After the fun of the wedding weekend I wondered why I scheduled to stay abroad longer. Finally I realized it was because it’s always cheaper/easier to fly midweek than on weekends! 

I had two nights in Milan. I’d been there probably about that long in the 90s and saw the Duomo. But didn’t see the Last Supper as it was under restoration that entire decade! So that was top of my list and I duly went online at the start of the new quarter while still in Chicago to buy my 15 minute timed ticket — only to find the first Sunday of each month is FREE. This should have been good news but somehow it messed me up, I misread the info and anyway, I did not get tix for Sunday and of course they’re closed Mondays. 

Such as it is! I guess third time’s the charm!?!  I had a very considerate host (Marco), who waited for us as we were 1.5H late — and gave me good ideas on places to go before he took off to enjoy the Republic Day holiday with his gf. It was a beautiful day. People were out enjoying the holiday and weather. 

I signed up for a free tour as always, but was too late for the Sunday tour and did Monday morning instead. Other than that, I decided to take it easy with good meals and easy sauntering to areas I hadn’t seen before. I bought an unlimited 72 hour pass although I wasn’t there that long; I saved money anyway over two 24H passes. (I did have an issue with the metro ticket machines — it kept rejecting my US credit cards. After retrying many times I just fed it cash — good thing I took out a few more euros! But once I had my unlimited travel card all was good.)

On Marco’s suggestion I went to the Navigli neighborhood— it’s their canals area and I hadn’t gone before. I found a highly rated place for lunch and chose to sit inside in a dark, cool (temp and groovy), upscale spot off the main canals drag. Service was impeccable. Lunch was salty!? Maybe it’s just me but I didn’t feel it lived up to its reputation. But beautifully presented. And since I didn’t get wine (the waiter was shocked), it was pricey for one but comparable/less than me treating Luca a lot during our trip. (Fyi, it was Michelin and Trip Advisor rated … Ristorante Belé Navigli. Really beautiful inside and a great break from the heat and crowds.)

After lunch I wandered around the fashion district. I saw every major designer house. Didn’t go in the stores though. Most of the luxury brands were Italian but some French. I also walked through the central area, small but pretty.

Afterward, I was exhausted so headed back to the Airbnb and was washed up, in bed, and fast asleep before my host got home at 830!  And I slept until about 7 the next morning. Waaaay too much fun in Camogli! And poor Luca drove that whole night! 

The next day was my one full tour day. Grabbed a caffe latte at the neighborhood bar and headed to my tour. Honestly it’s been almost two weeks since being there (yes it’s taking me awhile) and I don’t remember much at this point. Her focus was on telling people where to go (best ice cream, coffee, pizza, etc — other museums and when to go) as much as history. Though she did that too. That said, many of her suggestions were closed that day (Monday is the day most things are closed in Italy). 

The net I remember is a few rich families settled in and built up Milan. And felt competitive with the (much more rich and famous) Medici family of Florence. So built the Duomo in a new style. 

Next was the Galleria, which really is beautiful from all sides and inside! It was built for (united) Italy’s first King, Vittorio Emanuele II. He wanted a cleaner passageway between the royal palace and government buildings he walked between daily. The arcade was originally more cafes and restaurants, now it’s more fancy shops (think Prada and LV) though plenty of food places remain.

We also saw the university area — it was graduation time so many students were wearing laurel wreaths and setting off firecrackers. Apparently both are traditions.

After the tour, I wanted a really yummy risotto (Milan is famous for the one with saffron). So I headed to the Brera area, which has art museums and good restaurants.

In fact, I had risotto twice. And a delicious perfect octopus salad at the second place. It’s listed as an antipasto but I had it as a secondo since the rice was so filling — it had ossobucco on it. (I also had ossobucco twice — another Milan speciality but better I think in colder weather.)

Fancy meal two was better. I ate outside and again had great service at an upscale spot. At the last place I gave the waiter a few coins as a tip but didn’t have much though the waiter was nicely thankful. At the second, I actually tried to tip on the credit card but the waiter said I couldn’t put a tip on the card! So I had to scrounge for more change. Odd but then Italians do hate paying tax if they can manage it!?

Anyway I wandered to several other recommended areas. Photos below.

The crazy thing is I had seen that Milan has a Chinatown. I had to check it out though I’d eaten already. I had no idea! Via P Sarpi is apparently the longest pedestrian street in the city and is the center of their Chinatown.

I finally got back to my airbnb though mostly because my phone was running out of battery and I hadn’t taken my power bank. So I recharged it and myself. My host came home and asked about my touring — and recommended one last place to see — also, I asked him about a local place for aperitivi as it was still early.

So I jumped on the metro again and went to the vertical gardens. It was worth the quick visit.

On the way back, I stopped at one of my host’s recommended places for a final spritz (this one Campari) and antipasto plate. All very good. But I needed to get up relatively early for my fast metro ride to the airport. (I chose that airbnb since it was on the new fast line to Linnate. It was amazingly efficient.)

My return flights were ontime and uneventful and I even slept some. And weird coincidence but my seat mate to Heathrow was also going to Chicago. So we figured out how to get from one terminal to another together and chatted during the layover. We weren’t seated near each other during the longer flight to Chicago but bade farewell in O’Hare. I managed to get off the plane and through customs relatively quickly but sadly it put me at the worst time to get on the Kennedy expwy — 6 pm! I took a cab home and saw three blue line Ls go by while stuck in traffic but I was tired and wanted a ride directly to my bldg — plus I didn’t have a working US phone line. Anyway it was over an hour and as much as I paid for cheap flights in the past, but I was home and unpacking by 715 (also unfortunately there was a Cub game which always begins at 705 so slowed down my ride home).

And that’s it! Eight weeks gone by in a flash. I may do a summary post but for now I need a vacation from my vacation!