Go Argentina!!!!

Three more matches to win... and Argentina will win the World Cup!!!

I've suffered for 93 minutes at my father's place, where I went to see Argentina vs. Mexico with my sister and to where we invited other supporters and the Argentines that, by chance, happened to be in Montepulciano this very day... we found just two, but it is a small town, though...

We suffered and we won... So I guess I must always suffer to win... not that hard...

So, I will definitely suffer next Saturday with the match against Germany... but I do believe in Maradona and his team...

Let's keep it up!!!!

My post number 100...

Destiny or not, I happen to be in Montepulciano, the Tuscan town where I was born, the very same day in which I'll be writing the post number 100 of the blog I've started almost 10 months ago...

Strange coincidence, a short-circuit between my past and my present, an unexpected confrontation with who I used to be and who I am now... All this moves me and intrigues me much...

So let's go to the post number 100 to try to put things straight.

To begin with, Montepulciano: a pure and magical place, full of eternity, olive trees, vines, masterpieces... It is here, under this atmosphere, where I've learned to walk, laugh and love, cry and set clear goals for my life. It's so important to never forget the landscapes that craft our sensitivity. You can be victim of grave dangers when you lose your inner compass...

So it was here, in Montepulciano, around the church of San Biagio (the most beautiful church in the world), crossing the Piazza Grande every day to reach school and staring at the beautiful landscapes of the Valdichiana, that I learned to dream of new horizons, to wish new worlds, to develop my curiosity and interest in others...

From there to writing a blog, although a small step in itself, the roads where extremely long...

Lots of people write blogs in a narcissistic attitude, completely self-centered... believe me, it's not my case!

I want to share my ideas, my experiences, for me, this blog is a feeling.

I'm so happy to have reached post number 100, I wish to reach the number 1000 or 10.000, who knows...

Thanks to all of you who read me, love me, hate me or criticize me... please never stop doing so!

Thanks to Carla for pushing me into the doorstep of this blog and for improving it with the pictures and photos. Thanks to Juan for his French translations.

And to my readers, once again, thanks for stimulating me in this adventure with your comments and suggestions. An adventure I do not know where it will take me, but that I certainly do want to continue...

Shopping for Montepulciano's well-known vino Nobile...

Soldes, soldes!!!

Together with the sun and the good weather. this morning the so-awaited invitations to the soldes privées (a.k.a. the private sales) for the loyal customers have arrived! The official sales begin here in Paris on June 30th, but those who are lucky and know the right people, receive these precious cards that allow them to get from - 20% to -50% off before everyone else... Heaven on Earth for the fashionistas! Those cards are supposed to be personal and not transferable... but we, women, can do the impossible!

Practically all stores go on sale, from the luxurious ones, such as Prada, Dior, Chanel, to big department stores as Galeries Lafayette or Printemps. Gap and H&M too. And don't forget the -20% offered by Sephora and Marionnaud, the biggest stores for fragrances and beauty products in Paris.

Just imagine the horde of mad buyers fighting over a lotion or a reduced lipstick!

The wiser ones follow a "sale protocol": they visit the stores some days in advance, single out the pieces they'll want and even try to befriend store employees so that they secretly put apart the desired stuff for them.

Of course, there are those who just lose their heads and buy a size 34 when they are a size 38 or 40, just because it's on sale...!

A tip from an expert: wear something comfortable, that you can easily take off in fitting rooms, carry a bottle of water and be objective... Don't buy just for buying! It's a time for being reasonable...

Go Argentina!!!!

Oh, what a match that of Argentina vs. Greece!! Good for Martín Palermo!!

Fantastic team, Diego!

On the other hand, how embarrassing France's performance was! Their many defeats, the little connection among players, how sad must they feel tonight when they'll fly back home to Paris...

This is what the World Cup is about, I guess... joys and sorrows... as in real life...

Getty Images. Fifa.com

Royal wedding in Sweden...

As there's not much to see around these days other than football matches, for all of you, romantics as myself, I invite you to check the site SVT Play to see the sumptuous and very, very romantic wedding, held yesterday, between the Crown Princess of Sweden, Victoria, with Daniel Westling. There you'll see the ceremony, the waltz and the speeches, of course many in swedish but the images speak for themselves... And it's a great chance to see beautiful Stockholm...
Cheers for the newlyweds!

