Obviously I have not figured out the internet situation here. It has been a whole week in Milan and other than a lot of eating, we have been hampered by illness and weather (overcast or rain in the high 40's, a couple of days of sun in the 50's). My 4 year old arrived with a mild cough, which became a severe cough when she infected her younger sister but by the time it mutated to me, it became a full-blown cold with sinus congestion and fever. I am here for Milan Fashion Week, which meant I had to hack my way to all the events while everyone looked at me with fear and scorn. The shows here are incredible and it has been a worthwhile trip since this is the bag mecca of the world, but you can read about all that on Bag Snob.

We are staying within walking distance of the Duomo, the third largest cathedral of the world. I've been to St. Peter's cathedral at the Vatican (the largest in the world) and I cannot remember how it could possibly be bigger than this. The ceiling was 100 feet high with richly colored stained glass extending the entire height. An impressive sight to behold to say the least. As expected, the area is full of tourist traps but we walk there daily because we don't know how to take the electric cars that run throughout the city. But we'll get there now that Fashion Week is over. There are 7 of us so although taking cabs is doable it's not exactly affordable since we need 2 cabs and it seems like everywhere we go amounts to 15 euros (around $20).

We did take cabs to dinner one night when it was raining, which meant $80 in roundtrip cab fares. Luckily, the dinner was incredible!! Da Gaspare on via Ravizza, 19 (apparently owned by a famous soccer player here, but don't ask me who, I couldn't exactly make out the name when it was said) is called a Pizzeria and looks like an average café but we learned quickly not to let looks and name fool us. As soon as we walked in to the fresh display of seafood, I knew I was in heaven. Razor clams grilled to absolute perfection - sweet and just tender was sooo good just in its own goodness without need of seasoning. Branzino, we've had it everyday, but here, the whole live fish cleaned and immediately grilled is probably what mermaids experience when they eat fish. Spaghetti with clams, yeah, I thought I've had this dish before but apparently I have been eating a very mediocre imitation. It is so simple with just olive oil and parsley but with the clams pan fried and the pasta soaking up with precious nectar, it was seriously life altering. It was recommended to me by a sales associate at Stefanel (a trendier version of Club Monaco), I think I will go back and ask for more!

You know what summer means, strawberries and strawberry picking! Strawberry picking is one of the best activities with your tots. You don't have to worry about falling out of trees like when you go cherry picking (that happened to me when I was 7) because the bushes are the perfect height for tots, close to the ground! I go to an organic farm so if they decide to sample, I don't have to worry. Of course you must go dresses appropriately and what could be more fabulous and cute than this dress with a giant strawberry appliqué? Just be careful your tot doesn't get picked wearing this ;) Decaf Plush "Big Strawberry" Dress is $54 at Kitsel.com.

Even Barbie is more connected than I am here in Milan with no cell service nor Wifi. Now I have more to be jealous about! ;). I guess Mattel is trying to encourage science and technology in the young but hello, can her outfit be any worse? This should not be the way to portray the new elite nerds. I am a blogger and consider myself to be on the cutting edge of technology, albeit I'm a fashion blogger, but I would never where this!! Anyhow this might still be good reinforcement amongst the Malibu and Louboutin Barbies. Will be available holiday season at the end of this year.

I couldn't imagine turning a photo of myself -- Andy Warhol-style -- into a piece of artwork, but when it comes to immortalizing a photo of a loved one, that's a whole other story! Me Art is an online site that lets you turn photos of your tot (or any loved one), into custom works of art printed on premium, artist-grade, archival canvas, which is ready for hanging. You can either have a work of art created based on a photo -- just take a regular photo of your child and then choose from six artist-inspired styles (prices range from $285 for a 12"x12" piece, to $665 for a 42"x42" piece). Alternatively you can create Me Art from your tot's artwork! The site uses your child's artwork as the background and then you choose to have your child's initial or full name printed on top ($75 for an 8'x8' single block version). The more elaborate options take either 25 images (12"x12" at $245) or 49 images (18"x18" at $325) of your tot's artwork, along with his or her photo and name and turns it into a truly unique collage.

I smell a Mother's Day splurge....

JFK with Trunki (hoping to wear them out, didn't work); Overcast but a beautiful view of Milan from our apartment

New York to Milan on a redeye. The risk associated with taking a redeye with tots does not justify the rewards, whatever those are. Saving a day? No, you are actually ruining 2 days. Our flight was at 6pm, the flight was 8 hours long, so best case scenario, say we slept the whole way, we still arrive at 2am New York time. A 6pm flight pretty much ensures that there will be no sleep and just the last 2 hours of the flight if any. Which is exactly what happened. But prior to falling asleep though, there was misery, for all on board. Tired but not tired enough to conk out means cranky incessant whining with actual crying sprinkled throughout. They were doing horrifying things: i.e. standing up on the seat facing the passengers sitting behind us and coughing right at them (I stretched my hand out to cover her mouth but not in time for that first spray); escaping her seat and clawing and crying and waking up passengers all along the aisle. I have often been complimented on how well my tots are on flights. Clearly not this time, they thought we were wolves.

