So far Chicago

So, I've been back in the windy city for over three weeks now (good God, time flies by!) and I have been extra busy at work and off work. At work, I've been finalizing the training program my team will be going through along with holding the fort at my 'old' position. Off work, here's what I've been up to:

the Turkish 'gang'
As soon as I came back to Chicago, I found myself in the middle of a new Turkish 'gang.' This gang is so fun and outgoing that I've been out with them almost every single night. We end up hanging out at the same Turkish cafe, discussing politics, music, books, you name it! The recent tensions in Turkey is really worrying all of us so we end up talking about that for the majority of the time. To guide the smooth-flowing conversation, we get incredibly good Turkish food and bottomless wine until we leave the place. We usually stay there so late that the place is literally ours and ours only. We invite friends and all of a sudden, it's a spontaneous party! We can even close the place down- i.e. tomorrow we're throwing a pumpkin carving party at the cafe for us and our friends! I feel VIP, and I love it.

Films!!!!!
Approaching the Christmas and New Year's season, there are films galore in the cinemas, and I'm enjoying only paying $10 to see these film, instead of 10 pounds! I'm loving the dollar. So far, I've seen:

• Lars and the Real Girl (highly recommended, really touching and ingenious)
• Dan in Real Life (feel good comedy starring Steve Carell)
• the Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson style awkwardly funny comedy)
• the Heartbrake Kid (horrendous film featuring Ben Stiller)

Chic and trendy
Thanks to my new work colleagues and the no-cover majority of Chicago entertainment spots, I've been to incredibly chic and trendy restaurants and bars. Thought-out decoration, tasty food, good wine and reasonable prices. I'm rediscovering Chicago! Below are pics from a few of the places I've been to.

De La Costa Restaurant

Carnivale

Japonais

A Weekend in the Italian Fashion Capital

I spent the last weekend in September in Milan, the fashion capital of Italy. I had to visit the Milan office for work the following Mon and Tue anyways, and considering I had a friend there, I decided to spend the weekend exploring Milan for the first time in my life.

To recap, I loved the food, the people, and the weather! I have always loved Italian food and believe me, I took advantage of my trip in that respect. And the people....oh, the people! They're so lovely, friendly, and hospitable. I remember fighting to pay for my meals during my trip as my hosts, friend or work colleage, would not let me pay for food at all. And finally, the weather! It was warm but not humid; in other words, I was there for the best fall weather to show off my best looking fall clothes.

Day 1:
- Checking into my boutique hotel on Via de Amicis near the Cadorna Stazione.
- Exploring the Duomo and the Castello di Milano
- Having some gelato (pistacchio and tiramisu flavours!)
- Meeting up with Maria in front of the Galleria
- Walking around with Maria towards the canals in the south of the city
- Having aperativo for 5 EUR each (all you can eat good Italian food including one cocktail...too good to believe, I know!)
- Having dinner with Maria's friends near the Centrale Stazione. Good, cheap food and the best lemon sorbet I've had in my life.

Day 2:
- Sleeping in until 11am; relaxing!
- Having a cafe macchiato and a brioche near the hotel
- Walking around towards the Brera district to visit some museums
- Having THE Italian lunch, including antipasto, primi, secondi, fruit, desert, coffee and wine. Most expensive lunch ever!
- Taking a long-needed nap at the hotel before meeting up with Maria for another aperativo session.
- Having some red wine and pretending to understand Italian while Maria's friends get into heated conversations at the local bar

The next two days were mostly spent at the office (very productive two days with the Italian team!) and eating out with the Italian team. I had the best mozzarella di bufala, pasta, pizza, fish and meat, along with great conversation and jokes. I'm considering moving to Italy! Seriously!