I bet one of the significant complaints expats have about living in Italy is something that isn't talked about too much but it runs rampant through the country, sometimes almost undetectable in quick glances or whispers- racism. Unfortunately it is still very much an issue in many Western European countries (as well as North America), although I must admit that I notice it much more here in Italy than I ever did in Canada. Not sure if it's because I'm on the other side of the fence now as an official immigrant to a country, but through observation I've realized that Italy is a tough place to be for new-comers and non-Italians. Integration into Italian life is challenging and it's only in the younger generations that it is becoming more common to see groups of friends that are mixed races and mixed couples.  Of course, this is all generalisation and I have also met many Italians who are open and welcome multi-culturalism with open arms. Italy is just stuck in that phase where ethnicities band together for the most part. This could be the cause for why I feel a bit lost at times being non-Italian, yet I don't technically identify strongly with the Chinese immigrants here and I've only just met my first Canadian this past week. A true Canadian at heart, it pains me to see things like the graffiti above or hear sideways references to immigrants. I suppose this comes from the fact that Canada has become what she is because of immigrants, immigration was and still is the root of our society. In Italy, it's a different story but it doesn't make it acceptable either.

It's March 8th and it's a big deal here in Italy because it's la Festa Della Donna (International Women's Day everywhere else in the world). For some odd reason, it's not 'celebrated' as seriously in Canada which is unfortunate as women should be definitely be celebrated, and not only one day of the year of course! It's tradition in Italy to give the women in your life a very specific flower called a mimosa- they are adorable little puffballs of bright, sunny yellow with a distinctive fragrance. After Massi brought home a beautiful bouquet and we ate from our treasured supply of Canadian bacon, we spent the day out and about. Massi went to the driving range for the first time in Italy (I supervised). Then we went for a Sunday walk in Sarnico, along the lake and for aperitivi at a local pub. On the way home, we stopped to get a kilogram of gelato at one of the best and oldest gelateria (Gelateria Arlecchina) in Bergamo and my mouth is just watering thinking about digging in after this post...So auguri to all the women in my life, near and far. 

For the #NoFilter Milan Project with London City Airport, the bloggers had to choose a maximum of five photographs and it broke my heart a little to have to whittle down my selections. Here are some other photos I've taken of Milan over the years that didn't quite make the cut but that I adore all the same. Lately whenever I venture from Bergamo to Milan, I try to make it my personal mission to capture something beautiful down backstreets or quieter neighbourhoods. I almost never go near the Duomo now...I prefer to spend my time in Brera, ducking into dusty, old wine shops and art supply stores rather than getting lost in Zara for a whole afternoon. 

The reason I'm here in Italy today started because of love. Sometimes it can be easy to lose sight of that in day-to-day routine or amidst the frustrations of living in a foreign country. May this post serve as a reminder to everyone, and especially those who crossed oceans for amore, about how vital it is to take a moment to realize how lucky we are. We are the lucky ones. How many love stories must exist around the world where the chance to live a life together is just not possible?  Whether it's because of geographical or ideological barriers, even if one couple cannot be together, that is already two people too many. So everytime you get to hug your significant other or hold hands as you stroll the streets, hold on one second longer and remember that this is a true blessing. 

Stumbled on this oldie but goodie taken in Positano on the Amalfi Coast, I swear I wasn't posing for it even though it  kind of embarrassingly looks that way. That summer in Italy I was all about the maxi-dresses and that vintage red Gucci bag that I set down one too many times on restaurant floors (and the leather corner accents are now in rough shape). Positano is, and will probably forever be, one of my favourite places to be in Italy. It is postcard-perfect. 

