Italy (Winter 2023) - Milan (Day 5)
Laundry Day
Made it through Ireland and Italy for 8 days so far with just carry-on luggage but needed to clean some clothes eventually.
The going rate to get your laundry done in Europe seemed to be around €13-€15
Le Delizie Del Fornaio
Small little bakery across the street from the laundromat. This was a convenient place to caffeinate while waiting for the laundry. The espresso was made from packets instead of fresh beans but it did the job in the morning. I liked how dogs could just stroll into the place.
A’Vucciria
After the laundry, went strolling around Corso Buenos Aires and walked by this place. Apparently it is a chain across Italy. Got an arancini for a snack. You can get freshly filled cannoli there as well.
Piadineria Pascoli
We were just killing time strolling around Corso Buenos Aires mainly because I was waiting for this place to open for lunch. It had a lot of good reviews for their flatbread sandwiches. Got there when they opened and ordered a classic with prosciutto, soft cheese, and arugula. It was pretty excellent. They have a full board full of other menu options as well. This is another fast food that I wish they would have in the states.
Colonne di San Lorenzo
The San Lorenzo Columns are the remains of some ancient Roman ruins sitting next to a 4th century church. So of course you can just go up and touch the unguarded ancient columns because this being Italy, they are like “Yeah, whatever, we have tons of these things.”
Gates along the Corso di Porta Ticinese
Heading south from the San Lorenzo Columns, there is a street called Corso di Porta Ticinese that also has a younger vibe with lots of shops and restaurants. On each end of the street sits these historic gates. One is ancient and the other one is just merely very old.
Monkey Bar
We went out searching for a cocktail bar and this one was not too far away from the train station and the hotel. Very friendly couple of guys working the bar. They helped us to try and figure out the oldest bar in Milan so we could look for it later that night. Solid cocktails here and of course some snacks.
Moebius
This was a fancy place. Hip and trendy, it was also the type of place that charges a coperto. I assume the €3 per head was for the olives? But whatever, the place was excellent.
Finely crafted cocktails in an excellent space. The aperitivo was great - some kind of shaved ham with cheese and greens on focaccia. Since this was a high end place, I figured this would be a good spot to try bottarga, which is cured fish roe made into slab. Here it was shaved thin and served over pasta. I thought it would have a stronger fish flavor to it but it tasted like a more mellow crispy fish chip.
Bar Magenta (oldest bar in Milan)
The guys at the Monkey Bar helped us find that this is one of the places considered the oldest bar in Milan. I think it stated as such on the waiter’s shirt. It is located not that far from the Last Supper so didn’t realize we were nearby this bar earlier in the trip. This was a fun classic drinking establishment. I believe it is near a university so it gives off that vibe. It was a very lively place with not many tourists.
They had a 50 cent coperto here which is like why even bother? I’m sure they have their reasons but I would just charge a quarter more for drinks. Maybe it’s to cover the wifi or something.