Flying visit to Milan

Last weekend, we went to Milan with my friend from work. She lived there for 16 years before coming to France, and still has a flat there. She had a wedding to attend on Saturday in a town outside of Milan, so we made it a group trip as Kev and I have never been to Milan. Since she only has a two-seater car and Kev didn't want to ride in the trunk, we rented a bigger car so we would have a more comfortable trip.

We left directly from work at 5pm to drive there--it's about a 4 hour trip. On the way, we got stuck in traffic just south of Milan due to an accident, where the motorway was closed for 15 minutes while the accident was cleared. We were stressing a bit because we had made plans to meet some others for dinner that night at 9:30, and we still had to cross the entire city to get to the flat.

We arrived at the flat around 9:45 and dropped off our bags. Luckily, the restaurant was just around the corner, so it took less than 5 minutes to walk there. The tenant who is renting my friend's flat joined us for dinner, as he was unable to go back home to Rome for the weekend due to his work project in Milan.

The dinner was fantastic, and we met up with some people who had come to France just a few weeks ago to stay with my friend. So we knew them already and they are really fun people anyway. We left the resto just before midnight and were completely pooped after working all day and then having the long drive.

The next morning, after a great night's sleep, we set out into the city. We ended up visiting 3 sights: the Duomo (cathedral), the Castello Sforzesco (castle), and the Pinacoteca di Brera (an art gallery). Saturday was our only full day there, so we couldn't see it all...




The Duomo

We spent most of our time in the city center, walking to each of these sights. It reminded us of Munich from the similar architecture, but with a more run-down look to it. We stopped a couple of times for cafe lattes and snacks to refuel. (Note: The lattes are SOOOOOO much better in Italy!!!) We also had this interesting "sandwich" thing for lunch called a piada. It's this Italian flatbread from the Romangna region, and it's similar to a tortilla, but a bit thicker and more bread-like. They put yummy stuff in it, fold it in half, and heat it up. Sort of like a quesadilla.


Kevin at the castello

By the end of the day, we were pretty tired after all the walking around, so we picked up some food to take back to the flat and cook dinner there. My friend's tenant arrived home from work about 9pm and ate dinner with us. He showed us how to properly cook pasta and even offered us some grappa after dinner. It was really nice to chat with him, and he gave us some information about pairing wine with different kinds of food, in addition to telling us about grappa.

The next morning, we slept in quite late, and went down the street for coffees and pastries. Then we just spent the afternoon in the flat, hanging out and waiting for my friend to return from the wedding so we could begin the long drive home.

All in all, a great weekend.


La Scala, the famous opera house