We arrive with too much luggage (there were 5 of us, 3 adults and 2 tots) and 2 car seats. Cars in Italy are small. We called for a van but a small sedan arrived instead. We gave it a college try to get all people and luggage in the car, but we ended up leaving my husband behind at the airport with still more luggage for a return trip back. I couldn't leave a tot behind but both car seats would not fit, so I did the unthinkable (unthinkable if we were home), one sat on my lap. Milan Milpensa airport is an hour away from the city, and we arrived at 8am local time which means rush hour, so it took us about 80 minutes. Everyone smokes here, I am not sure if that was the cause but the car smelled like cigarettes and my older daughter got sick - car sick probably from the stop and go traffic and smell. I was afraid she would have an Exorcist moment but thankfully, it was just stomach slosh that came out. Luckily, I had a Travel John with me in case she did actually vomit.

We arrived at a friend's apartment we are staying while we're here; it is on Corso Italia, right in the center of the city. I was happy but delirious from not sleeping. Good thing I have a friend here who arrived a day earlier so she was in good shape to watch my one tot while I headed straight for the bed with the other. One long nap and a perfect meal later, I am recovered but wide-awake at 4am feeding the tots the dinner they didn't eat at dinner time. Let's see what tomorrow brings, our first full day in Milan. Oh, and there's not internet connection at the apartment so who knows when you will here from me again!

If you aren't that parent - you know, those who fantasizes about their sons becoming major league sluggers - I am sure you know one, or a few. For those with girls, the fantasy does not seem to wane - maybe she will be the first girl in MLB!! These gloves are way cuter than those plain old Rawlings and these can be personalized. Either for your own tot or as a gift, you know the perfect person to give these to. At Go To Baby for $99.95.

Day 2
Dylan's Candy Bar, Giant Piano in FAO Shwarz

I decided to spend the money on a car service so that we can get more done and have car seats. It was totally worth it!! The day was relaxing and we had the BEST time ever. No logistical nightmares to speak of. It allowed us to hit every place we wanted to go so to rationalize the expense I figured it would be cheaper than having to come back for a return trip. We even stopped by a street vendor for gyros and ate them in the car instead of having to stand on the street. Were were able to hop in and out and go anywhere we wanted without the headache of having to find parking (if we got your own car, which I would not recommend), getting in and out of cabs (no car seats), schlepping the entire gang through the subway, getting lost, walking endlessly, getting tired and cranky, carrying all the packages we acquired along the way and most of all, wasting time in transit. As you can see, Day 2 was A LOT more productive than Day 1 =)

FAO Shwarz - 767 5th Avenue, New York - (212) 644-9400
This is a must for tots. It's the biggest toy store in the world, and nicest!! They are known for their life size stuffed animals but they have it all. The Giant Piano (seen in the movie Big) is pretty much the most fun you can have. Don't miss the show, check for times because you do not want to miss that.

The exhaustion of Fashion Week has nothing on a weekend with tots in New York. I have been in NY by myself for a week for shows, meeting and showroom visits - like 10-12 appointments a day and I feel fine at the end of the day. My two tots and husband joined me Friday night and we spent the weekend together doing nothing but fun tots' stuff. Taking the subway to avoid cabs (no carseats!) and walking from one destination to another, along with tantrums, bathroom runs and settling fights between my 2 tots, is to say the least, draining and taxing. I spent a lot of time on this most amazing ultimate itinerary but it is very ambitious. We were not able to get to all of them because we either ran out of time or energy but I will share them all with you.

Day 1
The first day was spent all on the upper west side because that's where all the tots' stuff are. It was easy to enough (or so I thought) to take the subway up there and just walk around once there. Our first stop was the marionette show of Three Little Pigs at The Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre at 79th St at West Drive, Central Park (212-988-9093). We walked from the 72nd St stop but we didn't realize this was IN the park so we got lost, did a lot of traversing back and forth and was 10 minutes late. You must make a reservation (by calling) but if you're late, they give the reservation away. Luckily, the lady at the door was nice enough to let us in but it was very difficult to find a seat in the dark. It was all worth it though, the show was super cute and everyone loved it. This is a very high quality production and the Swedish cottage was actually a cottage, very quaint and lovely.

We are off on an adventure and I thought it would be exciting and hopefully interesting to share our travel story with Tot Snob readers. I have been in New York for a whole week for Fashion Week and today my husband is bringing my 2 babies to meet me. I miss them soo much, I can't even stand it anymore. We will all be in New York until Monday evening, when we fly on a red eye (let's hope they sleep!!) to Milan and be there for 2 entire weeks! We may even take a train to Florence for a few days. So, for the next 2 weeks, all of Tot Snob will have our daily adventures and most probably, some very interesting shopping finds!!

An ingenious way to make sure mittens don't go missing!! This sweater comes with mittens connected so you will always have them when the weather turns. I have been planning a trip to New York and Milan with my tots so I bought mittens and have since taken up a part time job keeping track of them!! Wish I had seen these sooner. These mittens don't have a separate thumb because if you've ever tried to get a mitten with a thumb on anyone under 3 (forget about gloves, impossible!!) you will understand the challenge. I never thought about the coordination and choreography that takes place when you slip on gloves, all of which is difficult to instruct, especially to a 2 year old. Mitten Sweater is 100% Alpaca for $88.