adventures at home and beyond...

i love this - the NYtimes' frugal traveler is making a round-the-world trip this summer, and writing a column about his adventures every wednesday. it's practically a blog.... um, except that it's affiliated with the most famous newspaper in the world. anyway, you can see what he is up to this week (venice!) and post comments and suggestions on his travels here. bon voyage!

in last week's T magazine (2/26/06), the new york times' sporadic style supplement, there's a tiny mention of some outlets that i must visit when i finally make it to italy... just outside florence, marni (my favorite!), mcqueen, balenciaga and stella mccartney all have fabulous stores with discounted prices. oohhh, it hurts! that must be where those ebay sellers get the goods... here's the copy, in case the article diasappears:

Prada's
outlet is the hardest to find but most rewarding as it has far more
stock in a greater range of sizes than we found at any of the other
factory stores. The huge shop sells shoes, bags, sunglasses and above
all lots of clothes by Miu Miu, Helmut Lang and Jil Sander as well as
Prada. Get there when it opens as they don't restock during the day and
queues form at the entrance from mid-morning. Best buys when we visited
included Miu Miu trousers for Â£45, a Prada Sport wool skirt for Â£60 and
winter coats by Helmut Lang, Miu Miu and Prada starting at around Â£200.

from that same article, info on getting to the outlets:

Although it is possible to
reach the outlets by public transport (taking a train to Montevarchi
for Prada or Incisa for The Mall and continuing by taxi), it's much
easier to drive there. If the prospect of negotiating Florence's narrow
streets fills you with dread, hire a car from Europcar (Via del
Gelsomino 11; 055 230 6777), who have an office in the southern suburbs
of the city close to where you join the motorway.

For
the Prada outlet, head south out of Florence on the A1 motorway and
exit at Valdarno. Turn right after the toll onto the SS69 and follow
directions for Arezzo and Montevarchi. Drive through the centre of
Montevarchi till you reach the suburb of Levanelle, past an AGIP petrol
station on the right. Shortly after the petrol station, where an
overhead sign indicates the end of Montevarchi, turn left at a traffic
light and drive round the back of a large, single-storey grey warehouse
with a jagged roof, and you're there.

For The Mall,
head south out of Florence on the A1 (as above) but exit earlier at
Incisa. After the toll, turn right and head towards Pontassieve. The
Mall is indicated all the way.