What Ana Does

Alice is our huge Swiftie. And we tried but failed to get Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets when she rolled through the USA last summer. And the secondary market ticket prices were absolutely ridiculous. $5,000 a ticket? Even the $2,000 was out of the question. So when she released dates for her European tour, it made sense to try for tickets. We had planned to go to Europe this summer for Leah's graduation trip and we knew we would spend less than $2000/ticket, even with the flights and hotel.  It was a very stressful experience, but I got GREAT tickets in Milan for the three of us to last summer for less than $500/ticket. We just had to wait 12 months before the big night.  We watched the Eras Tour movie on Disney, watched all the videos on social media from other fans at the concert. I studied the lyrics all year and ran on the treadmill so I was in fit for the 3.5 hour show. We picked out outfits and made 60 friendship bracelets to exchange at the show. We needed those 12 mon...

What a trip! As it was Leah's graduation trip (in leu of a big party), she choose to go to Ireland years ago, inspired by the show "Derry Girls" but also by recommendations from some close friends. Then, we got into the lottery to buy tickets to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in Milan a year ago. So we joined the two destinations and created the itinerary for our Family Summer 2024 Vacation! Here's the breakdown and some helpful links.  Milan, Italy Hotel: Hotel Tocq   (Our Rating: 9/10)!   We started our trip with three hot and humid days in Milan, thanks to Taylor Swift tickets we were lucky enough to buy last year. Putting aside the life-changing, extraordinary concert experience that is the Eras Tour (future post), our time in Milan was super. I booked and rebooked three hotels and finally settled on this hotel on the north side of the city. Let me tell you ... I can't talk enough about how awesome the location of this hotel was. First, it's next to the Metr...

Before leaving for Milan, an Italian colleague sent David this amazing list of things to do and see in Milan. There's A LOT, so I thought I'd share it, too. Tania, the Author Of This List, After Lunch I trust your wife has already planned your visit to Milan in detail J, however, in case it is of any help, I wanted to share my personal recommendations + few links that contain some recommendations on what to visit in Milan. See them here   My personal recommendations, considering that you are staying only for a weekend, would go to the following: 1. DUOMO DI MILANO – if weather allows try to get to the top, the view over the city is really nice Image result for duomo di milano 2. GALLERIA VITTORIO EMANUELE – just in the same square, it’s a must to see in town. Starred Italian Chef Cracco recently opened another restaurant/pizzeria here. 3. – If you go ‘till the end of the gallery you see the famous LA SCALA theatre. Try to get in as its beauty doesn’t sho...

It was a quickly planned and quickly done weekend trip to Milan. It was our second trip there, as I mentioned here , so we had some familiarity with the city and what we wanted to do. Plus, it's Italy, so we mainly just wanted to eat and eat and eat. Saturday We arrived around 10am after a one hour (YES ONE HOUR!) flight from Paris. The airport is one hour from the city and taxies are about 100€, so the train was recommended to us. It's an hour-long ride, but no traffic and much cheaper. Bonus, our hotel was three blocks from Central Station, so it was perfect.  We checked into the Sheraton Four Points , I found a small suite at a pretty good rate, given we booked a few weeks from the trip. Breakfast included! I had already picked out a lunch place called SoulGreen , an easy walk from the hotel. We love plant-based, fresh restaurants (hello Flax & Kale in Barcelona!) and this one was very excellent, too! Specifically, the ginger-carrot-apple juice was just what I ne...