Milan Recap

I left for Milan On Wednesday morning.  The first day we walked around, went to Corso Como, a concept store.  We also saw the Duomo and the main downtown area.  On Thursday we went to Lake Como which was beautiful.  It is an hour outside of the city and the equivalent of the hamptons.  We walked around the town for a bit and then we had a appointment at Montero which is a prestigious silk factory.  First we went to their archives which dates back over 100 years and the designers use it for inspiration.  We also went to their store which is like an outlet because it doesn't have the markup of a retailer.  Then we went to their factory which was amazing.  We got to see the new fabrics for designers such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Prada.  The fabrics were for the Summer 09 line.  On Friday morning we got to go to the headquarters of Armani.  Since it is fashion week in Milan the office was very busy with buyers looking at the Spring lines.  We got to see the stage where they had their fashion shows and the catwalk.  After Armani we went to a vertical wool factory outside the city.  We learned all about the production of wool. On Friday night Robin and I tried to find a Thai restaurant because we needed a break from Italian food but it didn't go well and we ended up at an Italian restaurant.  The good news is that I got the most amazing dessert there.  Saturday was our last day and we went to a trade show.  A trade show is when a bunch of vendors set up booths to display their products and buyers for stores go around and look to see find new merchandise.  The trade show we went to was for women's ready to wear and accessories.  I found the coolest jewelry designer, Tomoko Tokuda.  

We got home on Saturday around 8pm.  I went out that night because it was a friend's birthday.  I proceeded to spend all of Sunday doing nothing and relaxing which was really nice.  

  Tomorrow we are having a potluck for our entire program just to hangout.  Robin and I are making bruschetta to take.  Then tomorrow night at midnight I'm leaving for Munich and Oktoberfest!  I'm really excited to go to Germany since I've never been there.  I'm really looking forward to eating German food and see the festival which gets 6 million visitors a year.  On Saturday I really hoping to go to the Neuschwanstein castle.  

  I've been trying to add some pictures but it isn't working now.  So I'll just post this and see if the pictures work later.