Coffee and Gelati

At my language school at home I learnt that “espresso coffee” doesn’t exist in Italy. The word means “quick” and “made-to order”, so calling a coffee espresso seems a bit superfluous.

Bearing this in mind, I ordered my first coffee in Milan by simply asking for “un caffè”, and it came in the form of what is known outside of Italy as an espresso. As one cup was not enough to satisfy my appetite for this beverage in the morning, I would sometimes have two. Other times I would have caffè lungo, or cappuccino lungo.

Coffee is drunk here all times of day, and night. The cost of a cup ranges from 1 to 2 Euros at a bar. My breakfast of coffee and croissant (or one of a wide range of pastries available) cost 2.5 Euros. I would usually sit outside and watch the world go by while I had my breakfast. A few times after an exhausting walk I rested at a street-side café under a canopy. There was one near Lima metro station which even had a ceiling fan inside.

Gelato is something that everybody loves. My favourite is lemon and blueberry. All gelati shops offer you a vast choice of flavours. The small one, a piccolo, would cost 1.5 to 2 Euros. I would usually get a medium one costing  2.5 to 3 Euros for a cone with 2 scoops. Most of these shops sell home-made gelati, with signs declaring they are made of organic ingredients. There was one in Lenno on Lake Como which also sold ice lollies in a large variety of flavours.

Castello Sforzesco

If you’re in Milan for only a couple of days, I would highly recommend a visit to Castello Sforzesco.

The castle was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, the Duke of Milan, on the site of a fort from the century before. It is a popular tourist attraction. Inside the castle are also several museums, so one could easily spend the whole day here.

I went there on a Friday afternoon. It was a big place, but having read up about it beforehand, I was able to plan my visit a bit more efficiently.

I entered through one of the gates and found myself in a huge square, the Courtyards of Arms, which was paved by lawns parched by the scorching summer heat. At the ticket office I bought a ticket for 5 Euros which allowed me to visit all the museums in the castle. Right next to the ticketing counter was the entrance to Museo Pieta Rondanini, which houses Michelangelo’s masterpiece.

It was a plain and simple room. Apart from the fresco on its vaulted ceiling, it was devoid of any embellishments. The statue, raised on a marble pedestal, was placed in the centre of the room. Benches were put in front of the statue for visitors to sit and admire Michelangelo’s last masterpiece. At the end of the room was a bronze head of the master.

Another beautiful courtyard in the castle was the Ducal Courtyard, which was once the private residence of the Duke. The chambers are now the site of the castle’s museums. Unfortunately Sala delle Asse which normally shows Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings was closed for renovation.

I went up a winding staircase to the museum of musical instruments. There I found the most exquisite ancient instruments of all kinds from as early as the 16th century until modern times. There were lutes, guitars, violins, mandolins, organs, brass and keyboard instruments, all beautifully decorated and finished.

Although the grounds stayed open until late, the museums closed at 5.30pm. There was only time for one more, so I quickly made my way to the museum of antique furniture and wood sculptures. The exhibits ranged from 15th century religious carvings to chests and tables from the baroque and rococo periods, ending with post-modern designs. It was a bit of a rush and I was one of the last visitors to leave 2 minutes short of closing time.

Class Party

We had a little celebration on my last day at school. It was going to be a pot-luck party where we were to bring a dish representative of our own country. As my kitchen wasn’t very well-equipped I brought some profiteroles instead.

At our break at 11am the party started. We put out the food and it turned into a feast. Cristina made guacamole, Violet brought savory egg rolls, Catherine had made scones, Duda did cups of custard pudding, Simon bought some biscuits and Jordan made sticky rice cooked in coconut milk. We all dug in. Everything tasted so good. A few students from another class also came in to join the fun. We chatted and laughed, and everyone was very happy.

That day’s lesson was about Italian food, and it seemed appropriate that we ended it on this note.

When the class was over we said our goodbyes. It had been a fantastic two weeks, attending class, making new friends and learning this beautiful language. There was a measure of sadness on my part, and I wished them all much success and a happy life. Till we meet again…

Palazzo Reale

I’m a great fan of impressionism. Everywhere I go I would seek out exhibitions of impressionist works. So I was very excited to find out that there was an exhibition of Manet and his contemporaries at Palazzo Reale at Piazza del Duomo.

Palazzo Reale, the Royal Palace, has stood in its grounds in various forms for over 10 centuries. It was the palace of the House of Savoy, and Napoleon, when he was King of Italy.

