Tag: Milan
Last Day in Milan- Day Three! Como, Bellagio and Varenna!
Sigh… Day 3 was already upon us as we woke up early to catch our 9 something, hour and change, train to Como. I enjoyed a cheese, mushroom and bacon omelette for breakfast and washed it down with cappuccino and an espresso. Shortly after breakfast we found ourselves on the train and in Como. We got off and immediately saw the beautiful lake. Our concierge recommended we take a train to Como and then a ferry to Bellagio and another one to Varenna and then take a train back to Milan.
We walked around the town of Como that is filled with little boutiques and restaurants. It was beautiful and quaint. We spent an hour just enjoying the amazing town. We already had our ferry tickets to Bellagio so we walked over to the dock and go on. About half an hour later, we were docked in the beautiful town of Bellagio. The stores and restaurants were perched up and so we climbed and found a little restaurant for lunch- Ristoro Forma & Gusto, we were hungry and ordered a mushroom pizza and a pasta. It was decent, not amazing- but decent in Italy is pretty good and wine was yummy! We walked around Bellagio some more- it is gorgeous and overrun with tourists- I can’t imagine how it is in the summer. In fact I will be there next summer and wanted to decide where to stay… either in Como or Bellagio. I am currently leaning towards Como or Varenna. 
Speaking of Varenna, it was absolutely gorgeous… small, quaint and filled with brightly colored buildings, which looked amazing against the water… We sat down at a cafe overlooking the water and enjoyed a snack and a glass of Prosecco! It was very relaxing and we felt very grateful, sitting there, being able to appreciate this beautiful, amazing view. I think, maybe we will stay in Varenna next year….
We sat there for a while and eventually made our way to the train station to catch the train to Milan. An hour later we were in a cab headed to some more shops… as the stores close quite early there- 7:30. We rushed over to look at some shoes and clothes and then made our way back to the main piazza … as we got closer, we could hear some singing and cheering. As we got closer, we realized there was a concert going on- a MTV concert- and Ellie Goulding was performing! We stood there for a while, enjoying all her popular songs. We then decided to drop our stuff off in the room and come back to enjoy the rest of the concert. While in the room, we looked up the concert and read Duran Duran was supposed to perform. We got excited, as we loved Duran Duran in the late 80’s but were not sure if we had already missed them! We walked back to the piazza and decided to sit at a very touristy cafe as it had a direct view of the concert. We looked at the menu and gasped at the high prices- but thought it was worth it as we had good seats. We ordered food, not expecting much but actually the food was pretty good! I enjoyed a tortellini cooked in butter and sage! 
As we enjoyed our meal, Duran Duran came on- what?? We couldn’t believe our luck as they sang quite a few of our favorite songs! It was a lovely evening and a great way to end the fabulous trip!
We headed back and hung out in the lobby discussing how we had to wake up early the next day to catch an early flight. I woke up at 5:30 the next morning, got dressed and found out our flight was delayed 6 hours… OMG, what??? So, we decided to go back to sleep! In a nutshell, we got 6 more hours in Milan- we were thrilled! We ate breakfast, went shopping, got on the train and made our way to the airport!
The entire trip was a whirlwind- we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Italy is my favorite destination for many reasons- I love the people, the food, the wine and especially the ability to appreciate, La Dolce Vita, the sweet life. Every time I am there, it reminds me to slow down and enjoy today! I love it and I love going there… best of all, I love going home! Until next time…
More Milan- Day Two!
Woke up refreshed the next morning at 8 AM and got dressed to go down for breakfast. Over some eggs, rolls, cheese and coffee, we discussed the agenda of the day. We had heard of 10 Corso Como– which is the most fashionable store in Milan. We took a cab there and walked around this beautiful store filled with high fashion and amazing designs…
After drooling over very expensive clothes and shoes, we decided to find an outlet so we could really shop! We bought a few things and decide to walk towards the Brera design district. It was a very quaint, cobblestoned area with loads of boutiques and cafes. We window shopped and finally sat down for a snack and wine break. We were quite tired of walking all day, so we decided to just sit in the outdoor cafe and people watch- People in Italy in general are very well dressed, but specifically in Milan, they are extremely fashionable!
After our rest we started walking again, this time towards our hotel. We stopped at the Scala, which is the famous Milan theater right next to the Duomo. We then returned to our hotel and made a reservations at Ristorante Al Mercante, a restaurant we had read about serving typical Milanese cuisine. The area is known for rich dishes like ossobuco and risotto cooked with saffron.
We reached the place and were seated immediately. Our waitress was extremely friendly and accommodating. I was confused between ordering the ossobuco with the risotto or the spaghetti with clams. She was willing to give me a half a portion of each to make me happy but then after thinking about it, I decided to go with the specialty of the area- and it was the right decision as it was delicious! The wine was yummy and so were the zucchini flowers we started with. They had panna cotta and tiramisu, so we had both… housemate and delicious! 
As we walked home after an amazing meal, we decided to go to the Lake Como area for the day as it was just an hour away! So, stay tuned!
Fabulous Day 1 in Milano!
Day one began with us landing on time, at around 8:30 in the morning in Milan. I was traveling with my own blanket, neck pillow, socks and foot rest- yup, I need all of those things to be comfortable on the plane- I don’t like being in a confined place with lots of people and lots of weird smells… I also have my noise canceling head phones to take away all the loud noise in the plane. With all of the stuff- I still can’t sleep on the plane… that is just how it is and I have decided to just accept it and move on- so I read, watch and listen but usually don’t sleep…
We got off the plane and went straight for a cup of coffee! We made our way through the small airport and found the Malpensa express and quickly bought tickets. In a few minutes we were seated comfortably in the train eager to get to city center which was about half an hour away. We decided to take the metro from the train station to our hotel and it was not very hard to find.. 3 stops later we were in the middle of the Piazza del duomo! My data on my phone was not working, so all we had was a map my husband had drawn for us of the area. What I now know is if I had saved the map of Milan on my phone for it to work offline, I would have been able to use my phone for directions even without data… the gps works regardless. We figured that out on the second day- so, the first day was quite challenging, using a regular map in a city that is filled with small, windy roads- needless to say, we walked a lot… loads…
Anyway, we found our way to the hotel in no time. We walked in and they told us our room was almost ready, they gave us coffee and we sat and relaxed for a few minutes before going up to our room. We unpacked and showered and left the room by noon. It was a beautiful day and we started to soak the very fashion forward city in. We window shopped in the Galleria Vittorio– the famous Prada and many other high end stores later, we were hungry, so we stopped for a salami panini and a glass of wine! We rested for a while and continued to walk and eventually made our way to the Last Supper in the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent. A friend had told me we had to get tickets in advance, so I had reserved a short tour for us at 6 PM that evening. The tour was fascinating!
We made our way back to the hotel and asked the concierge for a restaurant recommendation. They gave us directions to a place- we made our way, after getting lost many times.. and found out the place was fully booked! What??? So, we asked the waiter to give us a recommendation- he told us about Hysteria Borromei– well, it was wonderful! We started with stuffed zucchini flowers with mozzarella – I love zucchini flowers and this dish was yummy! We then ordered beet gnocchi and a risotto with smoked duck and zucchini flowers! 
All in all it was a great meal with some yummy wine! I didn’t want to have dessert there as my heart was set on a yummy gelato- so we walked back to our hotel and found a specialty food place right next door called Peck– they had a yummy hazelnut and crema!
At this point it was 10 PM and we were exhausted but thrilled to be surrounded with great food, wine and very friendly people and of course each other! Stay tuned…