GYPSY SOLES IN ITALY

Summer is coming ... and so is our endless need to travel. 

This time we are giving you a chance to come join us on our yet another trip!
We are hosting 2 beautiful Yoga and Music Retreats in Positano!

Think escape from the norm, daily yoga, Reiki and Meditation classes all accompanied by a LIVE Musician! Explore Capri and the rest of Amalfi Coast, beach bum on the seaside or music jam with us!

Organic fresh food and Clifftop Shared Accommodation ALL included.

Sometimes you just need to get away! ... Get lost with us.
More details and bookings on www.thisismuga.com

REACHING GYPSYVILLE

Not all those who wander are lost. Travel is my drug of choice. 12 months, 12 new countries.

There are many 'travel addiction' quotes nowadays posted on the Internet, mostly from travel agents booming up the new trend for this generation. Indeed, the 'trend' of being on the road and always traveling to as many locations as possible seems to have taken over and celebrating New Year in Milan is no stranger than to being in Rio the next day getting ready to party at the carnival followed by an extensive Yoga Retreat in Goa.

For some people this is their way of  life. Certainly has been my life for a bit but not because my wallet is bigger than someone elses'. In fact there is always someone who goes that one extra mile than me: actually gets in to the a-list parties or drinks champagne in 1st class.

I prefer to call it simply this: you know you have reached true Gypsyville when your world is your oyster and you are not limited by non extended leg room or a plane ticket off points you accumulated over last year. You are in your own travel bubble when you travel because you want to discover our beautiful Earth. Not because you are running away, although being stuck in a dead end job may be another persons reason for not seeking adventure.You are not traveling to then show off your current beach location to a person who is stuck in a windy country.

A true traveler is someone who lives in a place with no space or time. Who throws two fingers at the visa system and miraculously finds themselves traveling on no budget at all with the most glamorous underwear on made of simple cotton that says the world is mine. Because I love to discover.

With no past or future in travel there is only the present. The journey. To your Gypsyville. 

And reaching your Gypsyville does not have to mean traveling at all, rather freeing the real you.

Follow this blog for more posts on travel, culture and style for the bohemian in you. 

AMARCORD LIVING

Here at Our Gypsy Souls, when we do a travel review/guide/article we get straight to the nitty-gritty. None of this high glossy catalogue upscale up-sale photographic imagery.
Your travel budget? None. Your wish to visit place? Plenty. Here is how.

Next to a now independent San Marino is Rimini, Emilia-Romagny

Amarcord classic, 1979

My post about Italy has been well overdue, mainly down to the fact that I have by now embarked on so many wonderful adventures across the boot there is hardly any time and enough blog space to write down my warm feelings for this country.

Yet, let's start off in the North somewhere first. Rimini. Coastal town and a Fellini native land that was so remarkably noted in Amarcord, 1973 tears and laughter induced film account of his growing up in this beautiful town.

A somewhat 'party central' reputation since the 60's, Rimini is now over saturated with tourists flocking and a somewhat sandy beach, cheap beer, pizza slice summer fiasco. However, there are plenty of hidden gems under this stereotype. Do not be fooled.

Heart of Rimini

Pelicano, gelato heaven

THE BREAKDOWN
Fly to Bologna, take an hour train ride to Rimini. Easy. I suggest stopping over in Bologna at least for lunch in between.

THE DIGS
AirBnb.com never fails me as I stay with a true local lovely Italian girl who immediately makes me feel welcome with her Husky pup and a chatty cat in a residential sunny block just off the main strip in heart of Rimini. Price? Triple the less than a wallpaper peeling hotel. A Piadina (Italian local gastronome meets cafe) just down the road with fresh fruit and veg at my doorstep every day. Bliss!

THE BEACH
Rimini is a mix of paid and free colourful sea of umbrellas. You get the idea. Instead why not take the bus 20min from Rimini to Riccione and you will be at Cocorico Beach Club. 10eur beach chair, umbrella, music, good looking friendly staff, real local vibe.



