wings of a butterfly

come on and show
them your love
rip out the wings of a butterfly
for your soul
my love
rip out the wings of a butterfly
for your soul

.

milan - one of the less exciting trips i've been on. still, witnessing hxu get hilariously hit on by two older italian guys was a highlight indeed. any lesser lady would still be suffering from related trauma, but no hxu is stoic indeed. heh

we also took a jaw-dropping stroll through via montenapoleone and via senato - branches of ridiculously expensive and opulent brands left, right and centre, everywhere. just when i'd had enough of d&g, armani, versace, fendi and whatnot, ysl leaps out from nowhere and delivers another sharp knock on my head

the sheer wealth and inaffordability threatened to overwhelm us, and it was all we could do to scurry away and seek out comfort in (affordable) gelato - mmmmmmmmm we had ice cream everyday, it was amazing but also very sinful i suppose

besides gelato, pizza and pasta featured heavily in our meals. this was meant to be a city break, and did hxu and i really let go when it came to our wake-up time

in the end, though, 2 things about milan stood out for me and remained etched in my mind as we flew the (very delayed - hmmph) flight back to london stansted

firstly, the splendour and magnificence of the duomo, a 14th-century relic in the middle of the city, every inch of which bears testimony to the 600-or-so year it took to build such an elaborate piece of architecture

and secondly, the relative cheapness and different style of h&m in italy. bought a funky pair of peacock feather earrings for less than 2euros. hooray

oh, and there's a third thing. i can now authoritatively state that the jerseys at the offical ac milan shop cost a whopping 80euros; better to get them for 10euros less at the football team store just behind the duomo; the cheapskate imitations touted by the touristy stalls are awful