Best of 2015

As usual, here are my favorite posts of this 2015 (I know I was a bad blogger, but one of my 2016 resolutions is to keep the blog updated - still so many posts to share about many cool places in Milan, Spain, USA, Mexico, etc.):

2014, what a year!

2014 was a busy but great year!
It was a year of lots of traveling:

• New York - every year must include a trip to the Big Apple, where we had the chance to go to a football game, ate dumplings in Chinatown's oldest tea house, had a pretentious dinner in the Meatpacking district, jumped on the tramway to Roosevelt Island and walked though the High Line in the cold.
  

• Shanghai - finally visited Asia! and it was a very interesting trip, cuturally and gastronomically, from beautiful temples to gardens, not forgetting the super modern skyscrapers and the ancient towns. We even had a coffee at a replica of Friends' Central Perk bar!
  

• Hong Kong - The second part of the Asian trip, and probably my new favorite city: dim sum, a beautiful skyline, dim sum, gardens, dim sum, temples, dim sum, boat rides, dim sum, etc - and a quick visit to Las Vegas of the East, Macau.
  

• Andalucia - a hot road trip in one of my favorite places in Spain after a stop in Cordoba to visit the breathtaking Mosque, we headed to Seville and found a nice shadow under the trees at the Real Alcazar gardens and the Plaza de España arches - and oh, the food!
  

• A quick stop in Copenhagen to finally visit the famous Carlsberg brewery
  

• A second visit to Budapest, where we discovered fantastic restaurants, bathed in thermal baths night and day and also visited some cultural and touching sights.. and drank lots of Tokaji :)
  

• I still have to write about a weekend we spent at the beach in Rimini, another one in Barcelona, Hamburg, our first visit to the Snails Festival in Cherasco and also about a Mexican Paradise... so stay tuned for 2015!

2014 was also a year with lots of food:

• Michelin-star restaurants, like the new location of Alice inside Eataly Smeraldo in Milan, the yummy (and cheap) dim sum from Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong and the newly appointed Borkonyha in Budapest.
  

• Street food and markets everywhere! From the Milanese taco bar experiment and the street food temple, the festive atmosphere at a Hong Kong market restaurant, the lobster rolls palce under the Plaza hotel in NYC, the food markets in Cordoba and Seville and the cool street food island in Copenhagen.
  

• also Bars, from the funky ones like Szimpla Kert in Budapest and Garlochi in Seville, to the cool views of Shanghai's Hyatt Vue Bar, not forgetting the fine wine bars like Cultivini in Budapest and N'Ombra de Vin in Milan
  

And lets not forget the hotels like the Buddha Bar in Budapest and the toilet we won't forget :), the views of Seville's rooftops from the Hotel Fontecruz,  the modern Eurostars Palace in Cordoba, the comfortable 99 Bonham in Hong Kong, the Swissotel Shanghai and the weird gas mask in the drawer and even the nearby (but great if you have an early flight) Sheraton Malpensa.

But mostly, I will remember 2014 because the blog has finally started to be featured in other websites, newspapers and guides, and I couldn't be happier about this! There were the interviews with ExpatsBlog and Cheryl Howard's blog, my tips on the Radisson Blu Milan's blog, the feature on Die Zeit's Milan guide and my first article published on Matador Network (also in Spanish)! 

Happy holidays and a great start of 2015 to you all!

Hugs,

M.

Hong Kong: useful info

After 5 days in Shanghai, we continued our trip to Hong Kong. Here's some useful information that I wish I had known before leaving and that I learned in HK:

Radisson Blu, Milan

Just back from Asia, I found out that I'm featured in another blog! This time is the Radisson Blu's blog and the expats' suggestions while visiting Milan.

Radisson Blu Milan

While I haven't stayed myself at the Radisson Blu Milan (obviously, since I'm living here), I have stayed in other Radisson Blus in Europe, like Dusseldorf, Cologne, Rome and Berlin and always liked their philosophy: nice design, free wi-fi for all guests in all areas, nice spas or pool areas, hearty and delicious buffet breakfasts and excellent locations for visiting the city.

No doubt Milan is becoming a must-visit this and next year for the coming Expo, there are lots of new places to dine, drink and have fun so, if you're planing to visit Milan soon, be sure to check out what Radisson Blu Milan has to offer, and while you're at it, check out also my suggestions for eating and drinking in town!
Ciao!

Zeit's City Guide Mailand

Hallo, German-speaking friends!
Just a quick re-post of Zeit Online's City Guide for Milan, for those of you planning to visit the city in the future.

I'm honored to be featured in page 2, under the voice "Blogs":

(It says something like this: The Travelling Foodie also loves good food. The blog's author has been living in Milan for six years and blogs about restaurants, free tours of museums; some of her favorite addresses are on these small maps.)

Besides my blog mention, there are so many other cool and useful websites, apps and suggestions for those visiting the city, from events and transportation to shopping.

Enjoy the reading and auf Wiedersehen!

