuck me I'm famous — Thursday – fuck me I’m famous: David Guetta & friends

Saturday: pura Pacha and Paris Hilton party (with foam!)

Super vintage shop of Florence: ubflorence.it

I was out of the office, going towards via de Neri in Santa Croce. I decided to pass by the narrows surrounding the Dome and I found this weird place with everything in it! Everything was so vintage that made everybody curious to look more and more to disocover all those little things that maybe you were used in the past, when you were a child.

Let’s start from vintage radios (those ade just some shelves 😅):