Just came back from a weekend in Italy - yes, that's right, officially adding 'weekend international traveller' to my CV.
I went with my multicultural group of friends from Málaga: one Brit (a fellow teacher like me), two people in finance (one Spanish and the other from Guinea), and two linguists (Spanish and Belgian). We spoke a mix of Spanish and English.
The main attraction of our trip was the Duomo di Milano ('Milan cathedral'). Book tickets via the website here: https://ticket.duomomilano.it/en/. Get the 15€ ones which include the climb to the top. There are a lot of stairs, but worth it being able to see the intricacies of the architecture. The line is also super long, so I'd recommend getting your authentic gelati while waiting.
Next on the list was the Castello Sforzesco which is the castle in Milan. Originally built as a stronghold from 1360-70, it was repurposed for Duke Sforza's residence in the 15th century. Since then, it has also been used as military barracks by the Spanish, Austrians, and French. Once Italy was unified at the end of the 19th century, the castle was transformed into a museum where there are exhibits on art, furniture, instruments, archaeology, and photography. Entrance costs 5€ (or 3€ as a student).
Behind the gardens is a beautiful, big park, Parco Sempione, where you can have a meal at a café, listen to live music, and see the turtles.
I certainly ate well this weekend with multiple pizzas as well as pasta made in front of me at Osteria Del Binari. I also drank obligatory my negroni and limoncello.
As I'm not the biggest coffee person, when I saw on the menu that orzo is a caffein-free coffee-substitute made from barley and enjoyed by kids, I thought I'd be in for a treat! Unfortunately, it tasted worse than an espresso, so I was very glad I ordered a piccolo (small).
Don't worry about supermarkets closing early, as you can buy alcohol from vending machines in Milan!
We went to Navigli district (between two canals) for a night-out. We started at Gesto Navigli, a steampunk-themed restaurant where we played cards and drank cocktails. Then we walked along the canals and found a pizza place. Finally, we found ourselves in a Latin club on the recommendation of a waiter. We had struggled finding a club, partly because they were expensive, but also beacuse many of them required reservations. The one we found had a 10€ entrance fee which included a free drink.
Getting back to the airbnb was a bit of a nightmare as the trains had stopped (they start back up again at 6am) and a taxi/rideshare was going to cost us over 90€! We walked part of the way, then split the fare home.
We were staying at an airbnb in Novante Milanese. It was actually very difficult to find an affordable aribnb in Milan. Although, we were on the S1 train line, it was just a little too far out of town, so I'd recommend finding something more central like a hostel.
The public transport system in Italy took a little getting used to; there are trains, metros (underground trains), busses, and trams. Google maps was pretty reliable for planning trips. To buy a train ticket, look for the Trenord machines - we only bought single tickets as our stay was only two days. Once you buy the ticket, look for the little green machines to validate your ticket - this is important as were ticket inspectors on most trains. For the metro, you can either buy a ticket from the machine, or you can simple tap your card at the turnstile (there are usually two special ones with a little grey square for cards).
We flew Jetstar for 30€ on the way there and Ryanair (not the smoothest flight in the world) for 40€ on the way back. It's crazy how cheap flying can be in Europe. Overall, I had expected Milan to be super expensive, but in reality, it felt only slightly more expensive than Madrid.
Notes:
- You must book far in advance to see da Vinci's 'The Last Supper'! Unfortunately, when we tried to book tickets (a week before), there were no spots left for another month!
- You must fill in the dPLF form when entering Italy: https://app.euplf.eu/#/form and have your EU Covid Green Pass.
- FFP2 masks are still required indoors and on public transport.
- There were lots of mini cars in Italy that had strange parking habits...
- I went to a great pizza place in the centre called Rom'antica Milano XXII Marzo where you could order many different types of pizzas and pay 1,60-2,20€ per 100 grams.
- The Italian Fontanella ('drinking fountains') run non-stop! Coming from a drought-ridden country, I was shocked to see fresh water wasted, but I've learnt that the constant flow is to prevent the build up of bacteria and that the same water is used in the surrounding farmlands. In Milan, they're called vedovelle which means 'young widows' as they never stop crying...
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