Eat, Pray, Eat, Shop, Eat… In Milan

When you stir your espresso in the morning with a crooked spoon, it could lead to an interesting day. And, it was!

Parking in Milan is crazy! None of us have ever seen the likes of this kind of parking where cars are lined up along the side of the walls forcing drivers to inch their way around the curves barely missing car after car to get into or out of a parking space. You have to be well-practiced in the reverse-turn-reverse method of driving!

This is definitely a city where you want to drive a smart car or Vespa because trying to park anything larger than that like Antimo was – definitely presented a challenge. Finally, four floors underground there were a few spaces that could fit a car bigger than a baby stroller and we all breathed a sigh of relief. 

After a short metro ride into central Milan, we started at church because we wanted to pray for sales at the stores, knowing we couldn’t afford the prices at the Galleria in Milan.

What Italy has done well over the centuries is churches! Milan Cathedral or Duomo di Milano is one of the biggest churches in the world. Click the link to get more information about the cathedral. Fascinating history. The marble floors are amazing to have survived well all these centuries. The stained glass windows are not all original as unfortunately many of them were damaged in the wars. These photos don’t do either justice. 

While the rest of us are marveling at the windows and floors and wood and such, hubby (former engineer) is commenting, “I wonder how they knew back then how to calculate the load bearing needs for the upper structure, how many pillars to build, and what was the soil like underneath, would it support whatever they did for the foundation.” Really? Well, I guess we all appreciate things from our own perspective. 

Yes, it is Design Week in Milan. We’ve seen everything imaginable. I couldn’t snap photos fast enough and unfortunately, most didn’t come out. 

Here’s a photo that Patrick captured yesterday that is classic chic! The fashion we’ve seen is over the top – or maybe just out of our league. 

Believe it or not, it was time to eat again. What a thrill to sit in the Galleria and people watch while sipping wine and eating delicious food! I am not a fan of potato gnocchi but I ordered and loved these! They were quite rich but worth every bite! Everyone enjoyed their lunch choices.

Afterward, Rita wanted to visit the chocolate shop upstairs and none of us objected, especially when she treated us to a piece of chocolate. If only she had bought the whole box, we could help her work her way through it as we drive through Italy together. 

Now that we are fortified with food, wine, and chocolate, let’s go shopping!

Shoes anyone? I’m thinking my tennis shoes need some bedazzling! Or maybe some gold leafing? I didn’t see any tennis shoes under 650 euros. I was looking for the comma somewhere (as they use in Europe instead of a period) or something that would tell me that the price was really only 65 euros, but no, the prices were 650 euros and up.

Much too much bling for me, but it certainly was fun looking at it all. Anytime I wandered too close to a store, I could feel a little tug on my coat pulling me back to reality. 

There were design exhibits all around the city. We wandered into this one which was puzzling. The baskets on the left were filled with cement. Purpose? Art? I couldn’t figure it out. The one that looks like a purse would be terribly heavy and the other one just looks like a rock fell into a trash basket. Unless someone could explain them to me, I just couldn’t appreciate them. Here’s the artist hard at work on another creation. 

We headed back to the Villa to pack and enjoy our last night in Como before heading out tomorrow morning for Barolo.

We were too tired to go out to dinner, so Antimo cooked us up an award-winning dinner. He made a sauce from tomatoes, vegetables, and meats we had left, (no spices were available by the way) and cooked up some pasta – voila – it was dinner. He sliced the rest of the fennel and drizzled it with olive oil and balsamic for the salad. Simple, but satisfied the travel weary housemates who had eaten, prayed, and shopped all day.