Africa

It's 12°C in this Parisian night... too cold for the eve of the European summer... What could be best then than watch another World Cup match?
Cameroon vs. Denmark... let the best win!
But what I really want to talk about in this post are the poetic names by which the African National Teams call each other...
Nigerians are known as the Super Eagles....
C ameroon's team, the Untamed Lions...
Côte d'Ivoire's, the Elefants...
Egyptians, the Pharaohs...
Algerians, the Sahara's Foxes...
Senegal's team is also known as the Lions...
And Ghana's players call themselves the Black Stars...
It's so good that Africa, a continent so beaten and yet so strong, can live in its lands the passion of the World Cup. And perform their ritual dances before each match, no matter the team... Africans are all brothers! And it's so good too that during a whole month football lovers will lay their eyes on them...

Amazing Argentina!!

While I'm watching (and suffering) the match between France and Mexico, I still remember vividly this glorious afternoon when Argentina won over Korea 4 to 1!!
Magic moments...
Let's keep it up!!

Uruguay, Uruguay...

Good for Uruguay, good for Diego Forlan... Fantastic Uruguay!!!

I feel pity for South-Africa, but you know me, I'd like them all to win...

The French are doing the maths: win against Mexico tomorrow, face the defeated South-africans and gain the three points they need... slowly we reach the core of the World Cup...

Do you remember  Gianna Nannini's and Edoardo Bennato's song for Italy's 1990 World Cup?

"Un'estate italiana" it was called and it said "Notti magiche inseguendo un gol..." (magic nights following a goal...)

The best official song of all World Cups ever!!!

It is true... what magic nights are we having...

Getty Images. Fifa.com

PS: Diego Forlan... so good looking, plus a great player...

Vuvuzelas...

I become a football fan every four years, when the World Cup arrives, no matter where I am... I remember watching Mexico's World Cup (1986) in the Dominican Republic, Italy's (1990) in the middle of the Kalahari desert (in fact, I must say I did not actually watch it, but heard it on a small radio), USA's (1994) on an island in the French Polynesia, France's (1998) in the French Riviera, Korea's (2002) in Paris and Germany's final match (2006) in New York, in the apartment of an Argentine friend of mine. That same night I took an Air France flight to Paris and the French wouldn't check me in when they saw my Italian passport... they were still sorry for the defeat...

Four years have gone by now and I follow all the matches with the same passion I inherited from my father, who used to play for Siena in his youth... I shout, suffer and cry and, in the end, I love all teams... for some reason or other. Italy is my birthplace, how can I not love it? Argentina is the passion, Maradona, the Argentine people that I know so well... I could imitate them, how they talk to each other after a goal or a special play in their exact accent!!! 

France gave me so much... And Uruguay... If I go on, I'll find reasons to cheer for South Korea too!

But what I will definitely remember of this World Cup 2010, in addition to all the things to come, is the sound of the vuvuzuelas, those stadium horns made of boiled cardboard that only SouthAfricans know how to blow "comme il faut" and that had already caught the attention of Winston Churchill during the Boer Wars. That obsessive noise, which reminds me of a bee swarm, bothered me from match number one and I will always associate it to this World Cup.

Mythology says that the people of Cape of Good Hope decided to honor bees as if they were Gods (if bees disapeared, men would soon perish... Albert Einstein). According to tradition, vuvuzelas remind us that we'll be reborn after our deaths... And at Cap Town Stadium, many will die and be reborn...

PS: Special remark for Roque Santa Cruz, from Paraguay... so good-looking!!!

Haute Couture in Paris...

I'm finally back in Paris.

It's quite cool outside, 18°C, but all the same the city is already excited with the holidays to come... and as for fashion, in less than three weeks the Haute Couture Collections (the most expensive line of a designer) will be presented.

Although it is considered prestigious and where one can witness a creator in all his strength and depth, not many keep their Haute Couture ateliers working. It's becoming hard to attract clients that can pay the high costs of a hand-sewn and embroidered dress, which requires a toile, at least three fittings and many hours of work. Let's not forget that Hollywood actresses get the dresses for award shows and red carpets on loan, which reduces terribly the spectrum of real clients. The arrival and expansion of prêt-à-porter, plus the rising costs have made the "ceremony" of fitting and buying an Haute Couture dress a luxury for the few. A long time ago, clients would spend months vacationing in Europe so that they could be near and available in Paris for their fittings. Complete wardrobes, with wedding gowns, party and cocktail dresses included, would be ordered. It was another time altogether. According to October's 2008 edition of US Vogue only 200 people used to buy Haute Couture dresses in Paris. This, of course, before the economic meltdown.

