Milan, You Were Really Something

 

It's now day two back at home since our trip, yet my head in still in Milan. I'm not quite back to reality just yet. It was a wonderful city; one that we only had a quick taste of, but wow it certainly delivered all the expectations we went out there with. It was charming, elegant, stylish and full of history. Those shutters and ornate balconies gave even the most unremarkable streets character and history. 

As I mentioned in my previous post, we were staying at an apartment that belongs to friends who were out of the country. The apartment was stunning: it wouldn't have looked out of place in Elle Decor Italia magazine. It was vast and included, much to Lily and Arthur's delight, a playroom complete with an extensive children's DVD library. The living room had three floor-to-ceiling windows that opened out onto balconies from which we could people watch down on the street below (we were on the 3rd floor). We were well and truly in the thick of the city: the best place to be.

For the first few days, David was working during the day and evening time at the various design events dotted around the city. All was productive and enjoyable. So during those days the kids and I stayed local, finding our feet (and the local bakers and ice cream parlour). The food was a highlight for me. The breads were amazing: perfect ciabatta, wonderful cheese stuffed focaccia and the best pizza. The local supermarket was really something too - I've never seen such an array of fresh vegetables and there were two aisles dedicated to cheese alone. It wasn't a specialist or expensive shop, just the local supermarket. I just wanted to stay longer so I could continue to shop and cook.

The only tainted part of our trip was when Arthur came down with a sudden sickness bug (we were in the Science Museum at the time!). He was quite poorly for a couple of days so we were apartment bound. It was little frustrating as it meant we couldn't see all we had planned to, but he shook it off quickly and was back in the ice cream parlour before our trip was out. Below are a few snaps of our trip. They're pretty random, due to the fact that I forgot to take my camera battery charger (or spare battery) and it ran out of juice on day two. So the phone camera had to step in and do its best. If you ever get the chance to visit this beautiful city, grab it with both hands.