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ANCHE (FORNO / BAR / RISTORANTE) Via Carmagnola 5c, 20159 Milano, Italy http://www.anche.it Last time I went to Milan I discovered a cool loop hole in the legal shopping hour system. Its a really normal and pretty traditional thing, whereby kitchens or bakeries leave their back windows or side hatch open and late night party goers (leavers) can buy a croissant, for example, on their way home. These workers have to be up at this time to get their dough and ovens going before official opening at a reasonable hour, so its in everyones favour. And as the Italians are fantastically sociable people, it makes sense to me, keeping everyone sane in the early hours. I particularly enjoyed seeing the different small groups of people congregating outside this place an chatting with each other or the guys working there. This one in particular is called Anche and is very close to the Garibaldi train station, a short walk from Piazza Gae Aulenti and near a very nice, and quite large, weekend street market at Piazza Tito Minniti. Above pictures are just for the Forno (literal translation “oven”), where we gathered a momentary 4am snack and breakfast items for when we woke up again. Anche is also a bar and restaurant, accessed by a different entrance next door. I suppose a Forno then is just the street access to the kitchen. (Correct me if I'm wrong!)

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10 CORSO COMO Milano, 20154, Italy.

Very cool cafe and concept store with an art gallery and terrace on the upper floors. Founded in 1990 by gallerist and publisher Carla Sozzani, it is dedicated to art, fashion and design. Huge glass doors open on nice days which blends the outside courtyard full of little tables surrounded by an overwhelming amount of plants with the glossy, water like floor of the beautifully designed cafe. Next door is the clothes and accessory store with quirky products and a selections from various fashion houses. Upstairs a book store featuring mainly books on design and life style and following the minimalist white corridor with huge windows along to the side is an contemporary art gallery with a constant rotation of exhibitions. Here, by taking a small spiral staircase upwards, is the rooftop, with plants, seating and installations. A truly beautiful and inspiring place to visit and hang out whether its to shop, visit an exhibition or just chill out with a coffee and observe the plant life.

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VILLA NECCHI _ PORTALUPPI Villa Necchi Campiglio was constructed between 1932 and 1935 by the Milanese architect Piero Portaluppi. Its a stylish piece of architecture and interior design history. Sadly some rooms have been redesigned but the majority remain as intended. The outside is free to the public or you can take a tour of the interior rooms, upstairs and downstairs as well as the service areas of the house, the pantry, the kitchens and bathrooms, all still graced with their original facilities.  I have visited Villa Necchi a few times, once just to look at the outside again and twice to tour the inside. Back in February (2017) I was lucky enough to practically get a private tour as there weren’t very many visitors, definitely a plus, without hands of people, it meant that everyone was a little more relaxed, and you could take advantage of chatting with the guides as you went around, and checking up on their intensive knowledge of the place and the architect. An extra part of the basement was also open at this time, a sort of exhibition of old photographs and history/information panels, it was nice because you get a better feeling of the ‘back of house’, and we exited through the restaurant entrance as they were closing up for the day, just as the sun was setting. This place always exerts such a nice mood, the original interior spaces and super cool built in furniture, thoughtful details, sliding doors and   a secluded plot in Milan that is ingrained with culture and style.

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Porta Nuova Building by Piuarch Office Milan

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South Korea pavilion, precision projection mapping and installations.

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MILAN _ WORLD EXPO

The expo takes place on the outskirts of Milan and being the last week that it is open, it was busier than ever.

Sadly one day was not enough for the expo, time did not allow for much queuing, especially the 5 hours outside the Japanese pavilion, though the exterior design was beautiful.

Possibly the most striking pavilions include the UKs swarming beehive structure, comprised of 169,300 individual aluminium components which lit up from the centre by pulsating LED lights attuned to a real bee's hive located in Nottingham. The Chinese Pavilion, which, once past all the traditional, cultural exhibits, housed a sea of lights, all acting as individual pixels to a greater picture, visible from the gallery walk above. Finally the South Korean pavilion exhibited their expertise through art and technology, showing beautiful light displays and installations communicating a message of healthy and harmonious Korean cuisine. Elements from other pavilions also stood out, the wide spread green design, wooden frames and cladding, vertical gardens, the 3D printed sand dunes of the UAE pavilion and the super market of the futures UI design.

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GREENLEAFING_ABOUT / INTRODUCTION

It took many years to gain a confidence in myself, even more to start using it on a wider scale. Maybe i felt stuck in education, or I had to much dependance on people to guide me. I’m not a solo traveler, at least not at the moment and I want to traverse this earth a little differently… So i’ll use my creative background to open my eyes and take me places, building a portfolio of photography, video and installations along the way. 

Known as Eleanor, ‘Nor, Spike/SPK and Noodle, I am an installation artist, video editor, digital designer, analogue hacker and DJ and I am looking for special places in the world, plastic alternatives, new friends, new music and life enhancing experiences.

Here then, where sedimentary virtual posts will gather, is an archive of places visited, through countries all around the world, a continuous travel log. With a home based in London and an international group of friends, these stories begin with visiting the lands of my kin. In this way a bond is made with their local scene and country, meeting friends and friends of friends, these new contacts adding to a growing network of neighbouring souls, so gathering recommendations, the journeys and adventures take hold.

I travel for my installations, with family or friends, for the joys of traversing new terrains, for adventure. By chatting to locals, documenting, exploring, discovering hidden places, beautiful landscapes, mountains, flatlands, cultural traditions, people, music, sound systems, record shops, designers, street artists and their hangouts, through recommendation and curiosity alone, I will discover what this world has to offer and document it here. For you and for I.

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