Milano Travel Journal Day 1

     I went to Milano, Italy this past weekend and it was so amazing! We did so much in the little time we had, this is going to be a way longer post than I expected! I knew coming in that Milano isn’t exactly this picturesque, quintessential Italian town, it’s definitely a large-ish city with its not so pretty areas and also very modern design areas, but nonetheless it was so interesting to experience and I am so glad I went. It’s incredibly walkable, I didn’t take a single car during the weekend and it’s definitely worth the trip!

Friday

     So I arrived to Milano Friday afternoon, we were staying at the Hotel Principe di Savoia and I hung out and had lunch there while I waited for my friend to get there also. That evening, we walked around Via Monte Napoleone and went to this old fashioned pasticceria, Cova, that my dad had told me served the best capuccinos (they were).

     After that, we went for dinner at this super cute restaurant called Olio. At the table they had little bottles of delicious olive oil we could take to go! Naturally, we both had pasta, I had one with calamari and uni and she had rigatoni with meat sauce, both were so good. For dessert, as we did for every other dinner for the rest of the trip, we had the yummiest tiramisu. 

Saturday

We did so much on Saturday, I’m so proud of us! We had a list of all the things we wanted to do and managed to wake up early and get on with it. 

1.  Bosco Verticale

We made our way through Centro Direzionale which is Milano’s very design/architecturally avant-garde area which you definitely shouldn’t miss! Walking around Piazza Gae Aulenti, it’s really interesting to see the contrast between old and new, the modern buildings are incredible.

2.  10 Corso Como

This is a must for any fashion lover. 10 Corso Como is not only a really beautiful place but it’s also filled with the best shopping, a restaurant/cafe, a bookstore where I wished I had everything plus really cool home decorations!

3.  Lunch at LùBar

I am obsessed with this place. It’s inside the Galleria d’Arte Moderna, so needless to say it’s beautiful. Everything about this place, from the greenery to the food felt so fresh! But of course it still remained very much Italian. My favorite dishes were by far Gambero (shrimps) which were the butteriest I’ve ever tried and the pasta with almond pesto and sun-dried tomatoes. 

4.  Galleria d’Arte Moderna

Since it was right next to us, we stopped by the museum and I’m very glad we did. I absolutely loved the Italian art but even more so, the beautiful ceilings (that had art too)!

Making our way towards the center of Milano…

After lunch and the museum, we started making our way towards one of the most important sights, the Duomo di Milano. We made a few stops before that though.

5.  Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle

Not only is this the oldest mall in the world, it’s home to the very first Prada store as well! Of course it’s a bit crowded, but this is a definite must, not just for fashion lovers, and don’t forget to look up!

6.  Cioccolatitaliani

This was definitely an exaggeration but worth it for the memories. We passed by this chocolate and ice cream store and it had a huge line, plus the ice cream seemed insane so we thought we would give it a shot. I don’t think I have ever seen or eaten ice cream like this! I got a huge cone of something called the “Coppa Sacher” which was filled with apricot jam, chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce and… mini pancakes. It was definitely ridiculous, but I have to say it was pretty good. 

7.  Duomo di Milano

No matter how long the line is, you have to go to the Duomo, even if it’s just to go to the roof. That’s what we did and we went straight in! We got staircase tickets to the terrace and I promise climbing up is not that bad. Our timing was perfect, we spent enough time where we went up and saw the clear day but also sunset. You get beautiful angles of the Duomo’s architecture and of course the view of the city. 

8.  Vintage Delirium

This quirky little vintage shop is hard to find but worth going even for just a peek. Vintage shops always have the prettiest and most interesting finds and I think Italian ones even more so!

9.  Pasticceria Marchesi

As the evening rolled around, of course it was time for coffee and treats at yet another Italian pasticceria. This time we went to Pasticceria Marchesi, it’s been open since 1824, but as of a couple years ago Prada owns it and you can definitely tell. The place and food is great and the decoration (the wallpaper!) is absolutely beautiful, and well, Prada. 

10.  Dinner at Ratanà

This place was great starting just with the setting!  It’s in a big old house with a pretty garden in the front and it’s in the middle of a ton of modern buildings.  Once again, I had pasta and this time I had a red ragu, but with fish! It was really interesting and yummy. The ambiance of this place was great and the menu traditional with a twist. 

     That’s all for Saturday! Last minute, we decided to go to Bellagio in Lake Como since it was so close so we went to bed after dinner. I was going to include everything about Como in the post but trust me, that was a whole other experience in its own! We might have missed our ferry and gotten stranded… I’ll be sure to post all about it before the week ends!