My Mother's Day

Though I know it is a happy day for most of you, today is a really hard day for me as it is the first Mother's Day that Mom's not with me. I remember this day last year I thought I wasn't gonna be lucky enough to still have Mom with me, but I did and it made me really happy and I seized that day as I don't think I ever had. Today, I look back at those moments and tears run down my eyes, some of happiness and some of sadness because I know I will never have moments like those again but, at the same time, I'm happy I got to live them.

When we're young, we use to take our parents for granted, not realizing there will come a day when we no longer have them with us; it is normal, but that doesn't mean you can't do things differently. ("Les parents ne sont pas éternels" is a quote from a movie I love and well, it is true) I was very lucky to have a really tight relationship with my Mom and even though -for the most part- I did what I could to make the best out of my time with her, there are times where I still feel like I could have done better and not because I didn't do enough but because, when you lose a parent (or in this case, your Mother) you will always feel like the time you had was not enough, what you did was not enough, you will always feel like you could have done/had more; however, you will learn to treasure the moments you shared like nothing else and you will also learn how to live in peace with what you did, knowing that it was the best you could at the time.

And, regarding my day, well...most of my friends (the very few I got left) don't ask me how I am or how I feel after all I went through, or about Mom...they all actually try to avoid mentioning her at all. I figured it's because they think talking about her is gonna make me sad and I'll burst into tears right in front of them and well, it is understandable, nobody likes seeing someone cry, especially if they're your friends; it's usually awkward and you don't know how to act on it. One of my close friends actually confirmed this theory for me, she told me that -indeed- she had never wanted to mention the topic of my Mom (or how I really was) because she thought asking me would make me think of her and make me sad; well, newsflash people: I think of my Mom 24/7, not that I'm obsessed ONLY thinking of her all the time but she is in my thoughts throughout my day and though, not always as deeply, as I also need to move on with my life, she's always on my mind and heart; so, talking about her or mentioning her would most likely always, ALWAYS bring a smile to my face -remembering her and talking about her is one of the things that make me the happiest these days.

Whenever I think of Mumsy, I do get mixed feelings as on one side, it makes me really happy to remember her because that is my way to keep her close to me, and on the other side, it also makes me very sad because it's a constant reminder of her absence, of the fact that I will never get to live such moments ever again, but all in all, thinking of her is a good thing for me. Now, I don't want you to think I want you to ask me how I am or whatever, I just want you to not be afraid of asking when you do wanna know.

Today, all I can do is think of her and all the moments that we shared, good and bad, I get to miss her and, since holding her is not an option, I get to share stories about her to feel as if she's alive, even if it's just for a little while.

Bottom line is, love and cherish your mothers, spoil them and do your best to understand them, share your life with them and not just today, but everyday; after all, it is (if not the most) one of the most important relationships in your life.

  *I wanna send a special shout-out to my friends David + Paola who have been an amazing support to me + my sister and have been genuinely empathetic as they've gone through a similar situation -we Mom-Orphans stick together! Love you very much, guys, thank you for being there!

After a great Sunday Brunch with Mumsy

Why People Hate Instagram

The other day the Hashtag "Why I Hate Instagram" was trending on Twitter and I thought I'd write a post about it cause there are SO many things to say about that and I thought it'd be entertaining for those of you out there using the app.

First of all, I'd like to talk about the Misunderstandings, which lead to the Misuses:

The Format - The square form, is a format, not a "cropping", it does NOT crop your photos, it is the intended format for it; meaning, they planned for you to compose your photos (before taking them, obviously) in that squared format. If you want a 35mm photo, there are tons of other apps you can use and they also have cool filters. Also, a ton of people don't know how to properly use this format, and end up cropping (manually) their photos in a way they're not even understandable. If you look at your photo and realize that anyone else but you can make up what it is, spare us all and don't post it, leave abstract art for real canvases.

If you don't see this symbol anywhere, that means you're NOT cropping.

The Selfies - Some people have the wrong impression that Instagram is some kind of 365-selfies project and ALL you see in their photos are selfies: in the bathroom, in the room, in the kitchen, again in the bathroom, etc. Yes, a selfie here and there never hurt anyone, however, an only selfies album? Nobody is THAT interesting.

Really?