Grazia and I went on a Tuesday afternoon. As it was mid-week there weren’t a lot of visitors and we got in easily.

The palace was already a museum in itself. We walked through halls with stuccoed vaulted ceilings and chandeliers, while at the same time admiring their Renaissance beauty. In one of them was a huge portrait of Napoleon.

Eventually we made our way to the rooms where the exhibition was held. The main works were those of Manet but there was a good collection from his contemporaries such as Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, Degas and Berthe Morisot. We picked up a headset with description of the works, but after the first couple of recordings we both decided to forget it and just let our imagination do its work.

A crowd gathered in front of the famous Le Fifre, the Fife Player, which is normally housed in Musée d’Orsay. I walked round to look at it from different angles. A guard came from behind barking at us not to take photographs. Luckily I had already sneaked in a snap well beforehand. A few visitors looked at him as if he was mad.

We entered another room with more magnificent paintings. One portrayed a high-society party, and another a waitress in a beer house, captured in immortality by her fleeting glance towards the artist.

In the same room was a memorable painting of Berthe Morisot, who was one of a handful of female artists at the time. It was also one of the few works of Morisot by Manet.

We left the exhibition through a bookshop. Downstairs in the courtyard chairs were laid out for an open-air cinema. In warm summer nights it is a perfect venue for such an event.

There was no better way to finish the afternoon than a coffee. So we left the Duomo area for San Babila, just a few minutes’ walk away. It was good to sit down for a bit.

As my “private tutor”, Grazia has been helping me with my Italian. So as we were walking along Corso Venezia we practised the tongue twister she devised for me the other day: Forse io domani andrò dal parrucchiere perché di sera andrò al ristorante con Grazia. Apparently, the key is to sing it out (oops, sorry for the pun 😊). Ok, let’s start again, forse io domani andrò……

Bergamo

One of my classmates, Violet, lives in Bergamo. She very kindly took me there for a visit one day after school.

We got there after about one hour by train from Stazione Centrale. It was a cold and rainy afternoon. The sky was dark and it was raining hard. We waited it out with a coffee at a bar at the station.

Violet said it would stop soon, and it did in no time. I guess we could always trust the locals.

We walked along the main avenue. We could both feel the chill as the temperature had dropped significantly since the morning.

Bergamo is one of the oldest cities in Italy. The site of its early settlement dated back to 49 BC, and it has always played an important part in Italian history. Thankfully the city was not damaged during WWII, and normally there will be throngs of tourists taking in the sights.

But not today. We braved the chill and walked towards the funicular which would take us up to Città Alta, the old part of the city. Bergamo is made up of two parts, Città Alta, the “upper city” and the old town, and Città Bassa, the “lower city”, a business and shopping centre.

We walked past a clock tower, some office premises and shops. I could see Città Alta looming on top of the hill, engulfed by black rain clouds. On our side of the road were some magnificent houses, a bit battered but still looking glorious as in their heydays.

The ride on the funicular reminds me of the Peak Tram in Hong Kong, except that here you don’t have to wait for hours to get on. We reached the top in a matter of minutes. There was a restaurant right next to the terminus which seemed a perfect place for a sit-down and admire the panorama.

Despite the rain and cold, Bergamo was still beautiful. We walked along narrow streets with lovely houses on both sides. The ground floors were occupied by shops, bars and restaurants.

Bergamo is famous for its polenta e osei dolce, a dome-shaped dessert made of polenta and egg. Beer brewed in-house is another speciality here, and there are a few local birreria (beer houses) just on the main street.

The shops here close from 2-4pm, and open again until late into the night. Apparently a lot of people come here from nearby cities like Milan for dinner.

In the middle of a square up an alley was an old washing shed, much like the one in Navigli in Milan, but bigger and longer.

A little further up the street on our left was Piazza Vecchia, a famous square featured in many tourist photos and postcards of Bergamo. In the middle of the square was a fountain. On one side is the premises of the Humanities Department of the University of Bergamo. The restaurants were opening up for the evening but there were only a few people in the square.

We walked through an archway and found ourselves in a square of three churches, The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo Cathedral and Cappella Colleoni. Inside Bergamo Cathedral we sat down to admire the statues and the paintings overhead. Huge tapestries adorned the walls. As we exited the Cathedral we noticed that a wall was undergoing restoration work, and its surface was protected by panels of perspex.

We continued up the main street and went into a shop selling truffle delicacies. The lady shop assistant was very patient and let me try many dips before I made up my mind and bought 3 jars, all for 17.50 Euros.

