Europe 2014, Florence, Italy, Day 07

Europe 2014, Milan, Italy, Day 05

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Europe 2014, Florence, Italy, Day 06

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Outlet Shopping: Europe!

Hello!
I'm back with an informative short post on my Europe trip. This time it's about outlet shopping! To be honest, I'm very excited to go there and get my hands on Prada goods.

Prada lovers, you're in luck in Florence. The Mall Outlet at Florence is good enough! The prices there for bags are so cheap as compared to Singapore. It's about €700-€900?! I got mine for just €740 before tax deduction. Which works out to be approximately S$1,100! Cheap right, and I love the colour and the size of it. I got this blush/cream wallet for €180 and a cardholder for €75 (prices before tax). A standard new arrival bag from Prada at it's city boutique cost approx. €1,800 *gasp*

you can check out my instagram @nsofina for more pictures of it!
It totally matches EVERYTHING. Best buy of the trip?!

_


To get to The Mall. Just head to the bus station right next to the Santa Maria Novella Station. You will need to cross the road to get across. At the bus terminal, you can get your 2-way tickets to The Mall. There's fixed timing. So be sure to get there early and queue for a seat. I would go for the first timeslot. Be there first to get a better selection!

At The Mall, there's plenty of brands. Like Gucci, Burberry etc. But the most value for money is Prada. Compared to Gucci and brands like Balenciaga, Prada's price points is the best.

Once at Prada, get your "number ticket" from the guy at the entrance, and proceed to shop! Use the number to reserve items and upon payment to get your items. There's plenty of tourist there. So you might find yourself spending 1-3hrs there. Queuing for payment takes quite a while as well. You can get the staff there to reserve your goods for you for about an hour. Usually black coloured items are sold out quickly. So snap fast! Also, they tend to have extra stocks. So do check if they have new pieces. Men's wallets there are quite limited but the styles are simple and nice! So you'll be happy to know that. It's price is also around €180.

While I didn't have the time to make it to SPACE (Prada/Miu Miu Outlet). I wish I was able to head there! Heard the selections are good there.

The other outlet mall I went was the Castel Romano at Rome. This area of shopping does not have Prada. But it has high end brands like Burberry to street brands like Adidas and Fossil. There's a huge HM looming near the area. Which I didn't manage to go. My mum said the things there were super cheap. So I guess you can spend a total of at least 3-4hours here. If not more. I personally bought quite a number of items for Fossil. Love the leather and it's price! You can get mini wallets at €20-50. Awesome? Hell yeah.





The Mall (Florence)
Opens 10am onwards, Mondays - Sundays
First Bus 8.50am thereafter 9.10am, 9.30am etc
Duration approx 30-40mins

Depart: BUSITALIA/SITA depot
Address: Via Santa Caterina da Siena 17, Florence (Near the central train station)
One-way ticket cost: €5

Castel Romano (Rome)
Opens 10am onwards
First Bus 9.30am
Duration approx 50-60mins

Depart: Via Marsala, Roma Termini Station
Return ticket cost: €13
Buy ticket from pop-up booth along Via Marsala

Sweet Treats: Gelato In Italy!

Last month, I was in the motherland of pasta. Changed that, motherland of gelato.

OH HELL YEAH

My love for ice cream is at it's peak over in Italy. Everyday I need nothing but gelato. Yes, it's that serious. I'm also on a quest for trying the best gelato! Hence the #projectgelato on instagram. 

ARE YOU READY?!

Top Left (Anti-clockwise): Grom Pistacchio + Flavour of the month (2.5Euros/Piccolo Cup), Vatican City Gelato, Blue Ice Cappuccino + Pistacchio, Grom Caffe + Pistacchio

Verdict:

Grom's flavours were all delectable! My ultimate flavour was the Caffe.

Next up, I did not note down which store this gelateria was called because I honestly didn't have much hope for random stores. This one was from the entrance towards St. Peter's. It's to the left of the street while you walk to St Peter's. Their Nocciola/Hazelnut is yummy!

Blue Ice's cappuccino and pistacchio is bad on all aspects. I've seen a couple of stores in Italy but nawh, I'm not gonna try further. 

Top Left (Anti-clockwise): All Grom's! Crema di Grom, Caffe, Pistacchio, Fiordilatte

Verdict:

Crema di Grom is some sort like their cookies and cream. Nice flavour but not my absolute must-eat. Fiordilatte, however, was amazing! It means sweet milk/cream and it's better than plain o' vanilla?! I love this flavour with Caffe. PERFECT.

Top Left (Anti-clockwise): San Crispinos's Blue Mountain + Hazelnut, Edoardo Hazelnut + Fiordilatte, Pompi's Pistacchio (2Euros/Piccolo Size) + Hazelnut, Grom's Perfect Combo.

Verdict:

San Crispinos has many fruity flavours. Perhaps I didn't choose the best ones. But they tasted alright to me. Nothing mind-blowing good.

Edoardo's gelato is so-so as well, but their waffle is the bomb! Super love.

Pompi's Pistacchio + Hazelnut was something I had for 4 days straight in Rome! Says a lot about how awesome it is yeah? Hah.

_

All in all, hands-down to Grom. I can stay in their shop and just order flavours after flavours of gelato. Each one of them yummy! Go and eat all the gelatos!

Gelato In Italy 101
1. Choose from Cono (Cone) or Coppetta (Cup)
2. Choose from Piccolo (Smallest Size) to Grande (Biggest Size) Usually Piccolo will be suffice!
3. Even Piccolo comes with a choice of 2 Gusti (Flavours), Ask for their recommendation.
4. One of the flavours unique to Italy is the Pistacchio. Try Grom or Pompi.
5. At some places, you have to pay first then pass the receipt to the gelateria counter.
6. Enjoy! And eat more!

Find them at:
Grom
Florence - Via del Campanile (At the alley next to the Cathedral's Belltower)

Rome - Piazza Navona

*Opens from 10.30am and 11am respectively, Till Late!

Pompi
Rome - Via della Croce, 82