THE SHOPS
Ok, seriously forget Milan for now. I hate to say it but there are millions of other affordable options here, with cool designs-fair quality latest trend shoes that everyone will gawk at in London or even Milan itself and will be asking 'where did you get them?', to which you will smirk and say 'Italy', like a true fashionista. But honestly, I am talking about only breaking the bank by 20-30 euros or so. Tops!
Another discovery I made was Happiness Brand, so greatly promoted by model bloggers such as Chiara Nasti and now, a fan myself. This is a relatively new brand now in Milan, Rimini and Los Angeles - colourful 'happy' (duh) designs to go with your new shoes you just bought!

Angelina Roz at a Happiness location in Rimini

Chiara Nasti, fashionista in Happiness brand top

THE FOOD
Cook at home! All fresh produce is here! Other options are 4euro larger than life pizza at Pizzeria Mille Gusti with a 3eur Nastro Azzuro classic Italian beer or a glass of wine for 5eur with snacks as an aperetif option virtually anywhere between 6-8PM daily. Gelato, gelato, gelato, best way to beat the heat and variety with innovative flavours such as Pavlova, Fellini and of course, widely favourited Nutella is best at Pellicano Ice creamery near Rimini shopping square or down on the beach. Just google map it!

Pink Summer Nights in Rimini

THE NIGHTLIFE
A stroll down the beach and even a cliche but worth the retro revolving wheel trip with a beer bottle in your hand whilst you revisit the Amarcord sightings of today. Although the set was recreated in Rome whilst filming, the characters are felt here. From a voluptuous lady at the bakery to the high fashion long legged Gradisca at night once you visit some of the bars/clubs in Riccione. Suggested routes would be hitting Bar Blue in via Ceccarini in Riccione, then taking a taxi to either Villa Delle Rose, Altromondo Studios, whichever night it is. Rock Island in Rimini or Coconuts are nice and lively too.

Overall, Rimini is worth the visit. Rent a vespa or a car and find yourself finding more local spots than I ever did on foot without forking out a fortune. A real mix of retro and trendy, Rimini is growing and adored by many for different reasons - great nightlife or sandy beaches. What is there not worth remembering by Fellini, really?.. I leave with that same feeling captured in the film. Happy yet sentimental. Very North Italian and proud. 

CRAZY EYES

Do you have the same routine everyday? Alarm, hit the snooze, finally get up, shower, do something with hair, turn up eye makeup...but the same eye makeup? Perhaps soft purples or greens for olive tones and pinks for cool tones. Perhaps thicker eyeliner for those Fridays. But maybe, just maybe, you want to change up your groundhog day and go BOLD. Routine is not for the free spirit.

Super Model, Cara Delevigne

Here are a few ways to play up those lovely eyes with bright blues, yellows, metallics, and glitter!  Be fearless and let your eyes do the talking. They, after all, are the windows to the Soul.

Liquid eyeliner goes a long way

Bold at any tone

Fierce blue realness

Pink is not just for dainty

Orange is the new black

Riri, rocker gypsy

Vanessa Hudgens in studded eyes and gypsy ring

GYPSY CHILD

We all have one thing in common. We value family, we love children. We treasure and cherish and look after our own, enchanted by lovely kids of others' we see every day - from blue eyed and blonde haired to brown eyed caramel skinned little rascals. We adore them because of their innocence, as yet undamaged by the society we live in.

However in Spain, Italy and Romania - it is a different story. One morning you go out to use the ATM to withdraw some cash and get approached swiftly by a cute child or a teenager, sometimes as young as 8 years old and all of a sudden you notice once your cash pulls out it gets professionally stolen by him or her. Not so cute.

These are gypsy children. Thieves. Often having to be exploited by their own families to go out and 'make a living' by stealing and hustling. The reality is bleak for these families as they live a few hours away from the main city in rat-infested mobile home parks.

I randomly came across a heart wrenching documentary entitled 'Gypsy Child (Thieves)' by Liviu Tipurita made in 2009.

Somehow this film got a lot of criticism from Anti-Gypsyism organisations, stating it was a 'strong piece of journalism about a very difficult subject', yet denied by BBC who went ahead with broadcasting globally. In particular, the blame was put on the consistent use of the word 'gypsy' throughout the film shot in Spain about young children stealing and subsequently released as minors and families of those in question not touched by authorities in attempt to stop, what was called by Tipurita as 'exploitation of their own children, living in fear of not making the income they are told to'.

