milano: espresso & art

Not too long after being home from our London and Thailand trips, Thanksgiving and the beginning of Christmas market season, I had another getaway planned. This time it was with my best friend! ::Squeals:: We met in a new city to both of us- Milan! A fashion and design capital of the world, this was a destination right up my alley! The theme of the week was #art, as you will see.
It was perfect weather, and a glimpse into the beginning of winter. I was saved by my multifunctional blanket scarf- of which I used both ways, and additionally as a makeshift skirt (#fashion, #art.) Milan was a lovely small/big city, full of contrasting areas of town, all unique and well- artistic.

To start, we had lunch with this great view of the Duomo! Brittany had done her research and discovered a lesser known entrance door to the mall, which had an elevator right inside that would take you to the top floor. The food floor was small, nothing compared to Harrod's food level, but had treats galore including delicious macarons and a Veuve bar. The restaurant was just outside and adjacent to the Duomo, obvi! What a cool view for a welcome to the city.

We walked around getting acquainted a bit and wound up at Triennale, an #art and design museum. Pretty informative about all inventions and designs of Italian decent. Somewhat interactive and filled with history, it was a cool museum to spend a few hours in. Also, they had a cafe where we got another espresso of course! That carried us to dinner, where we found a little bar with outdoor seating under heat lamps and with a view for good people watching.

Here is your proof of how fashionable I am- blanket scarf turned skirt (few photos below,) because it's #art. And it was cold, that's why. Believe me when I say they're versatile! You can read my post here on travel attire and my go to pieces. Anyway, we woke up early for a day of touring and began with a search for our soon to be favorite and repeat breakfast stop: Princi Bakery. Espresso and croissants of different kinds every morning, fresh and flaky... perfect carb start to a day of walking.

As we got closer to the center, we saw a parade of men all wearing similar hats, so we had to follow to see what was going on. As we noticed it was more organized than just a protest of some sort, we translated the Italian signs into making sense for us. It was a memorial for the "Alpine troops and all soldiers who fell in war for their country."

Now, we don't hate espresso or Italian coffee at all, in fact we both like our coffee black or just with a little sugar (none of that fru-fru pure sugar in different forms, all cream and no black-bean-water stuff) buttt in typical American style we just wanted "drip coffee." Before our afternoon drag kicked in we needed some more. Something to hold on to while we toured to keep our hands warm. And bonus if it comes with the trademarked green straw. Boom! We found the newest Starbucks, and it was a Reserve! Read about on the interwebs before going to Milan, not because it is somewhat controversial with the local Italian coffee lovers, this was a must do for us because of the building it was in. An old post office, the building was beautiful! The inside, after waiting in an entrance line with two guardsmen, was equally as beautiful- but could easily be overlooked as we were jostled about between all the people rushing around. If you've been to the one in Seattle, this was bigger, but essentially the same idea. Been there, snapped some pics, didn't want to wait in line for a brew, done that! Check!

And again back to the Duomo to snap some pics, then on to the adjoining mall. Thank you, Rick Steves for your e-tours we learned about the she-wolf in the tiles, the bull and the luck if you spin on your heel on his genitals, and overall admired the exquisite detail in all the building's work.

We saw Leo's Last Supper painting IRL (much bigger then the Mona Lisa,) and walked to the canal district, stopping for Italian gelato along the way. Reminding me of Amsterdam or Copenhagen's Nyhavn, the canal was lined with colorful buildings filled with restaurants and tourist stops. We stopped for lunch consisting of the most delicious fresh pasta and accompanied it with a bottle of wine. We were the last ones in the building as they closed to prep for dinner, we were enjoying ourselves too much!

Working off our grape juice a bit, we arrived at Giorgio Armani's Silos, a permanent home to his past works of, you guessed it- wearable #art. Nothing warm like Chip & Jo's Magnolia Silos, these were definitely buildings of cold hard concrete and simple black and white lights. Illuminating the pieces as they stood so close we could touch them. We COULD, but that was against the rules. There were some pieces I definitely wanted to run the fabric through my fingers, if not entirely undress the mannequin to borrow the outfit to wear out to a fancy dinner that night. We ended by getting a drink at the on site cafe and marvelled at the exquisite material of the napkins. Yes, you read that right! It was the softest cotton blend I have felt! I actually took one home in my bag- woo hoo I have an Armani piece of #art!

