It was a
really early start today. Britt had to deliver us to the airport and then zoom
off to work meetings. I was glad Wil had taken the dogs out as I wasn’t looking
forward to saying goodbye to them. In the end we got to the airport so fast
that Britt had time to walk through with us.
The flight
to Milan was quite short..7 hours I think. Again, the noise cancelling
headphones and the Travacalm pills made the whole thing bearable. Milan airport
was very efficient and we were soon outside in the cold and heading for the
train that would drop us into cental Milan in 50 mins. We trundled through farm
country and beyond the fields, caught the occasional sight of snow covered
mountains.
Centrale
Milan train station was something magnificent. It was built by Mussolini to
impress and overwhelm. Outside, in no time we grabbed a taxi. The driver was a
big fat grumpy bloke who did nothing to make our first impression of Milan a
happy one. He grumbled (in Italian) when I opened the window, and when he shot
past the hotel and John tried to show him on the I pad where we needed to go he
basically ignored us and told us he was the taxi driver and he knew best.
The
apartment Johnny booked was in a perfect location. It was up an alleyway filled
with galleries, fashion shops and eateries. It was a short walk to the Duomo
and all the central tourist spots. The location made up for what turned out to
be basic accommodation. We waited outside until the owner turned up with the
key and showed us upstairs. As we don’t plan t spend much time in the
apartment, the accommodation was not going to be a problem. It was clean and
neat.
We tried to
get out straight away as by 4.30 it was already starting to darken. The
surrounding streets were twisty and cobbled, and as darkness fell everything
lit up like a sparkling Christmas tree. We found a nearby mercato and bought a
few essentials for the next few days, then set off towards the Duomo.
It was like
Moomba out there. The main square and in fact the whole inner city seemed to be
boiling with a mixture of tourists and locals. As the evening lights came on,
they enhanced the reliefs of the architecture and even though it was still
early, some of the outdoor restaurants were already doing strong business.
Around the corner from the apartment was the basilica of Saint Maria Presso di
San Satiro. This was just a run of the mill local church but it was covered with
paintings and filled with statues. A member of the congregation was leading the
prayers and there were people of all ages praying along with her. Italy is an
amazing place for simply providing a contemporary life amongst the history of
past centuries.
The area
between the Duomo and the gallery dedicated to Victor Emmanuel was clearly the
place to be. The arcade was dripping with high end fashion names, but then
again, so were the surrounding streets. We just enjoyed walking amongst the
crowds and being part of the throng. Gratefully, Johnny kept an eye on where we
were as the streets were full of bends and quite confusing. We tried to top up
our reserves of cash at several ATMs but none of them would accept Johnny’s NAB
card. It looks like we will have to rely on the 28 Degrees. We returned to the
apartment for a rest before a late dinner. The locals eat notoriously late and
we didn’t want to be the only people in the restaurant.
We have just had the most wonderful multi-course meal in a Milan
restaurant a short walk from our apartment. It was called Ronchi 78 and was the
like the Gaspard de La Nuit in Marais Paris. We followed Britty’s advice: “eat
lots of preserved meats and enjoy yourselves”. There was great food and great
atmosphere.. apparently it was bit of a go-to place for nightlife as well as
food and there was a lot of enjoyment down in the basement which filled with a
steady stream of young people throughout the night. We had no idea of its
popularity as Johnny and and I found it on our exploratory walk around the
area.. When we arrived, it was packed and we had not made a reservation, but
they found a table for us after a short wait. We had a platter of meats,
cheeses and breads with a strawberry jam and yes, we finished the lot. Then
there was aplate of saffron infused rice (Rice Milanese) topped with Parmesan
cheese. It was so creamy and delicious. Then we had steak with Parmesan cheese
and rocket. Dessert was a lovely chocalatey biscuit but there was so much that
I wrapped some into a serviette for the next day in the apartment. Then there
was a shot of coffee and a little glass of limoncello. We got all that for 40E
each. The wine and sparkling water was included. The locals clearly love this
place and a good hundred of them streamed in during the time we were there.
BED BED BED. We have been up for 20 hours and are dead on our feet. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