To be considered an Haute Couture designer, he or she must belong to the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, a division of the French Ministry of Industry, and comply with the rules associated with the title: preside an atelier employing 20 people at least, where complete handmade pieces should be made only upon request. These ateliers are divided into specialized areas such as Tailleur (tailoring), Flou (soft dressmaking) or Embroidery, because it is not the same to work on tweed than on silk or chiffon. Each area is supervised by a Director of Couture who is in charge of leading the whole team into "building" and giving shape to what the designer of the Maison might have sketched. 

The seamstresses and tailors of these workrooms are real artists. As surgeons, with their clinical white coats, they are trained to treat our bodies as a sum of problems to solve, unravelling details and hidden flaws, so that in the end, the final result fits us as a glove. It is said that a Chanel jacket takes 150 hours to make and at least three fittings.

Haute Couture designers must present a minimum of 25 looks, twice a year, in January and July. Before World War II, there were 200 Haute Couture designers. Now only 11 bear the title. A designer who calls himself an Haute Couturier without the approval of the Chambre could be taken to jail, because it is an appelation contrôlée or trade mark. 

Because they are extremely expensive and artisanal, Fashion Houses today trust in their prêt-a-porter lines, perfumes and accessories to make their business work. Keeping the ateliers has more to do with a creative caprice that strengthens the whole label. How? Because by dressing style icons worldwide they pour publicity into their more popular lines. 

I hope to see some of the runway shows and tell you all about them...

It's always a magical experience...

Dior's atelier in Paris (photographed by Patrick Demarchelier for Vogue).

Beverly Hills, California...

I believe Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, even all of California, to be among the places I like the most in the entire World.

Is it because there the sun shines all year long?

Is it because Los Angeles is the Mecca for showbiz and movies, my greatest passion?

Is it because of all the movies I've seen as a child that had these landscapes as settings?

I don't know but every time I get to Los Angeles I feel like a kid in Disneyworld!

Everyone is so beautiful (mostly aspiring actors...), kind to visitors and wear shorts (not now that ther are a trend... since forever!!). The streets of Beverly Hills are so perfect and clean... they shine with the sun and the palm trees that decorate them. Not to mention the stores! The most luxurious brands in the world are present between Rodeo Drive, Wilshire Boulevard, Cañon Dr. and Beverly Dr.

At first sight it seems as if the economic meltdown has never reached this part of the planet... But it is just an illusion, a mirage... 

I have lunch at The Ivy, a delicious restaurant on Robertson Blv., with my friend Allan Harriman, who works in finance and of course he confirms me that California has been hit by the crisis of course! In fact many locals are becoming residents in Las Vegas, Nevada, were taxes are less expensive (so much perfection on the streets cost money!!), and others are looking for new horizons... In Argentina, for instance. I tell Allan that since 2003 Argentina has experienced an interesting growth in the Real Estate market, but of course that growth has been affected by the international crisis and many local difficulties. However, many Real Estate agencies have tried to transform their work methodologies to gain unsatisfied demand and bring confidence to investors from abroad looking for new options to suit their portfolios. I tell Allan that I know an agency called Branson, owned by Hugo Koiffman. a former P.R. who has attracted many of those investors (mainly from Europe and the US), providing legal financial and tax advice. 

Allan appreciates my suggestion... Today, you can discuss business in Argentina will eating at a restaurant in Los Angeles, thanks to blackberries and iPhones...

I say my farewell to him and hit Melrose Ave.

The city waits for me!!

In flight...

Thanks to today's modern technology, I'm writing this post from my airplane seat, in mid-air, somewhere between New York and Los Angeles!

Amazing! It's a first for me and I find this progress will change the way we travel... so comfortable... and it really works!!

Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain's widower, is traveling next to me... more than a wild rocker, she looks like a tired businesswoman. She has an Hermès Birkin bag and Chanel flats. Only a tattoo around the ankle reveals her true nature.

As Los Angeles is the Meca for Showbiz, it's common to see celebrities taking this flight.

After 36 intense hours in NYC, a moment for peace and meditation in the sky.

The trip is quite long, almost seven hours of flight in the middle of the day, but if my batteries resist, I won't even feel them...

NYC was splendid. Nice hot weather (almost 30°C), sun and lots of people on the streets. Women in shorts and miniskirts... it's definitely a trend.

Sales have begun yesterday, -30% and -40% off. Americans are great followers of sales, they expect them and organize themselves around them very consciously (money is money... earning it or saving it... isn't it all the same?). Except, of course, on the second floor of Bergdorf, on the shoe section, where I saw a sea of wild women fighting over Manolos and Louboutins...