It's Wednesday, but instead of my usual recipe, I thought I'd write about the Milan Food Tour that I took with my friend Kyra, from Germany who is also living in Bergamo. It's still relevant because it's still on the topic of food, plus if you take the tour, you get the recipe for Mondeghili which is one of many typical Milanese dishes you taste along the way! First off, let me say I am obsessed with food tours. It all started with the Original Greenwich Village food tour in New York City, followed by the NoLita tour a year later with Massi where we (fittingly) learnt all about the influence of Italian culture on the neighbourhood. The was my hat-trick (when you score three times in a row, used a ton in hockey talk). 

There is something rather voyeuristic about going on food tours, I always feel as if I'm sneaking into someone else's life, in this case, the life of someone who lives and breathes Milan and knows it's ins and outs and all it's beautiful nuances. On this tour, you get taken into seven different locales ranging from a gelateria to prosciutteria, and you'll be immersed in ambiances from trendy to antique. One thing is certain- you would never stumble upon these places on your own, and even if you did, you wouldn't know what to order. Our guide was Mirella who is piemontese but has lived in Milan for more than ten years which proved to be perfect because she personally went through the long-drawn process of discovering the city all those years ago and hand-picked all of the stops on the tour. 

It was an incredible way to spend three-hours on a Saturday in Milan. Not only do you get to stuff your belly with food, you also get to hear Mirella's antidotes about Milanese culture as she points out highlights around the Brera neighbourhood that you trek on foot. One of my favorite stories was how she told us about wealthy Italian ladies who sometimes take their own pans to the Antico Pastificio Moscova (one of the stops) to be filled with a made-from-scratch lasagna. They then can take their pan home to their businessmen husbands and pretend that they slaved away all day in the kitchen (when really they went shopping on Via Montenapoleone all afternoon). Food highlights for me included my cannella (cinnamon) and zenzero (ginger) gelato, the cuts of 27-month aged prosciutto and culatello (to take an entire one home would cost you upwards of 400 Euros!), and hanging out at Princi amongst the most fashionable and attractive crowd I've ever seen (although it was Fashion Week at the time, so that might explain things). The other part about this food tour that made it fun was the fact that you get to socialize with extremely interesting, like-minded people who are typically lovers of food and travel. It's an absolute hoot to sip aperitivi and share stories in the company of people who have also been all over the world. 

My Top 5 Tips for Going on the Milan Food Tour: 
1. Don't eat breakfast: I made the mistake of stopping for a cappuccino and cornetto before heading to the stop because I was starving, don't do it! The first stop will be your breakfast. 
2. Make sure you don't have big plans afterwards: You will be either drunk or so full that you won't be able to move, or both. Come prepared to have a few drinks, it's five o'clock somewhere anyways! 
3. Bring your camera: So many great food photo opportunities as you'll see below. 
4. Wear your walking shoes: There is definitely walking involved so make sure you're comfortable. 
5. Be fashionable: The last stop is the Princi (a trendy eatery) location next to Corso Como and it's a pretty fashionable area of the city. If you want to hang out at the end of the tour, best be dressed the part or risk being kicked out (just kidding, but you'll feel more local if you have a nice pair of shoes, overcoat, and sunglasses...!). 

A huge grazie mille Mirella and Milan Food Tours, it was a literal slice! Now for the best part, scroll down for all the food photographs...! 

CONTACT INFO: 
Besides Milan, the company also provides tours in Florence and Rome. Click the button below to contact them by e-mail. You can also reach them at or at .

Ironically, Massi was just in Alberta and my hometown this past week and I wanted to share this photograph he sent me of it's big blue sky. I swear no matter where you go in the world, you will never find a sky quite like this. A blue that only exists in paintings, that is somehow both enveloping and refreshing all at once. 

So Venice is tricky as a tourist. The Venetians have a love-hate relationship with all those that come to gawk at the sinking city and sometimes you're unlucky and happen upon someone having a really bad day. I've been yelled at in two cities in the world: Paris and Venice. Mind you, in Venice, the entire tour group was sworn at so I like to blame it on the group and think that I'm not personally at fault...! The biggest piece of advice I can give you for Venice is try to be aware of the locals and don't just stop in the middle of a street to take a photograph. Look around and make sure you're not blocking the way for someone else. For many Venetians, they are just trying to get home with a heavy bag of groceries having scaled bridges and the like already and the last thing they need is to be bombarded from getting home by a tourist shield spanning right across the width of the tiny streets. I know it's hard to do when there's so many beautiful things to see around, but it's really just about being an educated, well-mannered tourist. 

