Day trips are fun! Short stop in Monaco

Tiny tiny Monaco. I had to look this up, but Monaco is the second smallest country in the world (the smallest is Vatican City). But surrounded by beautiful architecture, imposing cliffs and wide open waters, Monaco is absolutely stunning. 

After a quick stroll/drive around, my companions and I headed to our OTHER reason for being in this tiny city/state... there was a chocolate festival in town! 

Unfortunately, the chocolate show ended up being a little bit of a disappointment. I had previously been to the show in New York, and it was both larger and more extensive in its displays. Still... chocolate is chocolate, and we had fun browsing around (for like a half hour) and tasting samples.

Day trip to Marseilles

I was lucky enough to be able to tag along for a short day trip to Marseilles. I only got a couple hours to look around, but the pretty port views and stunning architecture really impressed me.

Gorgeous early fall day, on the water. It was relaxing to
stroll along the port

At the corner of the port, there's a museum that looks like a large fortress. I
was later told that a new wing with amazing architecture was located just
around the corner, but I missed it. Oh well!

I walked around the old Marseilles area, which is steep
and windy with lots of side streets. Good exercise, and
very pretty.

Where do all these side streets go?

Stairs. SO MANY STAIRS!

Even the random buildings look pretty here

One more picture of the port. So pretty!

Milano, not the cookie

After two days at the World Expo, it was time to explore a little of the city of Milan. I've never been to Milan before; I've always thought it to be a fashion-based city and not much else. But luckily, there were other things to see and marvel at during my stroll there.

I set out without much of an agenda, with only vague ideas of hitting up some of the most famous landmarks. The metro was convenient and easy to use; and at 4.50 euro for an unlimited 24 hour pass, also a great deal.

I was staying at an Airbnb located by the Loreto metro stop, which sat on an intersection of the M1 and M2 lines. It was perfect, as it allowed me to criss-cross the city with ease. I also had time to stop and eat a delicious (and not too unhealthy!) lunch.

Of course my first stop was to the famous Duomo church. It was large,
imposing, and very very impressive

Surprisingly, the famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
was located just next to the Duomo. Wikipedia tells me
that it is one of the world's oldest shopping malls, and
you can find high end stores here, like Prada, Gucci, and
Versace.

The amazing architecture and glass roof makes it more appealing than the
items INSIDE the stores!

But don't forget to look down... the mosaic tiles are also
beautiful. I didn't take a whirl on the private parts of the
nearby bull in Turin's coat of arms, but it is said to bring
a person good luck.

The Navagli riverside. The area was a little lacking in
things to do (lots of restaurants though). Maybe it's
more bustling in the nighttime?

Cute subway art

Well, this definitely doesn't encourage me to enter!

I stopped by a local market, and LOOK AT ALL THE CHEEEEESE.

Of course, one of the best things about Italy is its food. While at the expo, I was able to try a classic Milanese style risotto. As with all well-made risotto, the rice was toothsome and separate. I could taste the earthiness of the Parmesan, and the citrus saffron sauce added a brightness to the dish.

Almost looks like a modern art piece instead of food, no?

I was also able to go to Joia for lunch, which is interestingly a Michelin starred vegetarian restaurant. It sounded like creative food, and I was enticed by the 20 euro lunch set. For that price, I received a plate with 5 different 'courses' or components. Each was beautifully done, with really complex flavors. I found that I didn't miss the meat at all; each dish had something texturally interesting, which more than made up for the lack of meat. Along with the plate, I also received bread (mmm, foccacia!), water, and coffee.

In the middle was a farro 'risotto'. It was creamy with
cheese, with crunchy kale. It was topped with a small
slice of dried apple, bringing a tantalizing sweetness. Then,
clockwise, from the bottom right: crispy potato pancake,
topped with cheese. The pancake was delightfully crunchy.
Spring rolls filled with veggies. Beet tartare, a visually
playful dish that was slightly spicy. And dessert was
a coconut bonbon with raspberry sauce, and a dark
chocolate ganache with cherry sauce.

