We hadn't heard much about Milan other than that there wasn't much to be heard about Milan. The Duomo, the Last Supper, and fashion. Well the Last Supper was all booked and I only have interest in fashion if it involves khaki and shirts that are various shades of blue. August is an even worse time to go because the 90+ degree heat leads most of the actual residents to leave the city for their vacation home leaving the city a hot mess of closed shops and restaurants. Nevertheless, because of how things stacked up we ended up spending three nights in Milan.
One of our guidebooks mentioned that the Navigli District was the only place that was still bouncing in August. It's a small area south of the city center that still has two canals running through it - the last remnants of the extensive canal system designed in part by Leonardo DaVinci to bring trade goods in and out of Milan. The area used to be industrial with lot of factories and warehouses on top of the filled in canals. Now the warehouses are used as huge late night clubs (that we were too lame to ever see even open because we are early to bed. The few remaining canals give it a little bit of a Venice vibe and gives almost every one of the probably 20 - 30 little bars and restaurants water front dining. On weekends, there is also a huge antiques market (picture below).
The big thing in Milan and especially Navigli was the "Aperitivo" or "Happy Hour" as it was called at most places. This involved paying 8 euro for a cocktail and an all you can eat appetizer buffet, some of which were quite extensive and more of a meal than an appetizer (pizza, pasta, bruschetta, meats). So when you get a 7 euro Negroni, you're essentially just buying a 1 euro buffet. Some of these were obviously better than others, but overall it was a good way to get a light meal. A few places were a relaxed, some were a bit more "Ultra" but they were all slammed with young people feeding their faces and drinking cocktails by the water by about 8pm. We were a little timid at first, afraid to be the "Pigging out Americans" until we saw the Italian kids next to us come back from the buffet with 2 plates each and go back for more shortly after.
Another reason we decided on staying so long in Milan was that we really needed to do laundry and figured we could spend a day taking care of it. Unfortunately, the gentleman at the front desk didn't know of any laundromats nearby so he sent us on a wild goose chase on the other side of town. After an hour of wandering we passed one just as we were about to give up and head back. Thanks reception guy. We later saw a laundromat about a block away, but we never saw if it was open. This is probably for the better because reception guy would have been seriously on our bad sides if it was actually still open.
The one tourist thing we had to do was go to the Duomo. It is officially the 4th largest Cathedral in the world now that Cote d'Ivoire is building the 1st or 2nd largest cathedral depending on who you ask. However, it is most famous due to its astounding bugle and sugar cube recreation by a 4th grade Allison Hanson.
The Duomo is quite impressive as you climb out of the metro station, although it wasn't as big inside as I expected.
One of the plusses of the Duomo is that you can climb to the roof for a small fee (slightly higher fee to lazily take the elevator to the roof). We hoofed it up for some pictures.
Where's Kevin?It's also a good place to lie down and find some shade and a breeze to get away from the somewhat oppressive heat.
All in all, Milan wasn't great given the circumstances, but I can't really judge it without seeing it when things are open and when I actually care to see tourist attractions. We did have two delicious meals including our first splurge of the trip at a very nice restaurant where we got a dish of Osso Bucco and Risotto Milanse, the two Milanese specialties. The second was an awesome lunch of pasta to start and a super yummy seafood soup jam packed with mussels, clams, fish, and the most delicious broth ever. So, all in all, because of where it is - apparently you can fly pretty much anywhere through the airport there - I'm sure we'll be back in Milan at some point, but probably not for more than a night or two. Also next time, we will probably have some idea of when we will be here, and try to see the Last Supper.
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