I am beyond happy to be chosen as one of ten bloggers involved in the fourth edition of #NoFilter, an initiative that aims to take travel photography back to the basics- no Instagram filters, no post-editing, just the stand-alone shot as it should be. 

more about #NOFILTER...
#NoFilter is an ingenious project born of London City Airport and this Milan edition will be judged by the fabulous Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy The previous editions have been:  #NoFilterMadrid , #NoFilterSwitzerland, and the last location was #NoFilterDublin. As mentioned above, this is a showcase of photographs taken in Milan that are not altered in any way. Each blogger will also share tips and tricks for taking photos, you can find mine below.

how I PHOTOGRAPH...
First I have to say that I'm an Auto-Focus, point-and-shoot kind of gal. I'm usually too busy checking out the gelato selection to worry about changing lenses, settings etc and I definitely don't have space in my purse for any fancy accessories. These photographs are from throughout my trips to Milan in the past six years and encompass a variety of seasons there. They were taken with either a Nikon 1 J4 (the 'Everyday' model) or a Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II (which is my current go-to camera since it is very compact for it's capabilities and purse-friendly) and are of course shown here with #NoFilter. 

musings on MILAN...
Milan can be hard on the eye at times, depending on where in the city you are, and Italians often complain about how un-pretty it is. But as all travellers will tell you, the beauty of exploration and photography is to discover the pretty wherever you are. It may take some hunting is all. Milan is a metropolis, a mess of history and ambition all rolled into one and that is perhaps it's greatest vice- people (tourists especially) come with the expectation of finding a classic Italian city and forget that this is also THE city for business and commerce in Italy. Alot of the time, it's a sea of suits, women decked to the nines and yappy dogs with Prada leashes. Some of the time it's students chasing the departing trams, tourists chasing the Italian dream, and everyone else chasing a better life in Europe. But on the rare occasion, you round a corner, get lost, and find yourself in a picture perfect Milan moment so naturally beautiful, adding any post-editing tweaks would be a crying shame. Now if only that same concept could be applied to certain Italian celebrities. 

Travel Photography Tips
Tip #1: Focus on something unexpected; when everyone else is taking the typical tourist photo of the building itself, try taking the sign or entrance instead, or even another architectural detail. 
Tip #2: Don't be afraid to be a creep; I often take photos of unsuspecting subjects. The natural ease of people who don't they are being photographed is something that no filter can mimic. 
Tip #3: Take advantage of settings; experiment with your camera and use those nighttime settings, they are provided for a reason (to make things easier for us amateurs). 
Tip #4: Find a surface perch for night shots; I'm not one to carry around a tri-pod but you NEED to keep your camera steady for photos like these. I've been known to use my fiancé's shoulder...
Tip #5: Look up; sometimes the best photo opportunities can be right above your head. 
Tip #6: Capture moments first; a statue or monument will always be there, if you see something fun in action, snap that instead! You can always return to the statue later. 
Tip #7: Photograph like a "boss"; take a thousand of them if it means one turns out. Kneel, lay on your back, don't be ashamed to become a contortionist with your camera in hand. 
Tip # 8: Incorporate nature; a touch of greenery or sky can actually enhance a scene.
Tip #9: Get off the beaten path; the shot above was taken on top of the Duomo in Milan. There's quite a set of stairs to get to it but once you do, you'll have photos that not everyone else has. 

I gotta admit it Milan, you're growing on me (although my heart will always belong to Bergamo). 
Grazie mille to Ms. Adventures in Italy and London City Airport for this collaboration.