milan often gets a rap as the crappy city of italy: industrial, hurried, grey, crowded, business-minded. a lot of that is true. milan is dirty; there is graffiti and trash everywhere; there are huge, charmless financial districts; it's home to the most nuclear mosquitos in the world; and it rains a hell of a lot. i hated the city when i first moved there and wished that i had found a school in almost any other part of the country.

but by the time i left, i was enamored. milan is not without its charms and beauty, though it might take some searching to find them. i was reminded of that when i came across these lovely photos, taken by naomi when she spent a weekend in milan. i miss the city.