| CHIC Travels | Girls Trip to Italy | Milan

The bustling part of Milano is right in the center where the Duomo Milano (Milan Cathedral) is situated and where I am standing right in this picture.

Detail shots of the Duomo Milano facade.

It took almost six decades for this structural beauty to be completed, which comes to show beauty takes work. The Duomo Milano is now sitting atop of what was considered the "new basilica," which was built in 355 and can still be visited under the Duomo. Sadly for me, I was unable to visit the interiors of the Duomo but I hear it is a sight not to be missed. 

One of my favorite things ever since I started my world travels, is to capture the city life and style of its residents, perhaps even tourists alike.

Inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is said to be one of the oldest shopping centers in the world and sits within a four-story arcade in central Milan. There are two glass-vaulted arcades intersecting in an octagon shape, and an arching glass and cast iron roof covering the street, a design that was popular for 19th century arcades. Another shopping arcade with the same design idea is the Saint-Hubert Gallery in Brussels, which I happened to visit during Christmas time, see it HERE.

I call this one, "among the crowd" posing inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

| ABOVE x BELOW | The magic of Milan Fashion Week street style, Via Montenapoleone. If you follow me on IG, you probably saw the photo below.

| ABOVE | Capturing my travel partner in crime, Sandy of Madly Addictive.

| ABOVE | Apperatly it's a thing in Milano to bring your dog to the shows or atleast strut them around, like this guy with a cool ass jacket, which I also posted on my IG.

| ABOVE | My other travel partner in crime Gil, see her IG here.

And then came night fall, where the city takes on a whole different feel. I don't know about you, but I love to wonder cities at night, there is something so eerie yet calming about the whole experience.

The Duomo Milano at night, the end.

Hope you enjoyed the first part of the last series of a Girls Trip to Italy, this one came very late but with all the travels in between I've had, it's been really hard to catch up on the photo editing and processing. But there is a whole lot more CHIC Travels coverage coming to the blog in this upcoming weeks, so if you enjoy this, stay tuned.

Part III | CHIC Travels | Brussels

Streets of Brussels are so magical, but then again all streets in Europe are the same. They ooze these sort of intrigue, as if they have seen life go by for years and years, and so they have. Brussels more so though has this chicness that most likely comes from its french influence yet cool that comes from the dutch influence, creating this atmosphere like no other. 

Entering heaven, also known as Pierre Marcolini Haute Chocolaterie, which has endless floors of goodness and is the place I want to call home, yes because nothing gets better than this for those who are chocolate connoisseurs as I like to call myself. It is a chocolate mecca in Brussels, it is the a sensual experience and one you most not miss if you ever visit this charming city.

I went stepped out happy with my Olympa Le-Tan for Pierre Marcolini designed chocolate box, which I still have and plan to transform it into something useful. I got two of each kind of chocolate pieces, they had from Venezuela, Brazil, to Mango and Strawberry, so many options that there is no way you can go home without any. 

Cutest Mini Cooper I ever did see.

Barney ran into his twin while we strolled the streets on the second day, right before the snow began to fall, which forced us to seclude back to the hotel as it was way too cold for our furry baby. We actually never left the hotel that day because it was snowing way too hard, making it difficult for us to navigate the streets. But it was actually a very relaxing and welcoming experience, as this was actually my first time seeing snow settle on the ground. Watching snow fall was so beautiful to me, just as I had seen it happen in countless movies, and made me feel just the way I thought, magical (my favorite word). 

I have a thing with lavish door knobs, they look so regal, so glorious and look so beautiful hanging from large doors. You see so many of these beautiful details all throughout the city,from regal knobs, so gracious statues to picturesque structures. 

See PART I x PART II of my Brussels story.

Part II | CHIC Travels | Brussels

Barney and I in front of Mont des Arts, which is located in the center of Brussels and is considered a historic site. In the photo above and below you get to see Brussels Town Hall tower (which you saw HERE) peeking through the landscape of buildings. This area was highly populated way before the garden existed, and was known as Quartier Saint Roches, but by the end of the 19th century, King Leopold II had the idea of converting the hill into a temporary garden and ordered to do monumental staircases and cascading fountains. Between 1956 and 1958 the garden went under a major reconstruction and it is what you see now. 

Barney has become quite the traveler, he came with us and although it was a bit of a challenge when snow fell during one of the days we were there, we love traveling with him because it's a whole different dynamic when he comes along.

Place Royale

The Music Instrument Museum (MIM) is located in the central of Brussels and is part of the Royal Museums for Art and History. MIM is internationally renowned for its collection of over 8,000 instruments, the collection was created in 1877, to educate students of early instruments. 

Oh and let's not forget the millions of waffle shops/trucks located all over the city, that fill your nose with happiness. I love waffles, well I love sweets period, but waffles are one of my favorite treats and I made it a point I could not leave Brussels without trying the famous Belgium Waffles...I will tell you a story about that on the next edition of Brussels. 

The photo that inspired one of the shots from this outfit post, and has become favorite of mine. There is something so romantic and solitary about the look of this photo that I just love.

You can see Part I of Brussels HERE.