BootsnAll Travel Network



Weekend get away in Milan…

Three days of pure bliss in Milan, with everything a girl could ask for – shopping, good food and sun-baking weather!

We got through all those at an alarming pace but with all the desired effects. Monday was the best shopping day, because we found not a lot is open over the weekend, but even so, the heat meant a siesta for several hours over the afternoon.

Shopping

We got a lot of window shopping done at least on Saturday – there’s a great hall – or piazza – where the fashionistas house their wares. Dolce and Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Armani, Versace, and I’m sure I’m missing some.

Most stores had Saldi! Saldi! (sale), but we’re finding bras difficult to shop for when we don’t know the conversion size, and really need to find somewhere like Myer that does fittings. I think we might try Debenhams or Marks and Sparks.

Although I did find, and it was a great sale – 40% off – a new pair of bathers. Togs. (Neither expressions of which David had any idea what I was talking about until Alice said swimmers)! Supposedly they’re IN this season because if you don’t have the perfect bikini body, there’s enough sexy shapes and styles to hold in all the imperfect bits while still looking fab. Needless to say I just bought them because they fit nicely and they’re pink!

I also got a white skirt with a pink and orange pattern on it – very summery, very fun, bright happy! 10 euros less. And a pair of earrings shaped as rainclouds with little dangly lightning rods – perfect for London at the moment.

Good Food

Oh, where can I start with the food? Breakfasts are mostly bread rolls and jams, but you get bread rolls with every meal you have out. I was keen to get a full idea of the range and splendour of Italian’s finest on offer – in other words – I tried a lot of great Italian food. From the nice salads with seafood, to a tomato, mozzarella and basil salad, fresh prociutto, salami, ham with cheddar cheese and olives, to real Italian pizza and pasta.

The main elements to a good Italian pizza are a base that has been hand-made and hand-shaped, something that’s not quite tomato paste but not sauce either, and mozzarella cheese. From there it’s a matter of adding a few ingredients from some roasted vegetables to a bit of seafood. The less the best.

As for the pasta, it literally is about the pasta and not the sauce. I got the tagliattelle bolognaise which is basically long thick pasta with a bit of sauce – not how we make it, but I think I prefer my bolognaise!

And can you say dessert? No, I was quite good – missing my fruit and they are big on fruit with ice cream and cream. The last day we did get mini conollis to try, small pastries with soft vanilla – oh the sweet taste melting in my mouth!

Sun-baking weather

On from the food, the most important that I did mention was the sun-baking. Wholey possible because of the  35 degree weather we had every day – while London was practically flooding all weekend! The Castello Sforzesco – a castle in Milan where we found a mosquito ridden lake was nice enough and the only place with a bit of green grass in Milan. So we bronzed ourselves for a while there, but the best place was on Sunday when we decided to hop on a train to Como Lago – Lake Como.

It’s about an hour north of Milan, most well-known for the property owned by George Clooney further up the lake coast, but it’s also minutes from the border of Switzerland.

And it is just one of the most beautiful places. As the train comes through the mountains, they open up onto the town and the lake spread out through the valley, houses are visible among the treest like clumps of mushrooms growing wild, a glimpse to the left and you see a mountain road going through the mountain at one stage, and to the right is the fenicolor – a 45 degree angled train that take you to the top of the mountain.

Compared to the dry, bare, and mostly concrete Milan, Como is cobble-stoned, with lots of lush green grass, flower beds, fountains, boats, and gelati vans. Definitely a place I’d consider retiring in, or spending a bit of time – oh yeah, that’s right, when I’ve earnt my millions I’ll buy a place next to George!

The sites?

We did a quick sight-seeing tour of Milan on our first day, and figured that apart from the shopping and the Duomo – cathedral, there really isn’t a lot there. But we did go into the Duomo on Monday, making sure that despite the heat we took garments to cover our shoulders, a respectful requirement of a lot of cathedrals around Europe.

I think the wow factor about this cathedral is the fact that it has 192 statues and and heaps of towers. The design is so intricate, even on the inside you look at a big black metal piece which just looks all flowy and pretty, but look closer and you can see men and animals throughout the structure.

Da Vinci’s Last Supper is also housed in a small gallery in Milan, but ever since The da Vinci Code came out, you have to book up to 12 weeks ahead to see it. Although you can probably buy black market tickets from scalpers for exhorbitant prices, we figured we’ll make it back one day before coming home.

Castello Sforzesco – Milan’s castle had nice grounds to walk around, and we were drawn to there several times.

 

Tune in tomorrow and I’ll tell you more about the other Milan, the stuff that’s not all flowers and puppy dogs 🙂

 



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