It had started to rain again and we picked up our pace, still feeling cold.

We went into a restaurant selling gelato and cakes. Violet bought me ice cream (thanks again, Violet!). We hopped onto the bus for the railway station and left Città Alta in the rain.

Food

I love pasta. There are so many types of pasta that it’s impossible to name them all. Each region in Italy has its own special pasta. You can go into any shop and easily find rows and rows of different types of the stable food.

One of the best meals I had was at a restaurant called Maio on the top floor of the department store, La Rinascente, which is opposite the Duomo. (I have mentioned it in one of my previous posts. But it was so good that it deserves a few lines here)

I had Risotto di Milano, one of the specialities of the house. It scored top marks in both the taste and the presentation. I asked for the risotto to be slightly cooked instead of al dente (It was the only time. I had all my pasta al dente since then). The risotto was cooked in a special broth, and it came with freshly cooked prawns with strips of saffron on the top. For a side dish I chose insalata mediterranea.

 

Another favorite dish of mine is Spaghetti alle Vongole. I went to a restaurant called Brasserie Mediterranea off Corso Buenos Aires. It sits in a quiet square just off the main road. The waiter was a nice polite man and he looked after me very well. He recognised me as I was there with Monika and Dalila, a teacher from the school just a few days before (Monika and I were taken to dinner by the school at the end of my first week – very kind of them and most appreciated).

The clams were fresh, big and juicy, and the spaghetti was cooked just right, al dente of course. It was simply delicious.😋

I was debating with myself whether I should have a dessert. Well, why not? It’s not everyday that I eat in Milan. So I asked for a tiramisu, and I was happy that I did.

 

Does anyone like Steak Tartar? I do. I learnt to appreciate the dish when I was living in Germany many moons ago.

It’s not something you would eat in any restaurant. It has to be prepared so carefully and with the highest quality of beef fillet.

I went to this local osteria just five minutes from the flat. I ordered steak tartar. It had capers with a raw egg mixed in – exactly the way I like it. It was very fresh and tasty. It’s not a dish for the squeamish but if you’re ok with sashimi you should be ok with that.

 

For lobster fans you must try linguine all’astice at Lacerba at Via Orti 4. This restaurant was recommended by a friend who has lived in Milan, and it did not disappoint. There were enough lobster pieces (and some roe) in the linguine, which was served in a pomodoro base. The linguine was cooked just right – al dente. Yummy!

The walls in the restaurant were decorated with prints of the literary movement, “letteratura futurista italiana”, from the early 20th century, and photographs of its advocates. Adjacent to the restaurant was a bar with comfy leather sofas and cosy decor.

 

No visitor ever leaves Milan without having eaten Osso Buco. One of my teachers suggested Al Materel in Brera, on Via Laura Solera Mantegazza, a few minutes’ walk from Moscova metro station. It was a beautifully decorated restaurant with paintings and prints on the walls. I had ossobuco in gremolada con risotto. It was more than I could eat but absolutely delicious. They even provided you with a little spoon for scooping out the marrow!

 

Another pasta dish I must mention is parsley pasta cooked in a cherry tomato base and locally dried fish, at a sea-front restaurant called Vecchia Varenna on Lake Como. On top of that, it was a beautiful sunny day. The setting added to the taste and it was just perfect.😘

Teatro alla Scala

Top on the list of my must-do’s is a concert at the La Scala. Tickets are usually sold out well in advance. However, one can try their luck on the day, and I was lucky enough to turn up 10 minutes before the ticket office closed and bought a ticket for a concert by Bernard Haitink.

When I went into the foyer I was bursting with excitement. There were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and glass mirrors on the far wall. I took a few snap shots and went up to the first floor. I showed the lady usher my ticket. She unlocked a door and I found myself inside one of those theatre boxes facing the stage. I thought to myself, this is where world-renowned musicians have performed for over 200 years. Truly awe-inspiring.

It was still early and the theatre was still quite empty. I looked around and was fascinated by what I saw. The colours of the interior were mainly red and gold. The inside of my box was upholstered in plush velvet, so were the chairs and the stools.

I bought a programme for 5 Euros. The lady usher told me rather bluntly that it was only in Italian. I said it didn’t matter as I could read it anyway.

Gradually the audience arrived and by eight o’clock the theatre was full. The concert piece was Missa solemnis in re magi. op.123 by Beethoven. There were four singers, a soprano, a mezzo-soprano, a tenor and a bass. I didn’t know this piece of music. Normally I’m not a great fan of mass music, but it was so beautifully played and sung that I was simply captivated by it.