I got this fruit from the Colombia pavilion at the expo.
It is called a granadilla, and it's a type of passion fruit.
The skin is thick and waxy, and the white pith is spongy
like a citrus. The inner seeds are edible; they taste
sweeter than a regular passion fruit.

Around the world in a day and a half

I love to travel, and I consider myself very lucky to live in an age of technology where this is feasible and somewhat affordable. I can be in a different continent in the matter of hours, and even if I wasn't, I could easily google everything there is to know about a foreign country. It's easy to forget that a century ago, this wasn't an option. Ocean voyages were perilous and took a long time, and it was probably easy to go through your whole life without experiencing the culture of another country.

The World's Fair (or World Expo) has had a long and illustrious history, spanning all the way back to the 1850s. Throughout the years, the fair was a medium for countries to show off their technological advances, as well as highlight the more special aspects of its cultures. This year's expo is held in Milan, and has the theme of 'Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life', which I found extremely timely. When I found really cheap train tickets from Cannes to Milan, I decided that it was good to see what an expo is all about.

While many countries participated by building large dedicated pavilions, others were grouped into smaller 'clusters', each showcasing a food staple important to that country (coffee, rice, fruits/legumes, cocoa, grains/tubers, and spices). In total, over 140 countries were represented.

Throughout the span of 2 days, I was able to visit a good 30 or so pavillions/clusters. It would take way too long to write about every single one, so here are just some of my highlights.

Most Visually Impressive Pavilions

Pavilion Zero

Situated near the entrance of the expo, Pavilion Zero offered an introduction to the world of today's food. Large displays were shown highlighting food shortage around the world, and the economy of waste that has risen in developed countries. While definitely impressive, Pavilion Zero ultimately didn't offer any answers, which left me scratching my head.

Wall of grains

The 'futures' of food. Produce and other food products are publicly traded
around the world. The question this poses is... what then becomes more
important, feeding the world population, or financial gain?

China

With over a billion mouths to feed, food is probably one of China's biggest industries. This marks the first expo that China has a presence in, and it definitely decided to come in with a bang. The pavilion itself was a beautiful masterpiece, all flowing lines and light. Several important crops were highlighted (rice, wheat), and short presentations were made in regards to the technological advances the country is striving for. Ultimately though, it was really the giant LED field of wheat that stole the show.

The pavilion was large and beautiful. While many countries decided on
making large dark buildings (perhaps to better showcase multimedia
presentations), China went the other route; the whole space was bathed in
natural light.

The highlight of the pavilion was the thousands of LED
lights, representing a large wheat field. The lights
changed colors as visitors moved around the room.

U.K.

While visually beautiful, I have to admit that this pavilion left me puzzled. Is the U.K. known for their... bees...?

The focus of the U.K. pavilion was this large hive-like
structure. Visitors were able to climb up and go inside,
which offered an interesting view.

A bee's view of the expo grounds.

Informative and appealing

Iran

In an overload of dazzle, the Iran pavilion features giant screens that depicted various landscape of the country. Visitors walked through this half-open tunnel, surrounded by various herbs and plants of the region. If nothing else, it smelled great!

The outside of the pavilion. I entered mostly due to the fact that there was
no line, but ended up impressed with the pretty presentation.

The inside of the pavilion. It looked like a tunnel to the future! On each
side, visitors were surrounded by various herbs and plants, all
smelling delicious!

Korea

On my first day of the expo, the bad weather shut the Korean pavilion down for a while (it looked like a piece of the roof was dislodged by high winds). When the pavilion was open though, it always looked constantly mobbed with long lines. I finally decided to wait on the second evening before the light show... and I'm glad I did!

The outside of the pavilion. Smooth and sleek, the structure reminded
me of a modern art museum.

The pavilion was definitely a mix of high art and
message. I think this display represented... obesity....?

Visitors got to watch a 3 minute... show... where two big screens held up
by robotic arms twirled around while showing pictures of food. Um.
Yeah, not sure what that had to do with feeding the world. 

