I’m back in Boston! I had a wonderful vacation in Italy with my parents. It was everything I thought it would be, and more. The sights were amazing and of course the food was great. I loved spending time with my mom and dad, and I’m looking forward to future family vacations – with my two sisters next time!
Our first stop in Italy was Milan. When we arrived, there was a Wednesday-only mercato (market):
local market in front of the Milano Centrale
I immediately made a bee-line for the pastries
and the candy stall (what? I just came from a 10 hour plane ride, I needed sugar)
Then we checked in our hotel and set out to explore the rest of the city. I had big expectations for Milan:
1. I know that it is the fashion capital of the world, so I was expecting everyone to be very well dressed and for the whole city to be chic.
2. I was also expecting to do a lot of shopping.
3. I was very excited to see the Last Supper painting by Michelangelo.
Well, Milan was… sort of a surprise:
1. It wasn’t chic, at least not all of it. Milan is actually an industrial city, so some parts were a little gritty. And instead of the runway fashion on the street, everyone was dressed kinda normally. Not badly, don’t get me wrong, but not… exquisite. But the men – oh, the men – that’s another story. They all wore fitted Italian suits (well, since they are Italian maybe I should just say “fitted suits”) and rode motorcycles all over the city. Well tailored Italian suits + motorcycles = hubba hubba.
2. I did some shopping, but it was very expensive. In fact, everything was expensive – not just the bags, shoes, and clothes, but the food and drinks too! I actually bought very few pieces (investment pieces, as I’d like to call them) and my mom bought more (hehe) but overall it wasn’t the shopping mecca I thought it would be.
3. The Last Supper was AMAZING. And it was actually not a framed portrait but painted on the wall of one church! I had no idea. It was breath-taking and definitely worth the one-month-in-advance tickets that my dad thoughtfully got.
More pictures:
this is me in front of the Duomo (cathedral) – they actually made me cover up (put on a jacket in 80 degree weather) before I can enter the church
Torino’s Bull. Notice its balls are missing. They say if you put your right heel in the hole and turn 3 times, it will bring you good luck! So of course we did.
these are my parents chilling in front of our hotel. Just kidding – this is in front of the Castello Sforzeco
Courtyard – and other tourists (there were a ton of tourists!)
We watched the ballet at the world-famous Teatro Alla Scala (not allowed to take pics inside so we posed outside with the guards hehe)
Ways to get around Milan: by foot, train, cars, motorcycles (sportbikes, not Harleys) or cute bicycles
And, let’s not forget – The Food. It was delicious, of course.
During our entire stay in Italy, I ate gelatto every day (sometimes twice a day)! My favorite flavor was nocciola (hazelnut). Soooo good.
Plate of happiness: prosciutto, salami, parma ham
Pork Milanese and roasted veggies. Whoever said food portions in Italy were small was lying.
The pasta dishes were really, really good. This was prepared with a simple tomato sauce. It was just the primi (first course) portion.
I couldn’t eat in Italy without ordering carbonara!
Baked salmon with roasted eggplant and tomatoes. This was the secondi (second course) and contorni (side dish).
and Sicilian-style swordfish
No carb left behind. Pizza and all kinds of bread were everywhere.
I’ll post Parts 2 and 3 soon!
Welcome, I’m Bianca Garcia. I love food, yoga, running, sangria, and my job. I'm an advertising professional, social media enthusiast, blogger, freelance writer, and obsessive list-maker. I think about dessert constantly. 
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I had the same expectations and thoughts after visiting. We made the best of it by going to Lake Como and eating good food. The pasta! So simple yet so delicious. My husband jokingly referred to it as Mila-no as in don’t go there…lol! We still had a great time.
http://www.cosmicadventure.com/g3/index.php/EuroTrip2/album44