It was about 9.30 when I came out of the theatre. The sky was a hue of navy blue. The street lights were on and the buildings were lit up. The old yellow street car came clanking past. The atmosphere was simply magical. It was raining earlier on. Now the rain had stopped and the air smelled sweet and fresh.

I walked through Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a magnificent edifice from the 19th century and a famous shopping arcade, and came out at the piazza of the Duomo. The cathedral was lit up, and people in the square were taking selfies and photographs of the place. There was an overall feeling of freedom and jollity. This is summer in Europe.

 

Navigli

There was a heat wave in Milan. Temperatures reached the early 30’s during the day, and fortunately the nights were cool enough. There was no air-con or

fan in my room, but it was just about cool enough that I could sleep without much discomfort. What with 4 hours of Italian lesson in the morning and exploring the city during the day, I was usually so exhausted in the evening that I would have been able to sleep regardless anyway.

I went to Navigli, in an area near Porta Genoa. It used to be a system of interconnected canals. There were previously 5 canals, but now only 2 are left, Naviglio Grande (the Grand Canal), and Naviglio Pavese. In the old days they were important waterways leading intro central Milan. Barges were pulled by buffalos along the bank and even now one can see rope marks on the stone embankment. Washerwomen used to do their washing here. They are immortalized by the name Vicolo dei Lavandai, the name of an alley where one can still see the wash house where they did their laundry.

It is a very popular area with both tourists and locals. Little shops, bars and restaurants line both sides of the Grand Canale. Tour boats ply the route day and night. One Friday evening Grazia and I had a drink at a restaurant called El Brellin. It is located in an old house which used to be a shop selling soap, and is featured in an old photograph of Milan. Apparently having an aperitivo in Navigli is a must-do in this city. During happy hours El Brellin served one drink plus unlimited food at the salad bar for 8 Euros per head, which I thought was a pretty good deal.

It was a lovely summer evening. It had gotten cool and we sat at a table on the bank of the canal. Streams of people were walking past. An old man dragging a hurdy gurdy approached us, soliciting money. Another man came and was aggressively trying to get us to give him money.

I was really quite surprised to find that there are so many beggars in Milan. They can be found on the metro, pleading with the passengers. Once when I was on an inter-city train, a beggar was distributing printed notes.

There is a flea market here every last Sunday of the month. Old furniture, antique jewellery, posters, picture postcards, porcelain, and bric-a-brac of all sorts were sold here. Monika and I came here to take a look. Most of the things were quite interesting. Monika bought an old photograph of the Duomo. I didn’t buy anything, and it was so hot that we had to seek refuge in a bar drinking water and coffee.

Portofino

 

To me, Portofino has always seemed so idyllic and romantic. It has been the backdrop of so many films that I have in my mind a certain picture of the place.

There is no direct transport from Milan. I got a lift with an Italian lady called Alexandra who was driving down to Sestri Levante, a town about 40 kilometres away from Portofino. Grazia found for me this website called “blablacar”, on which people offer lifts for a fee, which is usually less than the cost of public transport. The idea is to share the costs and have the chance to chat during a long journey. Reviews are posted by the passengers but for female travellers it would usually be better to go with a lady driver.

There were 3 passengers. It was a good chance for me to practise my Italian.

When one of them got off at Rapallo, I decided to get off too and make my way to Portofino from there. A taxi for 40 Euros (normally 20) took me to Portofino in about 30 minutes.

It was a beautiful sunny day and the temperatures were in the 30’s. We drove along the Italian Riviera, past Santa Margherita Ligure, a pretty seaside town bursting with tourists, and Parigi 🏊‍♀️🤽‍♀️🚴‍♀️🕶.

On a long twisty bend the taxi had to stop for almost 10 minutes. Apparently we had to wait until the parked cars on our side of the road had left before we could drive on. Incredible! 🙄

I arrived in Portofino at about 12:30. Being Saturday there were a lot of people. I walked down a narrow road with shops and bars on either side and found myself on the shore. It was surrounded by restaurants. Time for lunch 🍽.

I went into a restaurant called Ristorante Stelle. I was ushered in and taken to a table outside. The waitress was a young blonde lady. I asked for the washroom. She gestured with a tick of the head that it was inside. I didn’t think much of it at the time but as I was making my way to the little girls’ room I thought her attitude was a little bit unbecoming. I wiped that off my mind as I didn’t think it was worth my while having my holiday spoiled by people like that.

