Milan, welcomed us with magical weather. Sun and 20 degrees, it felt like summer even though we were at the turn of October/November.
Milan has 3 different airports, we landed at the northernmost of the three, Bergamo, BGY. A smaller airport but with all the essentials a traveler needs. There we hopped on one of the many buses that take you directly to the center of Milan, to Stazione Centrale. Hungry from the trip, we sat down at Shambó and ordered our first Italian pizza in Italy. And no, we were not disappointed when we tasted the first bite. A cold beer, an Italian pizza in the sun in this Mediterranean country, could it get any better?
After lunch we checked into Limehome, an apartment hotel, 10 minutes walk from the train station. Newly built hotel complex, an apartment with a bedroom, living room, fully equipped kitchen, balcony and with a luxurious feel. Really a hotel to recommend!
After we landed in the apartment, we went outside to enjoy the nice weather for a while in the courtyard, where there was a green area and playground. There we sat for a little while, until a pasta flew by…. Yes, you read that right, when we were sitting on the bench, this first moment in Italy, the pasta started raining down from the sky… Okay, it was a pasta , a tortiglioni that a boy threw from the 15th floor balcony but landed right in front of us. We were pissed off, but also okay, now we know we were in Italy, it wouldn’t happen anywhere else in the world. 😊
Laughing all the way out of the hotel, we then made our way into town, on foot we began to descend to Il Duomo, which was the destination for the afternoon. On our way there, we walked along many streets, we saw many impressive buildings and skyscrapers rising to the sky. We were impressed by the real metropolitan pulse.
We arrived at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a magnificent mall with all the exclusive brands in the capital of fashion. Outside the southern entrance appeared Il Duomo, this beautiful cathedral stood there in its full glory. We each bought a cup of coffee and took a well-deserved break on the steps of a fountain overlooking the Doum.
As the day turned into evening, tired from the journey we decided to go back to the hotel.
The next day when we opened the apartment door, there was a market on our street, beautiful fruits and vegetables in all its colors, we got to experience the vibrant Italian everyday life up close. It was just a quick visit here, then we headed for the CityLife area for some shopping. On the way there we passed a beautiful park, with one impressive skyscraper after another. It almost felt like our first time walking the streets of New York.
In the middle of the park, between the large buildings was a square, Piazza Gae Aulenti with lots of different shops and a stop in the shops was a must. Uniqlo, Sephora, Nike are some of the stores that line up here.
We sat down in a nice cafe, squeezed in a meeting with Sweden and Kuwait. We ordered espresso, cappuccino, gelato and shared an Aperol Spritz.
Later we walked further in the city, stopped at Parco Sempione, Arco della Pace, Castello Sforzesco and then reached the CityLife Shopping District, for some shopping.
Back to the center we jumped on a tram and bought a pizza back to the apartment where we landed on the couch.
On Saturday we took the metro to the San Siro Stadium for a Stadium Tour, where we got to sit inside the AC Milan and Inter dressing rooms. We then got to feel the real feeling of being a high performance footballer, as we walked down the players’ tunnel, smelled freshly cut grass and then arrived at this massive football pitch.
All the world’s best players have gone the same way we went there, magically.
76,000 people can be in this stadium at the same time and it is likely to be a memorable moment if you are lucky enough to see your favorite team play in this arena.
We had dinner on the last evening at Rossini, where we were offered Pasta Carbonara and a musty red wine. A restaurant with a genuine and cozy atmosphere.
Milan had many things to experience and we loved every moment of our time in this Italian city.
When we traveled home, it wasn’t goodbye, it was more the feeling, until next time…
Best regards,
The CompanyCations Team