My initial arrival in Milan from JFK was stressful because the unreliable Malpensa Express had been cancelled and I couldn't find the bus stop at the poorly signed airport. It was already past 10:30 a.m. Would I make my 12:15 p.m. reservation to see da Vinci's "Last Supper" with the city an hour's ride away? Only if everything went right.
It did. I found the luggage locker I reserved near Milano Centrale and figured out the metro easily enough. Tapping is to public transport what ATMs are to banking. But seeing one of Christian art's masterpieces was anticlimactic, or maybe I was too exhausted to appreciate it. Travel is harder than it used to be.
Returning to the magnificent station to catch a 3:30 p.m. train to Trieste on foot in new shoes was a mistake, although I did get to see some sights, including the exterior of the Castello Sforzesco and "Needle, Thread & Knot" by Claes Oldenburg.
Ten days later I returned to Italy's most cosmopolitan city enormously relieved that my travels hadn't been affected by a train strike that seems to have been called to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
My room at the nearby Spice Hotel had a balcony, perfect for drying the clothes that had gotten soaked during an early morning downpour en route to the train station in Florence.
I watched a family across the street eat breakfast from my bed early one morning.
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| Museo Livico di Storia Naturale |
Even Italian street clutter is photogenic.
Fewer tourists and more bustle made Milan feel a little like New York. With each step, I became more enamored of the city, and worked up quite an appetite.
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| Chiesa San Pietro Celestino |
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| Palazzo del Senato |
It may be a Sicilian specialty, but hands down, this capanata at Antica Osteria Cavallini was the best appetizer I ordered in Italy.
I've always enjoyed being a lady who lunches at fine department stores, but few have a view like the one at La Rinascente where I had gone in search of Hom underwear for Thom the next afternoon.
Their chicken salad--served with the sun in my eyes--was absolutely fabulous, and my own last supper in Italy.
More Northern Italy
Florence
Bologna
Venice
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