I remember the first car that did fascinate me as a child. It was a neighbor's  white pickup from the late 80s and he didn't mind letting us children play with it. We didn't have the keys or anything, but we were allowed to jump inside and travel with our imagination. We would first fight on who'd be driving, then once that was settled the driver would pick the location and 10 children would be going all together in an imaginary trip to the Sahara desert, the Chinese Wall or the Machu Picchu. Since that early age my fascination with cars has always been about the trip itself and the experience of getting to the destination.

The day I got my driving licence I was not able to park at all, I remember clearly the instructor yelling ' Your parking skills are terrible, you can't be driving in a city and go shopping' to which I answered 'I'm not going shopping sir, I'm going on a road trip'.

Today sometimes I go shopping, but the driving experience I enjoy most is a journey to somewhere, anywhere. Those journeys can be also organized inside the city and this Milan Design Week I'm taking one of those city journeys, visiting all the design districts around Milan for 6 days with the new Lexus NX Hybrid. 

[caption id="attachment_9528" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Fuori Salone 2015[/caption]

The first stop was the at the Lexus: Journey of The Senses exhibition in Via Tortona 32. The space is designed as an experience showing how much important are the senses to the driving experience. Designed by French designer Philippe Nigro the 'Inside Out' concept enables visitors to experience beauty from every angle. The various zones stimulate different senses so that we can make new discoveries.

Zone 1: Engaging the Senses gives us a look into the future with the display of the Lexus concept car surrounded by hundreds of mirrors that reflect every angle and car details.

Zone 2: Exploring the Senses is based on the works of 12 designers that were invited to explore the theme of 'Senses' and interpret it across a wide range of disciplines. From fashion to engineering, 12 innovative ideas have taken shape.

Zone 3: Experiencing the Senses through a tasting experience done in some non-ordinary settings. Moving on through a series of latticework cocoons that evoke the Lexus philosophy of 'Inide Out' every cocoon has it's own tasting from chef Hajime Yoneda who takes from its own Lexus driving experience and develops the food concept. Entering the first cocoon I was immersed in the experience of driving in a rainy day. While rain sounds and sights were something I was already acquitted with, when the tasting moment of 'raindrops' made of sparkling candy came I wasn't ready for the sensation of feeling raindrops in my mouth. The second experience is about beauty of the nature in a cocoon that resembles the inside of a tree, with the sounds of a growing forest and the tasting of the ‘life force of a tree’ wrapped in cacao butter that when bitten releases fresh aromas of greenery.  The third experience is about hospitality, and what better representation than the Earth itself that with its gifts of water, air and nature welcomes us all. A warm soup for the tasting, a sky full of stars from outer space as a surrounding and mother Earth in the center of the room is the experience that reflects the Lexus commitment to the planet's future with itshybrid technology.

[caption id="attachment_9516" align="aligncenter" width="700"] LEXUS AN EXPERIENCE OF EXHILARATION[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9515" align="aligncenter" width="700"] LEXUS EXPERIENCING BEAUTY INSIDE OUT[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_9517" align="aligncenter" width="700"] LEXUS EXPERIENCING THE LIFE FORCE OF EARTH[/caption]

*This post is in collaboration with Lexus. Follow all the updates on Milan Design Week with Lexus NX Hybrid on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook