Milan

I've saved blogging Milan for quite some time largely because I'm not sure I loved it. This is probably the wrong thing to say but it turns out that when you travel there are places that speak to your soul and places that don't. I should make the disclaimer that the weather was less than ideal and we dodged the rain for much of our stay. I should also note that staying in Bergamo put a damper on how much we did, when we arrived and left town and how much relaxation we could get. So perhaps the smarter thing to say would be that we didn't get the best first impression of Milan but that's entirely not its fault. Ducking Furniture Convention people. 

With really only 1.5 days factoring in a tour of the San Siro and commuting time, we opted for the big hitters of this city of 1.4 million (or 8.2 million factoring in Greater Milan). First stop, the Duomo. As is with every Italian city, large and small, Milan's cathedral is a buzz of tourists, local and otherwise. It only took a cool six centuries to complete and is Italy's largest cathedral (St Peter's Basilica is technically in Vatican City and NOT in Italy). The Duomo has survived Napoleon and WWII, making it a significant backdrop to some crazy moments in history. 

A short walk away, Sforza Castle is similarly impressive. Built by Francesco Sforza, the Duke of Milan, in the 15th century it's a testament to what can be built with cheap labour.  It's been renovated across the centuries and today is home to several museums and art collections. 

From there, we wandered the shopping streets of the world's centre of fashion, noting that the Milanese love their dogs just as much as they love their fashion. Around the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Italy's oldest active shopping mall, shops and antiquity stand side by side and my little American brain continued to grapple with the fact that most of what I was looking at was 300+ years older than the founding of my home country. 

So as I come to my conclusions on our short time in Milan, it's become clear that I'll need to go back. This is hardly a fair representation of Italy's second most populous city, a stronghold of industry, education and the country's thriving youth population. We need to get back--to go to Navigli, to soak up summer sunshine, to see the best of what Milan has to offer. 

San Siro Stadium, it's shaped like fusilli!

Paul makes few demands regarding our travels; he's generally along for the ride which is both a blessing and a curse. So even though he was annoyed that we were staying so far away from Milan, he couldn't complain because he'd not done the legwork either. But one demand he was keen to make related to his other great love, football. Since he delved into the world of wine tasting with me, I figured a jaunt to Italy's greatest football stadium was a no-brainer.

Home to both AC (owned by former Bunga Bunga prime minister Berlusconi himself) and Inter Milan, the San Siro stadium is Italy's largest (and fourth largest in Europe). It occupies a patch of land 5km northwest of the city centre and seats over 85k people at any one time. Street art litters the hoarding leading to the stadium in an homage to football's greats in their historic (and infamous) moments.

One glimpse at the stadium and Paul was like a kid in a candy shop. 'Jen, the staircase columns are shaped like fusilli, did you know that?!' I may never have seen him as excited on a holiday as this.

The San Siro area of the city (hence the stadium's nickname) is also home to the city's main horse racing venue and was in fact the reason that Piero Pirelli, AC Milan's then-owner, opted to build the stadium here.

Once inside, we joined a lengthy tour, from pitch to locker room to press screening area. I must admit, it was pretty interesting. The stadium's formal name, Stadio Guiseppe Meazza, is named after one of Italian football's greats and is perhaps a good sign of how important football is for the Italian psyche. The city of Milan actually bought the stadium in 1935 and thus, its future is in their hands. 

AC and Inter Milan share the pitch but have separate changing rooms. On match days where they play one another, one team is seen as 'home' and another 'away'--home teams get more fans and so the rivalry continues.

The stadium is also home to two museums, one devoted to each team. Although much of the exhibits were lost on me, Paul seemed to really enjoy himself. 

For 18 Euros, a few hours of football bliss seemed well worth it. If you're not a football fan, there's still plenty to appreciate. Just be mindful to book in advance!

Bergamo

The last leg of our great Italian journey took us to Milan, home of football's hallowed clubs, AC and Inter Milan. Paul's brother had bought us (okay, him) a stadium tour of the San Siro Stadium and so our pilgrimage began. Unfortunately the rhythms of the Spring term of school for me and Paul's general lack of planning desire meant that neither of us did any preliminary research into accommodation in the area.

And it just so happened that the world was descending on Milan at precisely the same time we'd be there. The National Furniture Trade Show drove hotel prices in the area up to three times more than usual. Nope, not joking. And so the closest town with a vacancy that wouldn't break the bank was a 35-minute train ride away in the rural town of Bergamo.

We opted for a lovely B&B called La Casa di Campagna. The proprietor, a lovely woman who'd converted an old farmhouse and kept horses on the property, picked us up (and later dropped us off) at the train station and drove us into the Italian backcountry. We were situated fairly far out of 'town' proper still and without a car, we resorted to foraging for food on foot.

The Citta Alta (the old walled core) of Bergamo is situated on a hilltop upon ancient Venetian fortifications. The one-hour walk to civilisation proved very hilly and the weather didn't always behave but once we got to the top, the views were pretty rewarding. Upon further research, there does appear to be a funicular that will take you to the top, not that we saw it...

Once up the sizeable hill, a perfectly preserved world awaits. We only went for one evening and most shops, churches and museums were closed by the point we arrived but the town is definitely worth a day trip. Plenty of articles abound on the history and charm Bergamo has to offer, particularly if you're tired of Milan big city living.

We did have a notably fantastic meal at one of the town's several restaurants. Osteria Tre Gobbi boasted good food, plentiful wine and excellent views of Lower Bergamo down below. Happy and full, we trudged back down the side of the hill to our B&B ready to take on Milan in the ensuing days. 

Gelato Happens

I have nothing profound to say about Gelato because its reputation precedes itself.  It's tasty. It's multi-flavoured. It's so quintessentially Italian.  And any time of day, any weather, people--young, old, fat, skinny, are eating it.  Gelaterias are everywhere and the flavours are endless.

Paul and I made gelato a daily habit. On a 12-day holiday, there were only two days when our paths didn't cross the sugary frozen delight.  Paul had his favourites--Nocciola (hazelnut) and I had mine--Coconut.  Though we did make attempts to range around the flavours, this was mostly in vain.

Nocciola on the seaside 

Mint and cookies and cream on the seaside 

Bacio (chocolate and hazelnut) in the City 

Stracciatella (chocolate chip) in the country 

We did attempt to take more photos of the ice cream but, you know, melting happened.