The Aeolian islands

Last week my friend from Austria came to visit me in Calabria and we embarked on a short trip to the Aeolian islands. The Aeolian islands, or isole Eolie, as we Italians know them, are a group of volcanic islands just off of Sicily and they are considered a top, VIP holiday destination for us.

Well we basically had a phenomenal time; we were on a small boat the entire day and took a tour of the islands. Lipari, the island where we stayed, smelled of flowers and rosemary. Panarea, the most VIP one of all, looked so much like Santorini and was literally breathtaking. The water was so heavenly, see-through, warm and tropical that there were jellyfish everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. There were even points where, because of the volcano, the water was literally boiling! Why travel all the way to Greece when Italy looks this beautiful?! Finally we saw Stromboli, home to the volcano with the longest ongoing activity in recorded history. After witnessing one of the most astonishing sunsets I have ever seen, our boat stopped by the sciara del fuoco and we saw the volcano erupt three times, taking a shot of malvasia at every eruption. Try and beat this drinking game!

Let us not forget the food. This was actually my first time in Sicily and I nearly lost my head. Mulberry and almond granitas, blood oranges, pistachio and ragu arancini, pasta with cocoa, pistachios, cherry tomatoes and pesce spada, and don't even get me started on the fish... The myths of unbeatable Sicilian food are indeed all true. I made friends with a lot of old ladies and they shared some of their secret recipes with me. Fantastic. However, we did commit the sin of leaving without having tried a single cannolo. My grandpa would be furious.

Shots of malvasia at every eruption!

On top of the Isola di Dino in Calabria

One of the many many granitas

At the Stretto di Messina, between Calabria and Sicily

Homemade arancini in Panarea

Boiling sea water!

Summer rules.

C x

XVI

On my birthday week I was in Paris, and after receiving the keys to my apartment I began following the works in the house. At times things got frenetic but, nonetheless, I still found some free time to explore and have many, many dreamy meals.
I spent my birthday morning choosing tiles for the kitchen, but then got macarons at Ladurée in St. Germain des Près, went to Montmartre and had an omelette and champagne at Le Consulat, a regular meetup place for Picasso, Lautrec, Dali etc. and where Woody Allen shot part of Everyone Says I Love You, took a walk on the Champs Elysées by night and stood under the Eiffel tower at midnight to see it sparkle. What a way to welcome the 20s!

During that week it hit me how blessed I am to soon be living in this city. I have never been this excited and happy about anything else before. My arrondissement is so beautiful I kind of want to cry a little bit. I am so excited that I feel like being productive, adventurous, discovering every inch of the city, buying flowers for my balcony on a regular basis, bringing my camera around at all times like Willy Ronis, dressing my best everyday and not caring about calories. Coincidentally, Midnight in Paris is on tv right now and, if you've seen the film, Gil and I are basically the same person. So you get the idea of how thrilled I am to be moving there. I just hope that the city will take me on a ride as much as it did with Gil.

On my balcony!

Lunch on top of the Centre Pompidou

Calabria last weekend

Calabria last weekend

Added a suitcase from Spitalfields at the back

I'm in Rome now, summer is finally here again and for now I've got lots coming up - I've seen Jovanotti live for the second time, I'm DJing at a 20s themed party tomorrow night, going to Calabria again this weekend, flying to Germany next week, going on a road trip in Southern Italy with an Austrian friend and flying to Paris again.

Long live summer.

x C

Frequency festival 2012

Hey kings+queens! I know, I know, this post is beyond overdue! In my defense, in the past month I got back to england, moved in my new house and started uni again.

But let's transfer back to August shall we? From the 14th to the 19th I returned to Austria for FREQUENCY FEST!
How to describe those four days? Minus the absolutely disgusting and uncomfortable camping, some of the best four days ever. We met some incredible people (and crashed at their house to shower!) who also got us backstage to meet Erol Alkan, and got through the insane heat and lack of sleep with lots of cocktails, sprinklers, and early morning swims in the river.

We saw some sick bands including The Killers, The Black Keys, Ed Sheeran (all in a row, swoon!), The Cure, The XX, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, The Dandy Warhols, The Hives, Hot Chip, Placebo, Block Party, Lykke Li.. just to give you an idea!

The Killers

The Black Keys

The Hives

Early in september my mum, stepdad and I drove all the way from Rome to England, stopping at Cinque Terre, Genova, Geneva, Lyon, Reims, Paris and London. It was suchhh a cool road trip.

Somewhere in Switzerland

Going back home to Rome for a weekend next week! I've lost a lot of weight, I need my mamma's cooking asap! Look out for amazing food photos with my film camera.

Lots of love,
C x