Apparently, Korea just wants to feed the world kimchi.
Lots of LOTS of kimchi.

Belgium

The first thing that I think of in regards to the country of Belgium are its chocolates. And their pavilion didn't disappoint; there was plenty of chocolate on display, and even a chocolatier on site making confectioneries. But in addition to that, the lower floor of Belgium's pavilion showcased various techniques they were developing for farming... giving a sense of the future that I really appreciated.

Not impressive from the outside, but one of the more
thematically-sensitive pavilions of the expo.

Chocolate on display!

A rotating circular growing pod for produce. 

Supermarket of the Future

In the future, when we all fly around in jetpacks or hoverboards, we'll apparently be still doing our own grocery shopping. This pavilion gives us a glimpse of that future, which actually doesn't look entirely different from what we do today.

Foodstuffs will still be laid out in the traditional style, and the biggest change will be the foods' display signs. Equipped with electronic sensors, these screens will notice when a shopper points to, or picks up a product. It then zooms in to display various facts about the food: what ingredients it is comprised of, where those ingredients come from, any potential allergens in the food, nutritional information, and its carbon footprint.

While fascinating, I do wonder about the economical viability of such a system. While it may work for some of the more affluent cities of the world, it really isn't helping poorer countries feed its population. Still though, it was a fun side trip in my day, since visitors were encouraged to do some real food shopping.

Supermarket of the fuuuuuuture. Everything looks so clean, eh?

Information about food is displayed on screens. Would
this discourage me from getting junk food and snacks?
Probably not.

And other notable/interesting pavilions...

Czech Republic. I had to look this up, but this bird/airplane hybrid
sculpture represents the country's commitment to both nature and
technology. Pretty spiffy to look at too.

Brazil's pavilion consisted of a large net that visitors
traversed. Online, it states that the theme of this
pavilion is "Feeding the world with solutions". In
reality though, all the schoolkids just had a blast
walking on the nets.

Russia's pavilion building featured a massive mirrored
roof. It was quite dizzying to stand right below it, and
look up.

The interior of the Lithuania pavilion was dark, with
a giant interactive ball in the middle. Pretty, and an
interesting way to get information across, but not
entirely necessary.

Austria is known for their... air...? The Austrian pavilion featured a
small outdoor trail lined with trees and plants, and signs telling visitors
to 'breathe'. Hm.

I really wanted to go into the Switzerland pavilion
towers. They were filled with products that were free
for the taking: sugar, coffee, water, and apples. Visitors
were welcome to take as much as they wanted. Supply
though, was limited, and the towers would not be refilled
for the duration of the 6 month expo. This then, became a
social experiment, on consumption and saving for the
future. I found this really interesting, and was disappointed
to not have the opportunity to see how much of each item
was left, as there is only about a month before closing.

The Azerbaijan pavilion was very pretty at night

The USA pavilion was ultimately disappointing. With food trucks lined along
the street level, and a roof bar/cafe on top, it seemed to speak more about
the excesses of food rather than conservation. The center floor was reserved
for a handful of boring kiosks with videos about farming in America. The
saving grace of the pavilion was the vertical wall garden that lined the far
side of the building. Interesting idea, but not really enough.

I thought the Turkey pavilion was beautiful. It was an
open space with little exhibits of Turkish products,
and plenty of space for visitors to relax and buy a cup
of Turkish coffee

Amazingly, this was only a portion of what I saw in two days. While large and visually impressive, going to the World Expo felt remarkably like going to Epcot Center. Fun, but doesn't particularly scratch below the surface. In this world of technology, I wonder about the necessity of an event like this. It's just as easy to save up to go to Romania, let's say, as it is to go to Italy. And maybe because the theme of the expo was about feeding the world, all I could think of in my two days was the colossal waste being generated by this place. In the end, I'm glad to have gone, but still feel a twinge of guilt when I realize my relatively privileged status in this world.

The evening light show by the Tree of Life. The tree lit
up in patterns, in time with music. Sprays of water and
fireworks also accompanied this 12 minute show.