The Filters - Instagram has cool filters, yes, and sometimes it is okay not to use any of them as long as the purpose of its (Instagram's) use is to use the (squared) format. It is not an app intended for you to post pictures taken with a real camera and "pimp it" out with its filters and "crop" it.

The Zoom - Again, this has to do with the format. In a medium format (real) camera you will not be able to zoom in or out as the square format is what distinguishes this type of format. So if you wanna zoom in/out, again, use another app.

The Hashtags - This has gone crazy now, everyone is using hashtags pretty much even when they're talking! Hashtags are metadata tags ONLY intended to be used where they can work as such, this means: Twitter, Tumbler, Tout, Identi.ca, Google+ and, of course, Instagram. This means, they have NO use on email messages, Blog Posts and much less (and most importantly for you to remember!), on Facebook, so please, spare us all and if you're not posting them on any of the "valid" places, don't use a hashtag.
Another thing about hashtags is how crazy people can go over them by trying to get a million likes using a TON of them, not only is it annoying but most of them really make no sense. So, please, don't go around doing this:

Please, don't.

The Oversharing - Some people would post 10+ photos in one day and, unless you're taking a trip in an awesome place that begs to be shared with the world, we don't need to see that many photos, especially if only 1 out of those 10 is half good.

Then, what people really don't like about it, but shouldn't really matter. The
Dislikes:

The Food Shots - The main reason why everyone hates the Food shots is because people don't really know how to do it or they simply overdo it and take photos of every single thing they eat! If you wanna do a food shot, that's fine, we all love them and it doesn't really have to be only about exotic food or dishes served in a fancy way, you can also shoot "regular" food, however, you need to be careful and try to make a good -or at least worthy- shot, with decent lighting and a decent composition to make it look attractive and make people wanna have that -which is the main objective of Food Photography.

Honestly, would you want to eat that? (You can't even tell what that is!)

The Verifications - People were complaining a lot that Instagram does not offer the verification sign like Twitter does and then they can't tell if it's the real celebrity or not. Well, most celebs will have their "official" Instagram (and social networking) accounts announced on their official websites, plus, this is an app with photos, you could (most of the times) tell really easily if it's the real celebrity posting or a fake is fooling you.

I think it's safe to say Kim K posted this herself.

The Pets - A lot of people were saying how much they hate people keep posting photos of their pets, well, I agree on this one. Why do we have to see a picture of your cat/dog in the very same position on the couch, kitchen, bed, bathroom, etc. Unless you put funny clothes on them or they can do a trick worthy of a photo capture, please, spare us all.

What's so cute about this cat?

The Watermarks - Unless you're a professional photographer and/or take AMAZING Instagram photos, there is really no need to put a watermark on them. Yes, I know we were all a bit hesitant when they changed their TOS (Terms of Service) and all but, come on, do you really think Instagram is gonna steal the terrible picture of your dinner with no proper/decent lighting and all grainy?...Exactly!

Who would want to steal this? Seriously!

The Concert Shots - We all dislike these ones; unless you were at the The Killer's concert in the rows nearby to the stage and were able to get a real nice shot of Brandon's beautiful face, NOBODY needs (nor wants) to see an all dark square with a white noise (aka the stage) in the center and caption reading "The Killers rocked". Total no-no.

WTF is this?!

And now, what people don't know how to do and, therefore, complain about it "not existing". The Unknown:

The Follows - Some peeps were complaining that they can't follow people, can't view their followers or who they're following- all via laptop. Well, via laptop (or any computer) you can actually follow people: when (i.e.) someone posts a photo and also posts it on Twitter, you click on that url and it will open a new window with the photo, giving you the option to follow that person (if not already following) on the top left, and it syncs with the app on your phone in real time. And, regarding your Followers and who you're Following, that indeed cannot be done via web, however, keep in mind this is an app intended for mobile devices, mainly.

The Photographers - I am putting this one under the Unknown because many of you may not know that yet and I'm sorry to be the one breaking this to you but...taking photos with your iPhone does not make you a photographer, well, technically speaking it does, but only in the sense of the mere expression "s/he's a photographer because s/he takes photographs"; however, that does not mean you have to put on your profile something like: "Student/Photographer, Barista/Photographer, or Dog Walker/Photographer", etc. You take photos, we get that, who doesn't these days? That does not make you a photographer, if anything, you're (more accurately speaking) a snapshot maker or, at the very least an Amateur Photographer, which is he who takes photographs for pleasure and to record an event, emotion, place, or person.

