Ryan and I scored amazingly cheap flights to Italy using DealRay– $425 flying from Charleston to Milan, and then Rome to Charleston on the return. We decided to start in Milan, drive to Lake Como for the weekend, and then down the coast to Rome, stopping in Cinque Terre along the way. We bought the tickets nearly a year in advance, giving me ample time to plan…. which of course was nearly ruined by Hurricane Irma! As our flight was taking off for 8 hours over the Atlantic, the latest predictions were a direct hit to Charleston. Who would board up our house? Who would evacuate our cats? Would our cars be flooded in the drive way? I drowned my worries in dramamine and complimentary airplane wine.
When we landed 8 hours later, the hurricane looked to be downgrading to a category 1 or 2 by the time it got to Charleston. I relaxed marginally but still wasn’t able to quite put down my phone and enjoy my surroundings the way I’d hoped.
That is until our first lunch at Trattoria Aurora. Fantastico! After a train ride into the city, followed by espresso and a stale croissant at a lackluster bakery, fending off some aggressive panhandling, dropping our bags at the AirBNB up 5 flights of stairs, I was sweaty, tired and hungry. And anxious about a hurricane washing away my house (cats). Trattoria Aurora was the Italian oasis I’d be looking for. The adorable vine-covered courtyard was filled with a dull roar of chatter entirely in Italian (we were the only tourists). We ordered risotto alla Milanese, which came out vivid yellow with fragrant saffron, alongside a pile of prosciutto (Ryan’s favorite) and a 2 balls of gooey burrata. I could hide out from Hurricane Irma forever!
Next we wandered the city and made our way to 10 Corso Como, a place our local friend Christina had recommended, which turned out to be a luscious green garden tucked away off a busy avenue with a cocktail list full of riffs on spritzers and the most beautiful green polished floors. It was still early so we had the place to ourselves for afternoon Aperol Spritzes – our first (of many) of the trip.
The next two days were sensory overload of sightseeing, eating, and general touring. Christina’s brother Andreas lived just outside the city and came in for the day to be the most amazing tour guide. He described people in northern Italy (specifically Milan) as more refined and posh, but also more stuck up, than the south of Italy. We said it’s the same way back home – southerners are just friendlier! Everyone we met was lovely though. We walked over 10 miles taking it all in.
Things we don’t see at home – charming water fountains and hunky police officers on horseback (“polizia robusto”- Andreas)
Galleria Vittorio
Incredible architecture…
and colors…
and culinary delights!
We also saw some of the underbelly – from the aggressive panhandler right off the train, to a man urinating into a water bottle not 10 feet away from us on a crowded street in broad daylight. Andreas warned us to be wary of the “pirates of the streets.” Plus there is graffiti all.over.everything. I can appreciate graffiti as an art form but Milan has shitty tags covering an unfortunate amount of the city. Andreas said it is a problem that has spun out of control. After a few days we were ready to be out of a big city and heading to the lake….
Until next time, bueno notte Milan!
Links to two of my favorites:
Peck – incredible lunch and even more incredible market (like the “real” Eataly… although they have one of those too)
Ristorante Giacomo Milano – THIS DINNER WAS TO DIE FOR. The king crab spaghetti was my favorite dish of the entire trip. Buttery and silky and tomatoey and sherry-y. We were full after the second course and still got a whole baked fish, which we took mostly to go and ate on our first rainy afternoon in Como.
YOU'RE A DAISY IF YOU DO 