Travel planning

I've been a bad blogger lately, truth is I have been planning my coming trip to Asia. Since we won't have much time there we want to make the most out of it so I've been filling my head (and smartphone) with all kinds of information: maps, sights, restaurants, transportation, guides, weather, etc. Thankfully, there are many websites and apps available for us traveling control freaks, some of which I have already written about here, but since they keep them coming, here are the ones I've been using lately when traveling and travel planning:

My interview for ExpatsBlog

Last week my interview for ExpatsBlog was published on their website and I'm reposting it here:

Mar was a Mexican student traveling around Europe when she fell in love with Italy. She's been having a love-hate relationship with Italy for 13 years. And in the meantime, she's been traveling around the world enjoying good food, good wine and shopping. Mar's expat blog is called The traveling foodie 

Here's the interview with Mar...

Where are you originally from?
Mexico

In which country and city are you living now? 
Milan, Italy

How long have you lived in Italy and how long are you planning to stay? 
13 years in Italy, 6 of those in Milan. Planning to stay in Milan indefinitely but you never know...

Italian life

Why did you move to Italy and what do you do? 
Moved to Italy to study because I fell in love with the country, the food, the people, I loved the change from chaotic Mexico City to peaceful Marche region; moved to Milan for love but also the need of living in a big city again. I work in Milan as an assistant for an advisory firm.

Did you bring family with you? 
No, but I have family in other parts of Europe.

How did you find the transition to living in a foreign country? 
At first everything was fun and different, learning the language wasn't hard and I must say living in a small town made it all simpler, it was easy making friends, learning and integrating in their culture, etc.

Was it easy making friends and meeting people; do you mainly socialise with other expats? 
Yes, being one of the few foreigners in town I had to make friends with locals and it was fairly easy because they were all curious to know about my "exotic" country. Now in Milan there are more foreigners and we (my husband and I) take part in many international groups' activities.

my hobbies

What are the best things to do in the area; anything to recommend to future expats? 
Best thing to do in Milan is have an 'aperitivo' with your friends: a drink in a bar accompanied by a buffet, it's very Milanese. Also, stroll around the parks and the different quarters (Navigli, Chinatown, Isola) it's fun to discover such particular places so different from each other. And, since you're in Italy: eat and drink as much Italian food and wine as you can!

What do you enjoy most about living in Italy? 
The food, the wine, the happenings in town, there's always something fun to do, some new art exhibit, a play, a new restaurant, shop, etc

How does the cost of living in Italy compare to home? 
It is obviously more expensive than Mexico, being the most expensive city in Italy and the fashion capital, you pay for the appearance more than the quality of what you're getting. But you start finding places that are not that expensive and good and you hang on to them.

my travels

What negatives, if any, are there to living in Italy? 
The drama of Italian queues! They have developed an art of queueing that is so frustrating to us fans of straight lines and taking turns.

If you could pick one piece of advice to anyone moving to Italy, what would it be? 
Be patient. You might have trouble with the language, the people, the bureaucracy, but if you're patient enough, everything will come through and you'll be enjoying the Italian life

What has been the hardest aspect to your expat experience so far? 
Probably the challenge of starting everything from scratch, the language, studying, making friends again. But also being apart from the family at home hasn't been easy.

When you finally return home, how do you think you'll cope with repatriation? 
I have no plans to move back home now, but you never know. I guess if I came back it would take some time to get used to everything again after so long time abroad.

my recipes

What are your top 5 expat tips for anyone following in your footsteps?

1. Be patient
2. Enjoy the chaos
3. Enjoy the different cultures, foods, drinks, etc.
4. Be open to new friendships, experiences, activities
5. Give everything a second chance, first impressions are not always right

Tell us a bit about your own expat blog. 
It is a space where I share my experiences in Italy but also in my travels, some recipes I like, wines and places I prefer and random thoughts.

How can you be contacted for further advice to future expats coming to your area? 
There's contact info on my blog: www.tfoodie.com - See more at: http://www.expatsblog.com/articles/1719/mexican-expat-living-in-italy-interview-with-mar#sthash.JCiVLe3f.dpuf

Bye, bye 2013!

2013 was a great year! here are my 5 favorite posts, hoping 2014 will be as good as 2013 was!

1. The "Zoetry Casa del Mar Los Cabos" posts

The Room
The Resort
Foodporn
Lovenotes
Sunset Cruise

2. The "A day in..." posts

A day in Copenhagen
A day in Oslo

3. Visit to Unicredit tower in Milan

Unicredit Tower

4. The "Sudtyrol Wine tasting weekend" posts

Wine tasting in South Tyrol, Day 1
Wine tasting in South Tyrol, Day 2
Ansitz Pillhof, South Tyrol
Hugo

5. The "Las Vegas" posts

Viva Las Vegas
Neon Museum
Downtown Las Vegas
Best food in Las Vegas
Getting married in Las Vegas
Treasure Island Las Vegas

Photo Challenge!

