Saturday, 7 November 2015

Milan in squares

Back to early October when we escaped the kitchen renovation for a while and flew to the south. We have been holidaying in a dozen or so towns and cities in Italy during the past ten years but had never visited Milan before.




We stayed for three nights and did see and experience quite a lot, considering the weather was not that good all the time. 






We attended a matinee ballet at the Teatro alla Scala extempore on a rainy afternoon. We saw many of the most important sights, a few churches and a castle, and spent a lot of time on downtown streets and piazzas. 






You might have noticed I didn’t mention anything about the activity most commonly associated with travelling to Milan. I never was any shopaholic, unless perhaps in the case of great fabrics at greatly reduced prices or more recently something special but reclaimed for my home. These days practically the only shops we cannot help entering abroad – in addition to coffee shops of course – are bookstores. Those could never let you down.





Our accommodation, on the other hand, was a bit of a disappointment. The place was restored from a former convent where the bedding seemed to date back to those times, too: a mattress hard as stone and a simple blanket. However, the other two places I managed to find for the rest of our Italian stay were from another world completely. Just wait and see.






10 comments:

  1. Breathtaking captures of such an exquisite place. Such a shame about your accommodation but I am sure the visual feast to your eyes was worth it. xx

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    1. Exactly, I hardly remember how uncomfortable the nights were in Milan when I think about the whole 11 days we travelled in northern Italy.

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  2. Ihania kuvia Milanosta! Tekstiä en lue, kun on vähän vaivalloista tuon englannin kanssa.
    Mukavaa päivää sinulle!

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    1. Kiitos! Kuvat kertovat toivottavasti vähintään saman kuin sananikin.

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  3. Mielettömän ihania kuvia, olen muutenkin aivan matkakuumeen kourissa, jos vaan mitenkään olisi mahdollista suihkauttaisin menemään johonkin hiukan aurinkoisempaan maisemaan. Milano on vielä käymättä ja olisi ihana nähdä. Viime vuonna olimme Umbriassa, joka oli myös valloittava. Oikeaa maaseutua silmänkantamattomiin, eikä juurikaan turisteja, monella seudulla meitä oikein katseltiin päästä varpaisiin :) .Ja niin ystävällistä väkeä, joka paikassa palvelu pelaa ja ystävällisesti neuvotaan tietä ja ruokapaikkoja. Jos asuisin yksin, asuisin varmasti jossain etelämmässä. Ei sitä silti koskaan tiedä ;).

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    1. Mekin olemme viime vuosina kierrelleet vähän muutakin Italiaa kuin ne tavallisimmat, mutta Lombardia ja Piemonte olivat vielä kokonaan käymättä. Aivan upeita paikkoja on joka kolkka pullollaan ja italialainen elämänmeno on omaa luokkaansa. Sinne tekee aika mieli palata!

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  4. Sounds like a wonderful time!! Beautiful architecture indeed. xx

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    1. I must confess that travelwise Italy is my greatest love.

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  5. I love Milan too. We visited a long time ago...the traffic was awful but our friends told us to make sure we crossed near a group of nuns and we would be safe! Needless to say Milan was full of nuns being Italy. I loved walking at the top of Milan cathedral...fantastic views. Italy is definitely a favourite of mine . Barbara

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    1. The traffic is always a bit frightening in Italy, especially if you are hiring a car in a large city and trying to find your way away from there to your next destination as we generally do. Quite a nice tip about the nuns. We didn't see many though, at least compared to Rome where you will see lots of them any time of the year.

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