 The morning view from our apartment. You can see the Cathedral and the Castle! Also, random note that every time we grabbed a drink we were served with bar snacks. Not just the crappy air puffed non-cheesy Cheetos or some basic nuts, we would sometimes get little sandwiches or  a meat and cheese platter. Included! Apparently we enjoyed these small meals so much that we did our whole vacation wrong and skipped dinner most nights. Aren't you supposed to eat until you're about to burst and gain lots of weight on vacation?

Milan isn't a huge city where it was entirely necessary to spend the whole week in to see it all. We got a good feel the first few days and certainly wound up revisiting some areas repeatedly (Duomo) so we decided to get out of the city for a day. We booked our train tickets and were on our way! First, we had to explore the stazione Centrale (which isn't really central in the city.) It is a grand building, grand also in size, beautiful with all the ornate decorations and also a mix of architectural styles. I believe that it is mainly built with a reminder of the Fascist regime because of it's dominating size, intended to imply that "you are small." It brought me back to Bucharest's Palace of Parliament, built in the same manner and with such opulence it's controversial. Whether to utilize the building for remembrance of the history, or demolish it because it is somewhat an allowance for those times to be "celebrated" for lack of better words. Let's not get into that now. Regardless, it is a historic building and very intriguing to see.

Moving on, we don't want to miss our train now, do we? Let's go to romantic Lake Como for the day! We didn't really have any plans, but realized when we got there that the winter is definitely not high season. We toured around and wound up at a beautiful Christmas market- and I'm kind of over Christmas markets. Most sell the same stuff and contrary to popular belief it's not locally handmade. However, we enjoyed this one! Not crowded, unique items in each little shop, and of course mulled wine. Also at night there was a great surprise that made me love this market and little town even more!

Before we talk about the evening, let's talk about how we enjoyed the tourist-less day! After getting some yummy fresh food from the market we took a ferry to Bellagio. Yes, we passed George Clooney's summer house on the Lake among many other beautiful villas. Unfortunately it was very brisk and windy and wintry cold, so we stayed inside the ferry and didn't take photos through the glass. We took photos with our eyes during this part *wink. Anyway, arriving Bellagio about an hour later, we were on the hunt for food. We walked to the point of this area and sadly realized Google hours were incorrect, the restaurant we wanted to go to was indeed NOT open for business. We did find some shops open with beautiful handmade Italian silk, so after some scarves were purchased we headed back to the area where the ferry dropped us off for a quick bite.

We wandered a bit more before our ferry back to Como, and stumbled across this abandoned beauty that doesn't even show up on the map. I think I have about 50 more photos of it, and if we didn't have a ferry and subsequent train to catch back to Milan you can bet that I would have found a way to get inside. Sighhh. Who left this perfect location for a beautiful villa like this? I mean, I enjoy it very much as it is (especially if I could explore a little more closely) but it just made me even more curious as to why this prime real estate is sitting alone. Maybe you're thinking, "it's an old building, who cares?" Or some other logical explanation of "maybe they ran out of rent money" just let me be me, okay? I love old buildings, and abandoned ones have even more of a story to tell.

Back in town of Como, we saw the Christmas Market come to life! In Budapest I saw a lightshow projected on to St. Stephen's Basilica complete with music and a story similar to the show at DisneyLand. This was different! It was a whole square! Were we walking into a children's storybook? It was so fun! As we were walking through the town we found a few more buildings lit up in a similar manner and the cutest displays throughout. We then decided Como would be a lovely place for a family especially with children to come celebrate the holidays.

Our night ended at a lovely wine bar that was built underground. Before we arrived we expected a tight, small room and were greeted with a large open area with a warm ambiance. Groups of people cheerily chatting over glasses (and some bottles) of wine. Of course we had some snacks too, and again, didn't feel the need for a proper dinner. (Also, below- a duck we saw in the window of a meat shop so there's that.) 