The Battery Life - People also complained a lot about the app using a lot of the phone battery, well, newsflash, there's something called "closing your apps" and it, surprisingly, allows you to save your device battery when you're not actually using an app. Trust me, Instagram does not need to be running in the back 24/7, you can feel free to close it and open it only when you need to, you'll be saving a lot of battery that way.

What do YOU hate about Instagram?

Eating My Way Around Italy III: The best pasta in Rome

It is more than obvious than if you go to Italy, you will have pasta, and very good pasta, of course...but, how are you gonna find what the best is? Well, don't you worry, I got this one, I went on a sort of Quest to find the best Pasta in Italy and I'm about to tell you where that is, so keep reading!

I tried pasta in several different places, all in order to be able to inform YOU about it, obviously! 

I will start with a nice Lasagna I had in Lucca, Tuscany; it was good and tasty, buuut...Mom used to make a killer lasagna, so, this one next to hers turned out to be just average really. It was correctly priced though, for a restaurant in the Center of the town.

Lasagna in Downtown Lucca

Also had Gnoqui, which I absolutely love and was pretty much obsessed about, especially with pesto! So, when I went for dinner to the super trendy and nice neighborhood of Trastevere in Rome, I ate at a restaurant called "Il Ponentino". Gnoqui was good, really good actually, however, the serving portions were just ridiculously way too much -for any normal human being- and they didn't have the "to go" option, and I wasn't gonna waste any gnoqui, no sir! So, I ate the whole thing...therefore, I am now done with gnoqui 'till further notice, thank you very much.

Gnoqui at "Il Ponentino"

Penne Carbonara at "Il Ponentino"

On the Food Tour, I also had pasta, this time at a place called "Da Bucatino" , which is said to be one of the best Trattorias in Rome and local people just can't get enough of. We got to taste 2 different types of pasta there: Penne with tomato sauce and basil and the always-popular Cacio e Pepe (cheese and pepper). Now, the penne was good but the Cacio e Pepe was just fantastic! Stil, however, did not blow my mind, no. I'd still say it's an awesome place for trying Cacio e Pepe though.

Up: Cacio e Pepe Down: Penne with tomato sauce and basil

Da Bucatino, Rome

I got one last option before revealing to you what -for me- was the best pasta in Italy. This one is from a place in Rome called "Tudini", one block away from Termini Station. I had a spaghetti with tomato sauce and basil (I just can't get enough of basil!) and it was super fresh and delicious. I really enjoyed it and I think you would, too. Also, their spaghetti alla bolognesa is really good!

Spaghetti with tomato sauce and basil @ Tudini, Rome

And last, but never ever least -drum roll, please-...The very Best Pasta in all of Italy. I bring to you: Channel Spaghetti (spaghetti with lobster and an amazingly luscious sauce) from Spaghetteria e Pizzeria "L'Archetto". This place is awesome, they're very serious about pasta, so serious their menu has over 100 types of pasta to choose from! Their spaghetti alla bolognesa is great as well, not to mention their pizza...I could also declare it the best pizza in Italy! So, if you're not feeling like eating lobster on your pasta, that's alright, you will always another 100 choices.

Chanel Spaghetti @ L'Archetto, Rome

L'Archetto is near the Trevi Fountain

A family place with barely any tourists!

Delicious Spaghetti alla Bolognesa

Perfect dinner in Rome!

Oh, and remember, the secret to eat as much pasta as you like without getting like Tony from The Sopranos is...it has to be al dente (not cooked all the way)!

Been to Italy and found an amazing pasta? Tell us about it!

The Best 5 Free Apps When Traveling in Italy

These days, having a smartphone with you while traveling has become quite a common thing to do and also, very helpful!

If you usually travel with a smartphone, I am sure you do it because of all the perks you can get from the millions of applications there are regarding travel and everything else travel related. So, what you usually do is search for any (quite commonly called) apps that you feel will help you with your upcoming travels, download them and expect the to work their magic while on the move, right?

