Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Day 1 and 2--Milan, Italy

After a very long flight through JFK we finally arrived in Milan. Thankfully, the flights were uneventful, but we were all suffering through serious jet lag the first day. I hired a car service, Milano by Car, to meet us at the airport for transport to the hotel. We got a large 7 person van and had it filled to the top! The driver got us into Milano in a little over an hour which was good since it was rush hour when we arrived. Our hotel in Milan, Hotel Berna, was highly recommended on TripAdvisor so I decided to give it a shot. The staff are wonderful and very helpful and friendly. They arranged for our taxis and gave us dinner recommendations that were very good. The rooms are basic, but big by Italy's standards and very clean. Free Wi-fi too! The best part has been the elaborate breakfast buffet. OMG! It has everything you can possibly imagine plus made-to-order coffees. http://www.hotelberna.com/ The first day we just walked around and explored the city center around the Duomo. We went out in search of shopping which was not quite what we expected. I expected more boutique shopping with interesting fashions, but it almost all large stores like D&G, H&M, Louie Vutton, etc. I haven't even bought a pair of shoes yet! Guess I need to remedy that situation in Como. In the evening we walked near the hotel and asked several local shopkeepers and a lady walking her dog where we should go for good local food. We found a little pizzeria with a lovely antipasti buffet and cheap wine. It was very good! The second day we had to leave the hotel early as we had reservations to take the Autostradale city tour. We took a very short tour of the Duomo, Vittorio Emmanule shopping area, La Scala (where they were rehearsing a new ballet--gorgeous!), Sforza Castle, and of course The Last Supper. The Last Supper was truly amazing. It looks just as beautiful in person as in pictures. They only let 25 people in at a time and only for 15 minutes. No pictures :( That was the highlight of Milan in my opinion. Milan is a big city and very dirty. I just started to see the charm of the city last night while wandering around in the Brerea Arts District. It is a cool and distinct part of town with lots of art galleries, cafes, and boutiques. I hope to have more time to wander around there and go back to the specialty food market at the end of the trip. Today--Lake Como!!