I took a pair of gladiator sandals by Giuseppe Zanotti, but the sales-guy who was supposed to bring them  on my size took so long that I left. I'm glad I didn't fall for the temptation of compulsive shopping.

The best of all I saw in Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch. At Gap. delicious long cotton dresses with flowers, green, pink or light blue. Shorts (again!!) in all lengths and shapes, tartan shirts, belts, sandals. I did the math and calculated that with 200 or 300 dollars you can update your summer wardrobe. And properly.

At Abercrombie, in spite of the loud music, the strong scent of the atmosphere and the never-ending lines to the fitting rooms and then the cashiers, you can find trendy clothes, young and of excellent quality. I love Abercrombie! Great jeans, lovely t-shirts and the best pieces for outdoor sports!

And the sales people, boys and girls, are so beautiful and sexy that many tourists have their pictures taken with them... Specially those with their naked torsos and huge abs that receive visitors at the main entrance... in winter and in summer. Almost naked.

Anyway, in spite of the euphoria on the streets, due to the arrival of summer and the prospects of holidays, it is quite obvious that the economic crisis is not over... My friend Debbie, who works at Oscar de la Renta, told me that things are tough, cutting budgets and orders everywhere. Before, department stores ordered many pieces, now it's only what they know they'll sell. No one wants to be stuck with stuff they'll have to put on sale afterwards.

At Judith Leiber's stand, my friends George and Linda told me that they read my blog... the idea of having someone reading me in New York made me just happy...

Uh. Batteries are running out...

Max Ryan.

I'm sure many of you did not know him until today...
Max Ryan is a British actor, age 43, who in "Sex & the City 2," plays Samantha's new love interest.
And the truth is that with my friends we were absolutely moved by this gorgeous guy who appears out of nowhere in the middle of the desert. And we didn't know him!!!
So now we do, we now from where he is from, his age and that he has previously been in "Kiss of the dragon," "Death Race" and "The League of Extraordinay Gentlemen."
I believe that from now on, and after his exotic and sexy character, we will never forget him!!

Sex & the City 2...

Thanks to a press invitation given to me by my good friend Fernanda, I had the privilege of watching tonight "Sex and the City 2," just two days before its premiere in Buenos Aires and only four days after its official premiere in New York!

I wouldn't have missed it at all... Not even if I had a date with the handsomest of men!!

And as I had a previous cocktail, I went "very Carrie Bradshaw:" shinny coat, mini dress, bare legs (with 11°C outside!) and Louboutin shoes of 12 cm heels... so like her.

I was thrilled to see my four friends again, those with who I shared so many nights of my life, watching the episodes of the six seasons... many I saw more than once!

So, as the movie begins and you see NYC, its buildings, its taxis and "the girls" walking down the streets as modern amazons, you get the chills... 

It's just that Sex & the City has captured us for so many years... it was able to show our most profound feminine essence, but also our most frivolous concerns... I don't know of any woman who has not liked the series...

The shoes, the dresses, the boyfriends and lovers, the wishes of having a family and its complete opposite, motherhood and its opposite... 

But in this new installment, things have changed... Inexplicably, "the girls" have aged too much... if not, can someone explain to me why Carrie has wrinkles (normal, for her age) and instead to Mr. Big, today John James Preston, not a day has passed??? He is younger and handsomer than ever!!!

Why does Samantha's free and joyful sexuality is transformed here into the delirious hallucinations of a menopausal woman. And Charlotte's freshness into the complaints of a doll of some other time...? 

Miranda, never the prettiest nor the sexiest, is the only one who bears with dignity the pass of time.

I repeat: it is unfair that Aidan, Stanford, Anthony and even Charlotte's and Miranda's husbands still look the same...

The part of Abu Dhabi is beautiful, with its souks (although we know that they are really Marrakech's), its Arabic luxuries and meals, its desserts and dunes... breathtaking.

The moral of the story is that what you wish and get does not bring the satisfaction you were waiting for... Beware what you wish, because you'll get it, reads an old saying.

Anyway, the movie (kind of kitsch in the fashion aspect) has one or two memorable moments: Liza Minelli's show, full of energy and talent, and Penelope Cruz's small guest appearance. 

My Carrie's favorite looks: the long, green Lanvin dress from the Finale, a pink Halston Heritage one-shoulder dress and an enbroidered white jacket. The rest I found to shinny and caricaturesque. Or maybe it was on purpose and I didn't get it...

Anyway, go see it. You can't miss it, even If you criticize it then. 

As for me, I'll go see every future installment... 3, 4, 5, 6... if they ever make them...