three cities

NOTE: I am travelling! Outfit photos will come to a grinding halt as I am alone and the Patient Photographer is not here to work his magic. Instead, enjoy travelling with me for the next two weeks and also make sure to check out the Patient Photographer's new blog here.

In Shanghai, People's Park on a wintry morning was a pocket of magic in an otherwise hurried and abrupt city. A small carnival slumbered in the middle of the park, a splash of colour against a concrete coloured sky. Amidst winding paths and quiet corners, knots of elderly men and women congregated, practising martial arts, tai-chi, playing chess, or simply talking animatedly. They barely noticed when I walked past.

The table wine in Italy is like fizzy grape juice. With only a 1.5% alcohol content, it's easy to knock it back and let it warm you against the cold. A country where it is perfectly acceptable to serve four types of cake for breakfast, is a country that is all good with me. Milan glitters at night, fairy lights strewn gracefully down streets, spilling over window ledges and balconies, and frosting the facade of the medieval Sforza castle. Such civic indulgence wouldn't go down well in New Zealand. Undoubtedly, there would be debates on climate change and energy consumption. But in Milan, there are only miles and miles of golden lights studding the dark sky. They know how to do Christmas here.

Lugano, Switzerland was perfection. Two ladies sat on a bench in front of me, talking quietly, the lake spread out at their feet. They parked their bikes on either side of them and the baskets at the front of their bikes were filled with flowers. The scene was so perfectly placed, with everything arranged 'just so', carelessly perfect and charming. Like Lugano itself.