We had once already walked by our next stop, but it was closed due to a holiday. So today we were going to explore behind it's closed gates and take a peek into... a cemetery! Who goes on vacation and looks at cemeteries? Well they're full of history! And not to mention, this one was HUGE! We started inside the mausoleum part and explored around and may have gotten lost for a bit.

 The outside was incredible, rows and rows of these magnificent small buildings. These were the most exquisite family plots I have ever seen. We spent quite some time walking around and taking in all the beautiful #art and marveling at the history before heading to lunch.

With the perfume of fresh black truffles floating in the air, we dined at a quaint romantic restaurant that was by reservation only. Of course we had another bottle of wine to go along with our meals! Along with good conversation only the best of friends can have, the wine helped lift our spirits and we were off on a few more adventures before the day was over. Yes, we were those giggling girls gallivanting through the city, but hey, we were tourists and were enjoying ourselves. So much so, that we worked up the courage to go spin on the bull back at the mall... all in the name of good luck!

 The next day was Duomo day! After walking through the square almost every day, we finally took the time to get tickets and wait in a line to go in. Security was thorough with admittance and strict with the number of visitors at a time, which was the only reason for the line outside in the cold. Thankfully after our daily morning stop at Princi Bakery we were there pretty early and didn't wait more than 30 minutes total before being granted entrance. Now, don't take this the wrong way, but I've seen plenty of cathedrals and churches, and they are all so similar. The outside reminded me of Cologne's gothic Cathedral. The inside reminded me of St. Peter's at the Vatican. Crypts and all. And before you say "they're definitely not the same! One's larger/ more well known/ decorated/ etc. etc." It just reminded me of it. Also it's been over 10 years since I was in Rome. However, if there were some lights in the building to illuminate the detail of side chapels it would more closely show how similar it is. Anyway, I wasn't thrilled about this adventure, I usually like to find the "un-touristy" things to do. Obviously, it is still a must do and I am glad we did, because we found the "un-touristy" part at the end... under ground! The price was included in our ticket, but barely anyone else was there. Score! But first, I was admiring the ground as we walked on it. You can feel the handiwork of the inlay as it is not perfectly even. So exquisite! Still can't get over the detail.

Our tickets allowed us to climb on the roof of the cathedral. Yes! The roof! This part was unlike anything I've done at church before, ha! Even now thinking back, I am trying not to let my jaw drop when I remember all the detail that could only be seen from an arm's length. Like, how insane that there was so much detail on the ROOF where it didn't necessarily add to the grandeur of the building. It didn't make it bigger, it didn't make it brighter or more "great." Overall its intricacies make it unique. It was also neat to see up close all the restoration- check out the pic with the different colored spires (5 down.)

After the cathedral visit, we stopped by this government building with this delightful statue out front. How charming! Ahh, #art. Some stories are that it isn't giving the bird as you would think to the lawmakers, etc. Rather, the other 4 fingers have simply been cut off... interpret as you please.

One of our last stops was this other cool cathedral of sorts, made of human bones. It reminded me of Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic, but smaller. Not sure if it's a good thing to have more bones to work with? Slightly funnier than you would think of a story, (rumored anyway) these bones were from a neighboring hospital and cemetery that ran out of room and were thrown into a pile. Only years later did people feel bad, so they built an adjacent church.

Ending on a high note here, (see what I did? Plane pics? Get it?) Milan was lovely and full of #art around every corner. It was a lovely girl's trip and full of bucket list checks! Lake Como (in top of pic below) was beautiful, and a highlight. It went on the "go again" list for a romantic spring/summer getaway.

Not really a fan of "out of the plane window photos" but here you can see the Alps peeking through! It was a lovely ride back home to Hungary- where I'd be for a few days before heading off again. Hopefully sooner rather than later I'll wrap up a post about where I went!

Hope this new year is showing you some beauty- from whatever angle you look at it.