I gave my order in Italian and somehow the service became more friendly. I had linguine allo scoglio 🍝(linguine with seafood) and a mixed salad. The linguine had a pesto base and it was very good.

From their conversations I realised that the people at the next table were from the movie industry 🎬. It was not surprising as Portofino is frequented by celebrities.

I walked along the shore. A couple of luxury yachts 🛥were moored there. I ascended some very steep stone steps. At the top a path led off to the promontory. It went past lovely old houses with well-tended gardens of colourful flowers, cypresses and olive groves. Parts of the path were shaded so it was a very pleasant walk.

At the end of the promontory was the lighthouse, faro di Portofino. Down below waves were splashing against the cliffs. To the left there was a magnificent view of the coast, stretching all the way down to the south. I could feel the sun and the wind on my face, and it felt very comforting😑.

I retrieved my steps and walked up a ramp to Chiesa San Giorgio. Portofino was just down below. I walked down a path to the shore and on the way bought my obligatory lemon and blueberry gelato 🍦.I finished it on a bench by the shore. It was very hot, and like before, I couldn’t eat it fast enough before it started to melt in my hand.

I took a stroll along the shore fronted by the colourful houses and sat down for a cappuccino. It was a busy day and streams of tourists were shuttling in front, some of them licking their gelato. The bar was called Jolly Bar and in it was a photograph of George Clooney and the owner. 😊

Some musicians were setting up the stage right by the edge of the water. I guess there was going to be a pop concert in the evening 🎤🎼

It was time to head back. I took a last look around and walked up to the piazza. My train back from Rapallo was 17:43. The taxi driver demanded 50 Euros. Forget it! I bought a bus ticket to Rapallo for 3 Euros. The bus came shortly and I was lucky enough to get a seat.

We snaked along the coast. I became more and more worried that I would miss the train. I got off at Santa Marguerita Ligure, at quarter past 5🤕, to change to another bus.

Forget the bus! I jumped into a taxi driven by a sweet old man who assured me that we would be in Rapallo in 10 minutes. He told me that he had never seen so many tourists before. He got me to the station at 5.25. .Phew!😅 I paid him 30 Euros and he was very happy 😄

The train came on time. I was able to wind down and relax.

Slowly the train left the station and arrived at the next stop, SANTA MARGUERITA LIGURE! I could only laugh to myself!😂 It was like a comedy! I thought, ” Well, the 30 Euros would probably serve the old man better than me, and I was actually quite happy with that 😊.

My Day

 

The mornings are spent in the school, 9-1, with a short break around 11. We learn grammar and were asked questions individually by the teacher for oral practice. Sometimes we play games, and do written exercises.

We have 2 teachers, Ilaria and Anna. They are both great. Our lessons are full of fun. Ilaria is very straight forward and Anna is vivacious and demonstrative. She always makes us laugh 😂 There are 6 of us – Duda from Brazil 🇧🇷, Nuri from Germany 🇩🇪, Simon from Kuwait 🇰🇼, Jordan from Jamaica 🇯🇲, Violet from Taiwan 🇹🇼, Cristina from Mexico 🇲🇽, Catherine from England 🇬🇧and me (from Hong Kong 🇭🇰).

They are all students except Catherine, Violet and me. Very often we are given homework 📚. It really feels like going back to school again🤓.

Last Tuesday, Maria, a teacher from the school, took me and some other students for a day trip to Lecco.

Lecco is a small town on Lake Como, which is about 40 minutes by express train from Milan. We got there in the middle of the afternoon. Lecco was an important stronghold of the resistance during World War 2, and if I understood the teacher correctly, there were tunnels that the resistance used for getting around in secret.

We walked through the snaky cobbled streets and arrived at Lake Como. I have heard so much about Lake Como and now there it was! Lecco is on the south-eastern tip of the lake. From the praya one could see rows and rows of palazzi on the bank opposite.

We stopped at an ice-cream shop. It was a most welcoming sight as we were all sweating like crazy 😜. We bought some and sat down for a little rest by the lake.

It was very tranquil but for the occasional bang of a moped 🏍.

We returned to Milan early evening. I met up with Grazia for dinner and we went to a restaurant called Giovy’s in the neighborhood. The restaurant was decorated with much care and taste. All the crockery including the furnishings were for sale. We each had a glass of red wine from Trentino with our dinner. I had linguine with grilled sea bass and it was delicious 😋. I tried to speak in Italian and had to resort to English when my brain stopped working 🙃…