We haven’t eaten at the same place twice in six nights but we’ve gone to bar Gerico for pre diner drinks four nights. They are friendly, have great drinks, and the place has tons of character. It’s very small and seems more of a neighborhood hangout. It’s in Piazza della Vetra. If you are in Milan make it a stop for a pre dinner drink.
So yesterday was fine. Part of it was great (see below). But I steered us to what I’d heard was a quaint little neighborhood north of old town in Milan. I either completely missed it or it wasn’t what it was cracked up to be. We ended up at a giant shopping mall. Sometimes you lose.
But sometimes you win! Kind of randomly picked a restaurant (https://www.valentinolegend.it/) last night. A bit scared cause it was shiny and trendy inside…but the food was fantastic. The best (so far) of the trip. Milan is know for risotto with saffron and a breaded veal cutlet - neither of which we got here. The most surprising part was the tongue with pesto appetizer- it was tender and amazing - order it if you go. Fran had a risotto with artichoke and I had a steak. Dessert was a lemon tart. I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking:
Visited Milano’s Navigli district. Too tired to write - it’s early Saturday but here’s what happened on Friday in picture form:
When we first started traveling to Europe they didn’t have cell phones. You trudged through pay phones, train stations, and ticket booths. The weather was a guess as were restaurant hours. This leads to a new travel rule:
The phone is a travel essential. You use it for:
- Tickets/Passes - buying, storage and display
- Paying for stuff
- Weather
- Time tables for attractions
- Making reservations
- Translation when my poor foreign language skills fail me
- Maps and navigation- walking and driving
- And blogging of course
We paid an arm and a leg to keep our exiting phone numbers here. A SIM card (in Italy use TIM) works just as well and is cheaper by a lot.
We visited the Milan Duomo (Cathedral) today. Look up the history if you’re interested - I won’t bore you with it. Bottom line all these cathedrals are impressive feats. Made even more impressive by the fact the marble is quarried a long way away.
By the time we got down (which included a steep descent on an open marble stair) Fran said her knees were a bit shakey. I even winced a time or two on the descent. We made it but immediately went off to find a cafe coretto (corrected coffee - coffee with booze) to calm down. Good adventure.
That’s not dinner. When you order a drink (wine, beer, etc - in this case a Negroni and the house special) they give you something to eat with it. This is what we got last night while waiting until the restaurants opened.
We got through passport control quickly and our luggage wasn’t far behind. Our driver met us in the terminal and we were off to Hotel Spadari.
A quick thought. The limo from Malpensa airport to the hotel was expensive . But, worth every penny. Tired, late, and a bit jet lagged I’m sure I’d of made it in via bus or metro but it would have been stressful. Something’s are worth paying for.
We arrived at Heathrow too late for our original flight to Milan. We ended up on an 8:40 flight getting in at 23:40 Milan time. Sometimes that’s travel. Hanging in the BA lounge waiting for our flight.
It’s always fun to look at all the possibilities from Heathrow but I wish there were fewer businessmen on phones here.
Our flight is delayed. We’re in the NA lounge and having dinner. Biggest concern is we’ll only have a minimal amount of time to make our flight to Milan. Fingers crossed
Dinner
