December 11, 2024
Amsterdam
Dear Tony,
I’ve just arrived back in Amsterdam after two days in Milan — and it’s almost ridiculous to think that Christmas is just about a week away. I’m glad I’ll get to spend it with my best friend Illi and Tom, her husband. He looks like Jesus and is a Tesla-driving software engineer. I wish I was making this up.
Italy was a vibe, of sorts. I drowned my thoughts in symphonies by Piero Piccioni during the entire 11 hour route to Milano Centrale. I was on a train very different to the one you boarded on your 9 hour train ride towards Old Bagan in Myanmar. Milano will forever be the city where I had the first dinner of The Last Supper Project with friends — Simon and John . They’d asked me to be part of a shoot for the upcoming World Bipolar Day, and afterward, we all went to this subdued, woody, family-owned Milanese spot — Trattoria Capolinea. I met an incredible writer there, Rosie Viva — she’s my age, and about to publish a book on her journey with bipolar disorder (and psychosis). She had the most precious energy at the shoot, and the kindest blue eyes. She couldn’t join us for dinner due to the rather underwhelming excuse of needing to jet off and support her friend Dua [Lipa] at a gig. Bummer.