Well, one of the biggest inconveniences is the fact that you don't always have data or wi-fi available while traveling, which is when the app search becomes more interesting, as you have to search for some that particularly work offline, you know, just to be safe.

Well, I found a few of these that came quite in handy while I was traveling through Italy and now I wanna share them with you. So, here's a list of The Best 5 Apps When Traveling in Italy:

GuidePal City Guides - GuidePal used to have many different apps for different cities around the world, however, they decided to make it easier for everyone and put it all together in just one app, which includes several of the most important cities in the world. It has maps and they're helpful, but, if you want/need too much detailed information, it'll cost you; however, the basic stuff that is for free is good enough to get you started.

City (Rome, Venice, Florence, Pisa, etc.) Map and Walking Tour - If you're a fan of Tours but are traveling on a budget, this is the App for you as it helps you make your very own Walking Tour. It tells you the more important places and landmarks to visit, where they are, their opening times and some more info that may be useful. The down side on this one would be that you have to get a different app for each city, but still, it's worth it and they're all free!

City (Rome, Venice, Florence, Pisa, etc.) Street Map Offline - This is one of my personal favorites as it contains a lot of general information about the different cities you're visiting. It tells you a bit of story about the place, how to get there by different kinds of transport, what to eat, and some more very helpful info you could only get from the locals. The very best about this one is the 404 it gives you on every city, and everything is completely offline, so you can take it with you wherever you go and it can get you out of trouble a few times.

Metro Roma Free - The Metro in Rome is quite easy to use as it only has 2 lines, however, it always comes in handy to know where you're going and which metro station would be easier to use and/or the walking distance from one place to another.

SpeakEasy Italian Lite - Last, but not least, comes in the communication. Oh yeah, whenever we travel we wish we had a chip with the language we'll be needing inserted but, as we all know, that is not possible (yet, anyways), which is alright since -at least- we can get these wonderful apps to help us go through life, if not speaking proper Italian (in this case), at least getting us to communicate our basics needs and to understand what the locals are trying to tell us. With SpeakEasy you'll be able to order like locals do at restaurants and to understand when crazy sales people are trying to overcharge you for your espresso.

Eating My Way Around Italy II: Gelato

Italy is very well known for making (some of) the best Gelato in the World and -me being a huge ice cream fan- I went there to do some tastings and find out if it was true...turns out, it is!

I arrived in Italy determined to confirm they're masters of gelato-making, to do that, I was all ready, peprared and willing to try a different gelato everyday; it sounds like a difficult task, I know, well...it sort of was.

Giolitti Gelato

The 2-flavor rule made it all easier (and better!) cause that way, I got to try 2 different flavors a day. I was in traveling through Italy for 2 weeks and I did manage to have gelato pretty much everyday; I'd only skip my gelato duties when it was really, really cold.

Now, thanks to the Food Tour I took early on my trip, I was able to tell fake gelato from the real one, which was awesome cause, when you're on a quest to find the best gelato, the least you wanna do is try fake stuff. So, I can honestly say I am sure every gelato I tried was real (traditionally made and with natural instead of artificial flavors, that is).

 

Giolitti, the most traditional gelateria in all of Rome



Gelato Tourist Trap


There's obviously a wide range of flavors to go crazy over, so I did my best to try as many different ones as I could, although I have to confess I sometimes failed since I did find my favorite flavor very soon: Nocciola (hazelnut)!

These are a few of the most popular flavors: Panna (cream), Cioccolato (chocolate), which can be "regular" cioccolato or cioccolato fondente (dark chocolate), Limone (lemon), Pistacchio, Frutti di Bosco (fruits of the forest), Caffè, Fragola (strawberries), Cocco (coconut), Stracciatella (chocolate chip), Banana, Menta (mint), Ricotta Stregata ("bewitched ricotta"- a type of cheese), Nocciola (hazlenut).

 

Delicious Gelato!

So, the conclusion to this exhaustive investigation is that Italy, for sure, has the most amazing and luscious gelato in the World, particularly in Rome. So, if you wanna have something soft, creamy and full of flavor, Rome is the place to go! 

If, however, Rome -or Europe, for that matter- is too far away from you and you're in America, you can always go to Bar Harbor in Maine (US), there you will find a pretty close second-best!