Rada Priya

Tucked in the depths of the Tuscan countryside, amongst vineyards, rolling fields and bubbling creeks, 'The Mall' lays in stark contrast to its surrounds. An Oasis of the finest designer labels concentrated into a miniature outlet city. The buildings small and sterile, reminding me of the empty "Hotel" artwork that sits by the highway on the way to Sorrento from Melbourne, or the desert Prada store in west Texas.  For a day I felt as if I were some strange country, an alien amongst the Japanese and Arabic tourists. I got my chance to get up close and personal with my designer idols, McQueen, McCartney, Dior, Burberry, Valentino, pouring over the delicate stitches and fabrics of seasons passed pieces. At outlet prices, I could actually afford to shop in Prada, and than there was the Lindt store... 

On the weekend we decided to play tourist and head out of Florence into the surrounding Tuscan countryside. The weather was predicted to be cold and rain, but it turned out to be a warm spring day with only rain clouds passing by in the far horizon. We headed first to San Gimignano with its 14 medieval towers striking amongst the grapevine littered landscape. The city is small and only mopeds and bikes are allowed inside the walls. There are these naked statues at random spots through the streets - even one perched on the highest tower - their purpose puzzles me... For lunch we found this dark trattoria full of incredible art. We were invited to sit on the roof terrace, and although I wanted to sit in the romantic lit rooms to take in the art, nothing compared to the view from the rooftop - all of Toscana stretched out as far as the eye can see. We ate tagliatelle with local mushrooms and drank the wine famous in the region. The day was still young so we headed further south th...