I found the film amazingly done and carefully treaded on negative connotations to Romani people as a race, but simply relaying the facts. One moment in the film is so powerful - a shot of a man using an ATM physically fighting off persuasive kids attacking and distracting him, whilst trying to access his money. Compassion and anger fly, because in truth - these are only children. It is a helpless situation but it's an informative look at today's world we live in.

Children are the future. Is this the future? If these kids were blonde and blue eyed, would the audience seeing the film think differently? 

Romani mother holding her child

Hippie family labeled as gypsies by society

A mini Om Shanti moment at a hippie festival 

FRINGE BENEFITS!!!

Kim Tank in earrings by Top Shop and bikini by xhilaration

It blows with the wind in any direction. It’s fun. It adds life. It’s what stands out. It’s underrated. It’s the gypsy of style.

If you’re looking for a fun way to welcome the summer and add some fluidity and spice to your outfit, add a little fringe!

I recently fell back in love with fringe after seeing it on a pair of heels on the streets of New York. 

"Gypsy Queen" Taupe Suede at Lulu's

That’s correct, it’s not only for tops. It can be added to skirts, vests, bracelets, swimwear and the versatility does not stop there. Fringe has been reinvented throughout many cultures and eras. From Native Americans to cowboys, and flappers to hippies, fringe may not ever go out of style as long as you know how to work it.  The possibilities are endless and that is the mind of a gypsy.  

New York Fashion Week '15

Necklace on Maydae by Norwegian Wood

Nasty Gal top

And don’t be intimidated! Once you put on fringe, you will be and feel like the most fun and confident person in the room, at the park, or on your next trip!

Nasty Gal vegan leather dress

H&M fringe bag

Gypsy cool

GYPSYFICATION OF THE NATIONS

It’s 10.30 on a sunny Saturday morning. I sit perched up on a stool in a trendy coffee shop in Shoreditch. I sip ridiculously expensive drip coffee served by ridiculously gorgeous guy surrounded by equally ridiculously cool people. I feel at once a cast out (with no tattoos I’m way too “mainstream”) and a square (my trainers are old Nikes I use for jogging). But as i look around, I feel like I’ve been here before. Like years before. In childhood. Or in generations lost before. Way way before. Before the modern world. 

When nomad was a way of life. When men wore beards and women wore their hair loose wild. When people tied bright cloth around their heads and sang and danced in fields. When music was a cry of human soul, instinctive and primeval. When dancing was at once expression of desire and violence and life. When there were Nomad tribes. Then Romani wanderers. Then Gypsies. Then Flamenco music. Then the mass migration to Americas. Then the blend of cultures. Then the Balkan jazz. Then Gypsy Punk. Then the Hipster beards, and Boho gypsy prints, and music festivals among the fields. 

I am a Gypsy. Gypsy blood runs through my veins. Growing up as a shy kid in Moscow, mum took me to a Romani theatre. The passion, the guitars, the raw sensual energy of dancers blew my mind. This was self-expression unconfined by Soviet ideology. Unrestrained by social norms. Persecuted through history, ostracised and secretly desired, the Gypsies managed to preserve their music, language and identity. Only to get popularised across the globe some decades later through Gypsy Punk - a hybrid of the Balkan rhythms and Punk Rock. Today, most people know who Gogol Bordello, Beirut, DeVotchka are. 

But what strikes me is that Gypsy influence is all around us. It’s in what we wear - the boho prints, the colours, the freedom of the current fashion. It’s what we strive to eat - organic, raw, straight from the fields. It’s how we live - nomadic wanderers, we travel through our life, change jobs, career paths, relationships. We’re no more static like our grandparents used to be. We move from place to place, the world is ours to discover, we search for spiritual awakening and self-expression. 

So as I sit in Shoreditch on a sun-soaked morning, with beautiful diversity of faces, cultures, accents all around me, I feel it: “Gypsyfication” of the world. And I am proud of us all. Because through physical and spiritual wanderings, through quitted jobs and failed relationships, through broken social norms and parents’ disappointment, we carry something that’s our own. Identity. 

Today we all are Gypsies in this world.