WITH MY FRIEND JOYDIP IN VENICE

I had been planning an Europe trip for a long time. Finally, my friend Joydip and I got down to the task. It was to be a 10-day trip of Italy and Holland. I wanted to see Italy because it’s a very pretty country and, second, it’s a fashion hub. We were supposed to leave on Panchami or Sashthi, but the shoot of my untitled film with Raviji (Ravi Kinnagi) got postponed as he fell ill and we decided to leave early. We packed our bags and hopped on to a flight to Milan. Well, Milan was full of surprises!

Lost in Milan

We had decided to save as much money as we could for shopping, so instead of taking a taxi we boarded a bus from Milan Malpensa Airport for Central Metro station, from where we would be taking a train to Garibaldi station. We had booked Hotel Holiday Inn, which was near Garibaldi station. Garibaldi station has two exits and we couldn’t figure out which one to take. So we approached a man and asked him the way to our hotel. The man exclaimed, “Indiano?” Surprised, we nodded. He looked at me and said, “Apni cinemay kaj koren na?... Arre Jeet na!” I was stunned. He was the first person we met in Milan and he recognised me! This man was from Beleghata and he had been living in Milan for a long time but he couldn’t help us locate the hotel! It was evening by the time we found our hotel, checked in, unpacked our bags and took a shower. We decided to explore the city next morning.

WATCHING GONDOLAS IN VENICE

My Bangla fans

The first place we checked out on Day 2 was Corso Como, a popular tourist hub. Joydip had told me it was a fashion centre as well and I went thinking I would buy some clothes, but we were a little disappointed. Corso Como has only a handful of designer stores, apart from pubs and lounges. A few restaurants are turned into pubs post-11pm.

One evening we were strolling around Corso Como when a group of people came up to us and asked me if I was Jeet. In my entire Europe tour, Italy was the only place where I met around 150 Bangladeshis — on the streets, at restaurants and in random places! Most are vendors who sell items of everyday use. We had a long adda with them and then decided to have dinner at a nearby restaurant. I was amazed to find Bangladeshis in the restaurant’s kitchen too. I think every restaurant kitchen in the world has at least one or two Bengalis! We spoke and they were thrilled because they said they had never met a Bengali from Calcutta during their long stay in Milan. But the best part of it was that they watch my movies on VCDs!

AT THE FERRARI GALLERY IN MARANELLO

Ferrari, my dream car

On Day 2 we took the Milan City hop-on-hop-off tour. It was a two-and-a-half-hour trip on a double-decker bus. Milan is a very expensive place for shopping but I wanted to check out the fashion stores. We had heard that you actually have to make appointments to visit the stores! Only the super rich can afford that. So, we did window-shopping mostly.

We passed by some of the biggest style stores — Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Diesel.... I bought a white Armani shirt which I had planned for. It’s a very simple shirt which I can wear anytime. I bought a pair of shoes and a few other things too.

Next, we walked into a bookstore from where I picked up a huge book on the latest design and fashion trends. If I can get even five shirts made from the designs given in the book, I would think it was worth buying and lugging it all the way from Milan to Calcutta. The book weighed no less than 4-5kg!

Our next stop was Maranello, a village located 250 km from Milan which houses the Ferrari factory. I am fond of cars and Ferrari is my dream car, so we couldn’t resist taking the trip. We boarded a train to Modena from where a bus took us to Maranello. Well, every third car on the road in Maranello is a Ferrari! We visited the Ferrari Gallery which displayed all Formula One cars. There were about 70 to 100 cars and seeing so many Ferraris together, my head started spinning!

A BUSY CORSO COMO THROUGH MY LENS

Cheese and Margarita

The next morning we hopped over to Corso Como again to walk around some churches. You also get the best food in Milan around Corso Como. We only had cheese-based food. I knew I would be indulging in a lot of cheese, so I had done some extra workout before leaving Calcutta! Nevertheless I was guilty. I wanted to try authentic Italian fare. We dug into paninis, risottos and pastas. It was our last day in Milan, so for dinner we had some awesome steak and risotto, and washed it down with Margarita! Margarita is a popular cocktail in Milan and it is one drink that we had throughout our stay in Italy. With every meal and at every restaurant.... We had tiramisu for dessert, made of cookies, coffee, fresh cream, egg and chocolates! I also had lots of ice-creams.

Venice, the city of gondolas

We were supposed to take a 12.05pm train to Venice from Milan. Some of the Bangladeshi guys we had met picked us up from the hotel and dropped us at the station. We were 40 minutes before time, but they cancelled our tickets and booked us on the 3.05pm train instead. Then they took us to the Bangladeshi locality where they all lived and also the Switzerland border, which was about a 45-minute drive. It was so picturesque! But we almost missed the train for this little detour. We ran and hopped into a compartment that was not ours.

OUTSIDE HOTEL HOLIDAY INN IN MILAN

We stayed in Venice for two days. Venice is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. It’s so romantic! It has beautiful architecture.... The lanes, bylanes and even the breeze blowing is so romantic! There were gondolas everywhere. I didn’t get on a gondola because I had Joydip for company! But we got into speedboats and water taxis. That’s the only mode of transport in Venice!

While shopping, I bought some Venetian masks. We visited a couple of museums and the one I liked best was the Glass Museum. The next day we took a speedboat to the airport to fly to Holland. Never did I imagine that I would have to travel by water to reach an airport someday!

Shopping in Amsterdam

We arrived in Amsterdam on Day 8 and stayed for a day and a half. Our hotel was in a marketplace and I knew some of the shops as I had been to Amsterdam last Durga Puja. I picked up some jeans and T-shirts for myself. Amsterdam is beautiful.

Joydip had some work in Rotterdam and Wallendam, so I got to see those places as well. There are two beautiful villages near Amsterdam and we spent a night in one of those. It’s very green, serene and peaceful. We spent the last day of the tour in Amsterdam. This time our hotel was located near Times Square and a lane next to it had shops galore. Clothes, shoes, watches, accessories and more clothes... we shopped till we dropped!