Next time, I'm bringing a Hover-Round!

We've had a wonderful weekend in Milano, covering much of the city and about half of nearby Lake Como. On Friday night we went to Le Brelin for one of the most wonderful meals I've ever had. I'm not sure what all of it was but I think we tasted over half of the menu. We had osobucco, rissoto, prawns, steak, cannelloni, and proseco (Spumanti sparking wine) - all amazingly delicious. Apparently it's traditional Milanese which is very different than what you expect from Italian food. As we were getting ready to leave the sky opened and the rains came. We had hoped to explore the Navigli area but instead had to waste some time in the bar until it was down to a rough drizzle. We ran for the Metro and finally arrived at the hotel fairly soaked. Walking in the rain in Milan . . . pretty darn cool.

Saturday we walked a zillion miles - literally. We started out at the Duomo, the largest cathedral in Milan. We walked the inside and then took the lift to the roof where we could walk around and see the amazing details.

From the Duomo we walked the area, including an amazing department store that ended with lunch on the roof overlooking the top of the Duomo. From there we walked through the Galleria of shops (the most BEAUTIFUL indoor shopping mall) and ventured through the small streets of Milan.

We ended up at the one castle in Milan, now a museum. Not sure what we were looking at as there were no English descriptions, but I have a feeling we saw a lot of really important old stuff. There was a huge fountain in front and both on the way in and out we sat and soaked our soar feet, considering the heat and the layers of sweat covering us, it was rather refreshing. The youthful tourists were jumping in and getting soaked - I try to avoid wet t-shirt contests with clients in tow, so I stuck with getting my feet wet.

From the castle we again walked to St. Ambrogio - one of the oldest churches in Milan. Founded in 380 by St. Ambrogio, who is laid out in a glass casket - skeleton dressed and on display for all to see. After the church we took the Metro to Via Papi-somethin or other. On Saturdays it's a huge street market, about 5 blocks long. Full of clothes and shoes and produce and people. You can barely walk through. We browsed but didn't buy.

From the market we headed to Curso Buenos Aries, where the locals shop. It's a street lined with 350 shops that are supposedly "affordable" - HA! But I had a list of 3 "plus size" stores so I set out to try and find myself something fabulous. The shops are different than at home. There are fewer choices both in style and size. T-shirts are even pricey at over $40. And apparently even here it's hard to find something in my size, so I ended up reverting to my favorite shopping target - JT. There was a Chicco store so I bought him a cute jacket.

After "shopping" we headed back to the Duomo area hoping to find a nice restaurant. Apparently they don't exist in the area so we ended up eating food at a cafe that was not worth the price. Feet screaming and smelling like Europeans we headed back to the hotel to call it a night.