As you might remember from this post, I decided to participate in a Photo Challenge for the past month. So I had been publishing some photos on my Instagram based on a list given by this blog.
It was fun to have a subject for my photos everyday, and I think I did well because I didn't miss a day (but I must confess not all the photos were taken on the exact day, I had to use a couple of pics from my archive). You can see my favorites in the collage above (for the full collection, visit my Instagram profile: http://instagram.com/simarik3).
Anyhow, since it was fun, I have decided to participate in the March challenge as well! Here is the list, in case you want to do the same:

Don't forget to tag the photos with #fmsphotoaday ! Enjoy!

February Photo a Day Challenge

Just a quick post to let you know that during this month you'll be seeing some strange photos on my Instagram... (the arrow is poiniting to my Instagram pictures, you can follow me at: http://instagram.com/simarik3/)

The reason is that I've decided to participate in a curious challenge, the "February Photo a Day Challenge 2013".

Some months ago I stumbled into this nice blog and I noticed the fun challenge of Photo a Day but I decided to wait until February, the shortest month, to give it a try. How does it work? At the begining of each month Chantelle provides a list of subjects for each day, so each day you have to take a picture of that subject and post it, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram, on your blog, etc. with the hashtag #fmsphotoaday

I've decided to post only to Instagram and perhaps by the end of the month make a collage of all my shots. Here's the list for February:

And here's my first picture (not very creative, sorry - I've been browsing on instagram the photos with the hashtag and there are many funny and very cool ones):

Foodstagram vs. Chefs

In the era of social networks and food blogging, where we are now used to sharing details of our everyday life with online communities like facebook, instagram, foursquare, etc., how would a foodie feel if s/he were told that s/he can't photograph his/her plate in a restaurant?

It is news of these days, both in New York City and Milan, that some chefs are forbidding their clients to take pictures of their food in their restaurants.
What are they afraid of? They say it's because they don't want to disturb the atmosphere of the restaurant with the flashes and that people standing up to take the pictures distract the other clients... c'mon... I've never stood up to take a picture in a restaurant and a flash would be the thing that would bother me less (what bothers me is other clients' loud voices but they don't do anything about it).
Why don't they realize that if a client is taking a picture of their dish it means that they appreciate its appearance, and they could even learn from that, to make their dishes nicer, and (since we're there) their portions a bit bigger...

Best of 2012

2013 is almost here so I'd like to share with you mi top ten favorite posts from 2012:
(in case you missed them, the link to the post is under the photo)

1) Caribbean Cruise:
We had a blast cruising the Caribbean for the second time on NCL's Epic; we visited Saint Thomas, Saint Martin and Nassau, had lots of food and enjoyed great shows.

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/02/epic-cruise-part-1.html

2. How to piss off a Mexican
I wrote this post as a humorous example of some annoying stereotypes about Mexicans

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/03/how-to-piss-off-mexican.html

3. Dubai:
I loved Dubai, it was a great trip, best part of it was being able to dine inside the wonderful Burj Al Arab.

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/03/dubai-day-3.html

4. Eataly, Turin:
For the foodie in me, any trip to Eataly is like going to Disneyland so I enjoyed going back to Eataly Turin and having their delicious tuna.

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/04/eataly-paradise.html

5. Tuna recipe
As I just wrote, I love tuna, and I enjoy cooking it at home as well, this has to be one of my favorite recipes.

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/06/saturday-lunch.html

6. Eataly, Rome
Our weekend in Rome was even more special after we discovered Eataly Rome had just opened, and we had a delicious Roman tripe to make it even better

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/06/eataly-rome.html

7. Piazza Navona, Rome
Rome is one of my favorite cities in the world and Piazza Navona is one of my favorite spots in the Eternal City

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/07/piazza-navona-rome.html

8. Club Med Ixtapa, Mexico
we had a relaxing (and weight-gaining) holiday in Club Med Ixtapa, best service and food ever!

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/09/club-med-ixtapa-part-1.html

9. Statue-hunting in Düsseldorf:
It was a great challenge to find the 9 Poeggeler statues while visiting Düsseldorf

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/10/statue-hunting-in-dusseldorf.html

10. Hangar Bicocca:
Although I live in the area, I had never been to Hangar Bicocca, a very nice exposition space in North Milan

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/10/sunday-in-hangar-bicocca.html

Bonus -  Sunflower fields forever
Beautiful landscapes, great weather, fantastic food, I just love Le Marche!

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/08/sunflower-fields-forever.html

Hobby Show fair 2012, Milan

As I was telling you in a previous post, me and my friend visited the Hobby Fair in Milan (new fair in Rho) a couple of weeks ago.

The Hobby fair is an event for those interested in creative work and handcrafts. It is a meeting point for those who sell everything you need to make...well, everything from necklaces to bags, Christmas ornaments, cakes, cookies, etc. And it's been going on since 2003, growing every year in terms of visitors and operators. It takes place twice a year in Rome and Milan.

I didn't know what to expect but truth is that I had lots of fun and found lots of ideas and material for cakes, cookies and mist importantly, I discovered a new passion for DIY neckalces!

Here are some pics so you can check it out:

Mexican holidays!

From today on, I'm officially on holidays! And what better place to go on holidays than Mexico!

Promise to bring back lots of pictures!
xoxo
M.