We left Roma, speeding through the Italian countryside heading north on a Frecciarossa train which reached up to 300km/hour.

The scenery was reminiscent of our travel through France except the more romantic stone villages with steeples and castles were replaced by stark concrete buildings that make up rural Italian towns built near the rail lines.

We arrived in Milano just after lunch still feeling chastised after our tutoring session from the taxi driver on the way to the train station in Roma, our Aussie pronunciation of Milan being quite offensive to his Italian ears. The correct pronunciation is “Mee-lar-no”. I’ve been practicing ever since.

We were immediately surprised by the contrast to Rome. Milano is a city of contrasts. It’s old, but modern, busy but with a cool and chic confident air. It’s a global capital city of fashion and design, home to the national stock exchange, and known for its high-end restaurants and shops.

My word for Milano – stylish. Style and class exudes from streets, buildings and from the people.

It’s also a tram city, boasting one of the biggest tram networks in the world, beaten by Melbourne of course.

This is the Hotel Spadari Al Duomo, a boutique hotel and our home for five nights. It’s a modern hotel, with a showcase of eclectic art displayed throughout and located just around the corner from the Duomo (Cathedral).

Every evening, gratis prosecco and nibblies are offered to all guests, and throughout the day there’s a selection of baked goods, lollies, chocolates and fruit available to help yourself to. A decadent touch.

L.O.V.E.

Known as Il Dito (‘the finger’) is a modern sculpture located in the Piazza degli Affairi, the square where the Italian stock exchange is located. The name L.O.V.E. is the acronym of Libertà, Odio, Vendetta, Eternità (“Freedom, Hatred, Revenge, Eternity”). The sculpture, created in 2010 by Maurizio Cattelan, was supposed to remain in the square for just two weeks, but it’s still there even though the business community protested against it. He has never disclosed the exact meaning of the sculpture, stating that the meaning is in the imagination of everyone.

Duomo de Milan

The Milan Cathedral, or  officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the largest church in Italian Republic, (excluding the Basilica of San Pietro in the Vatican City because that’s not part of the Italian Republic).

It’s hard to appreciate its sheer size until you stand outside, and more so when inside. It’s awe inspiring.

A truly beautiful and very ornate building which was continually built for over 600 years, its construction handed down from generation to generation. I wonder how many design changes occurred during that time? Restorations and renovations will always be ongoing,

After climbing the 250 stairs to the rooftop, it was a relief to see there’s plenty of space to rest The views of Milano were worth the muscle burn in my legs.

Shopping!

People go to Milano to shop. We spent a morning wandering the high end fashion district, occasionally ducking into a shop when something caught my eye, just for a look of course, because you can only imagine the prices! The colours were bright, the styles often impractical but I loved every minute of my browsing.

The streets in the high-end fashion district were what you would expect – classic, chic and extremely quiet compared to the busy throng of other medium-end shopping areas around the city.

Back to the everyday shopping district, there was plenty to be tempted with. Guess what’s back in fashion! Looks like I’ll be dusting off my cowgirl boots that haven’t seen the light of day in decades.

There is a pair of boots coming home with me, not the gold ones, nor another pair of cowgirl boots though.

Balsamic Vinegar

I’d never given balsamic vinegar a thought until we spent a half hour in a balsamic tasting store across from the hotel.

Balsamic is a traditional product developed in the 11th century and originates from Modena and Reggio Emilia, two towns near Bologna. It’s made from cooked grape must (unfermented juice) and allowed to mature and ferment through a slow, natural acidification process. Then, it’s aged for years in casks made of various kinds of wood (like wine) becoming increasingly concentrated and more syrupy over time. No other ingredients are added. The minimum aging takes 12 years and the really good balsamic is sold after a minimum 25 years.

The story goes that each household fermented its own casks, often to be used as gifts.

Also known as “the black gold of Moderna” it still carries a medicinal symbol on its label, with a few vague therapeutic claims to help digestion and coughs.

Our friendly balsamic guy was full of interesting stories and we were quite enthralled.

Naviglio Grande

It took around half an hour to walk to the Navigli area, one of Milan’s most vibrant districts with bars, restaurants, artist workshops and vintage boutiques. Quite bohemian and trendy.

The district is set around the Naviglio Grande, the oldest canal in Milan built between 1177 and 1272. A Saturday flea market was in full swing along the bank of the canal, stalls mostly selling second hand clothing, vinyl records and vintage wares. There was a surprisingly large amount of second hand leather coat stalls.

Lithographs have always intrigued me. We came across a gallery with working artists who were very generous in sharing their knowledge and we enjoyed learning about the very time-consuming and exacting method of this creative art form. We are bringing home a small lithograph for our collection.

Lunch, very enjoyable with fabulous background music from across the Canal of 70s heavy metal rock music by a nearby busker, called Jesus (see below).

Meet Georgio. We enjoyed his music through lunch so stopped to discuss our appreciation of his Deep Purple, Santana and other 70s heavy rock renditions. He gave us a copy of his CD produced under his stage name “Gesas”. “My friends call me Jesus, for obvious reasons” he chuckled.

And then, while wandering the streets, there was this guy. Resplendent in piercings and tattoos belting out classic Italian and opera that to my untrained ears sounded absolutely top notch. My favourite, Nessun Dorma, still brought a tear.

Sights from our many wanderings

Some of the fabulous dishes we enjoyed

This restaurant served southern Italian cuisine. At the risk of breaking a hip, we chose the safe seat option. Interestingly, there was a selection of only two meats on the menu – pork and horse. Loved the vegetarian chickpea dish 🙂

One evening after a bigger lunch, we shared this seafood dish. It was good.

Finally, for dog lovers…..

It’s quite acceptable to take your dog into restaurants, even for a fine dining experience in the evening. They are welcomed with their own water dish under the table. Dogs are also allowed in supermarkets, wandering up and down aisles on leashes. Spoilt pooches indeed.

We loved Milano. We loved its style, its charisma, its fashions. We’ll be back for sure one day.

Arrivederci Milano. Next stop, Torino!

Catherine & Jeff xx