One of the major perks to flying to Europe from the US is not just that you're on your way to Europe for heaven's sakes, but also that you'll likely be treated to some amazing sights outside your plane window. For example, on both our recent to and from flights for JFK-Milan on American Airlines, we enjoyed almost a full hour of looking straight down to the snow-capped peaks of the Swiss and Italian Alps. There's nothing quite like being reminded exactly how high in altitude those peaks are as when you're sharing airspace with them.

If you're heading to Switzerland for some skiing or northern Italy for any reason, be sure to choose your seat for the best views based on the POSH rule—port out, starboard home—and you too can catch the full panorama, kinda like this: ]]> JetSetCD 2011-02-18T16:04:20-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/2/17/16853/2454

Hey New York, congratulations! You've made it through another Fashion Week yes you have, but before it comes around again in just over six months from now, Fashion Week will go on to take over several more cities around the world: London, Milan, and Paris. What they don't tell you about Fashion Week is that it's really Fashion Month, and tourists to each of the four major cities hosting scores of models, scenesters, celebrities and the runway shows they attend, may be blindsided by the sudden unavailability of select tourist attractions or great bars and restaurants.

Therefore, it's a good idea to arm yourself with the knowledge of when and where the Fashion Pack is heading, and either avoid those cities on those dates or, if you're into models choking public transportation and not being able to get into clubs to hit on them, book a trip.

Here's the rest of the Fashion Month schedule:]]> JetSetCD 2011-02-17T16:08:53-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/2/10/15648/2676

Via Montenapoleone in Milan. It's the Italian equivalent of New York's 5th Avenue or Avenue Montaigne in Paris, but Via Montenapoleone is a bit smaller, slightly less of a tourist draw during the low season (aka winter, so long as it's not Fashion Week). We recently took a stroll down it just to take advantage of what it's best for, which is not shopping, but window shopping. We were all set to focus our gaze on shiny patent pumps and quilted bags, but instead we spent all our time looking down at the sidewalk, and the unexpected street art right below our feet. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-02-10T15:26:39-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/2/3/142757/7153

Here's something that many who've visited Italy and definitely those who live there already know: one of the first and best friends you can make is your local barista. You see, when a place has the simple sign for a "BAR," that doesn't indicate a place for ordering booze, but rather for coffee, panini, pastries and other sweets and it's from your barista that you can hear the day's gossip and get a perfectly pulled espresso. Or...you could just learn how to use one of these super-easy Lavazza Blue machines, which, if widely introduced into the states (like, on every street corner in Manhattan especially), could put Starbucks out of business.

You find these machines typically in shops that don't have the space or money to install a proper bar with barista. Occasionally, these are even on the street and in other public places, like train stations. This particular one we fell in love with inside a pastry shop in Bergamo, so let us introduce you:]]> JetSetCD 2011-02-03T14:27:57-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/1/28/111821/346

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

When you're traveling through Italy it can quickly appear as though each city, each little town has its own specialty pasta, or pastry, or both. Well they really do, and in Bergamo--a medieval town about an hour's train ride northeast from Milan--the dish is a sweet trick played by making cake take the appearance of polenta. It's called "Polenta e Osei," which translates to polenta and birds, specifically little ones like uccellini, or swallows. The dish can be prepared as actual polenta with actual birds, but for the sweet Bergamasco version, it's only yellow cake with a chocolate bird.

The Taste:
To make the "polenta" appear to have the correct texture, the cake (topped with yellow fondant) is rolled in sugar crystals. These form the first impression upon biting in: "wow, this is pretty crunchy!" Alas, once beyond the sugar, you hit the plain yellow cake and the real money--the sweet, whipped hazelnut cream heart. We were tempted just to scoop this out and devour it without the dry cake around. On top of the whole thing is a dollop of apricot marmalade and, naturally, a perched chocolate swallow to complete the "Osei" requirement.]]> JetSetCD 2011-01-28T14:23:16-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/1/27/122514/836

Ahh...duty-free souvenirs. Buying stuff at the airport is always a Catch-22; you have extra currency and maybe want to bring home a few extra things to give as gifts, but you sure don't want to pay the prices they charge and sometimes, the selection just sucks.

Not so at Milan's Malpensa Airport, however. Yesterday, while we (thankfully) caught the last direct flight back to JFK before the snow cancellations set in, we managed to stock up on everything from Provolone cheese and Bresaola cured beef to squid ink-infused risotto. And then we grabbed the most kitschy souvenir of all—the 4 Euro Monumenti d'Italia bag of multicolore pasta. The details are...glorious.

Can you name all of the Italian landmarks depicted in the pasta above? Answers this way...]]> JetSetCD 2011-01-27T12:25:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/6/22/143321/533

Hot men and haute menswear is dominating Milan this week as Men's Fashion Week wraps up, but although the runway and cocktail hours are private, invite-only events, they are often held in the best, most normally tourist-friendly areas. This way, even if you aren't among the select fashionistas to walk the red carpet, you'll still be able to visit and enjoy the scenery on any other normal day.

Case in point: Dolce & Gabbana, the Italian designer label by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, recently celebrated the 20th Anniversary of their Menswear Collection, and they did so in grand style with a giant fashion show and after-party at Palazzo Marino, Milan's City Hall, which spilled out into Piazza della Scala. ]]> JetSetCD 2010-06-22T15:45:56-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/