7/12-We finally tested negative on the 12th day after the positive test and are feeling normal again. Back to sightseeing and enjoying some good food here in Milan. We are in an apartment we booked after we were forced to cancel the river cruise and decided to leave Basel to get on with the remainder of our plans in Italy. We are here until Sunday, the 17th, when we move into the apartment we originally booked for after the cruise. Missing out on the cruise was a real bummer but there is always time to book one at another time.

For now, we will enjoy Milan. This is the third time we’ve been here but since our daughter Michele is joining us in Italy next week, we wanted her to see Milan. Again, a city with a lot of construction and, there have a been a few changes since our last visit in 2014. The old standby’s though are as beautiful and well-maintained as ever, beginning with the Duomo and including the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II, where many high end stores are located. Prada is very prominent right in the center of the galleria but then they pay over 1 million euros per year for that privilege. Quite a fancy shopping mall!

There are many reminders that Milan is the design capital of the world, including for architecture. A few reminders:

Milan is a beautiful city and there is a lot to do here. Jim and I usually ride the Metro to get around but this morning we rode one of the trolleys. Thankfully it was early in the morning so it wasn’t too hot. It is a good way to see other parts of the city. Interesting point: many of these trolley cars date back to 1928. The type or model is named “Peter Witts” after the engineer who designed them for use in Cleveland, Ohio. They were painted an attractive yellow and white. The older “Witts” in operation here are still painted in the original paint scheme although many of the newer models are in other colors (see the blue one in the background below.) While Milan has the longest serving “Peter Witts” in the world, there are still a few of these cars that were shipped to San Francisco years ago still in operation there also.

A bar/cafe just a couple of doors down from our apartment had some really good veggie lunches which hit the spot. Of course it helps that we hit it off nicely with Victor and his mother and father, the shop owners and waitstaff! Another restaurant four or five doors down from the apartment, had some fabulous fish so we had to try that too. Again, a great waitstaff. It’s wonderful to visit a town, get into an apartment and be able to drop down to the street and pop into a bar, cafe, restaurant or other shops and feel like you lived there all your life.

After a couple of days we decided to head over to the other side of town and have lunch at a salsamenteria just down from the Duomo – Salsamenteria di Parma. We went there in 2014 and were hoping it was still open. It was and the only change was the way they served their appetizers. You can check our 2014 Journal entry for “Milan 1” to compare the “2014 antipasto tray” with this year’s offer! We ordered the prosciutto and cheese platter which comes with an artichoke dip and a parmesan cheese dip. The dips are fabulous on a slice of bread. Then Jim had ravioli and I had lasagna. The wine, served in bowls like the old monks used, is a Lambrusco.

One of our walks took us to the canals (navigli) where there are many apartments, shops, restaurants, bars/cafes. We had originally rented an apartment right on one of the canals but it was a little small for three folk and since Michele was coming over, we made the change to the one mentioned earlier. In the photo below, the initial apartment we rented is in the sixth or seventh apartment building down on the right.

We stopped at a cafe along the Grand Canal or Naviglio Grande for our morning caffé and brioche. Nice, and we could tell by the staff and customers that we were in what’s recognized as the younger, faster-paced part of town. Anyway, directly across from us was the church, Santa Maria delle Grazie al Naviglio. We wish we knew more about architectural styles – this exterior looks intriguing but we don’t know much more about it. It seems a simple church mostly used by sailors in years past when the river and canal traffic were more active. The interior however, is another of those “Holy mackerel” surprises.

Never let it be said that our lives are boring! You do know that no matter where we are, something always happens that is not in the plan. The apartment we were in was small but it worked for us. Well, apparently our shower leaked into the retail shop downstairs so we got a text at 8pm or so asking us if we could move into the apartment next door. After having unpacked everything, put it away, cleaned things up, I said, “are you kidding me?” So we said we’d do that in the morning. We were exhausted and not in the mood to pack up and move our stuff. So the next morning we moved it all. The replacement apartment was nicer than the one we were originally in so that worked. We were told maybe 1 or 2 nights then you can move back after they fix the leak. Well, 1 or 2 nights turned out to be 4 nights and then we moved back to the original apartment. Felt like apartment yo yo! This apartment was in place of our river cruise which we were not able take due to Covid.

I should have mentioned that the walk from Milan’s Central Station to our apartment is about six blocks. Along the way, we have to circle around two plazas. Most of the plaza round-abouts are lined with sidewalk cafes and a few shops. One of the plazas however is dominated by a church — the Sanctuary of San Camillo de Lellis. Awesome in and out, the church is dedicated to Saint Camillus who founded the Order of Ministers to the Sick, better known as the Camillians.

After a week of checking things out in Milan, we moved to the apartment we were to have when Michele arrives. Jim and I moved on Sunday, the 17th. It is a very good apartment all around – good-sized rooms, queen beds, central air, elevator and a wonderful host – Roberto – who also spoke English reasonably well. We are doing much better with our Italian but it helps speed up the conversation sometimes and ensure understanding when both people can talk some in the two languages.

A lot of restaurants are not open on Sunday and finding one for lunch can be a challenge. We lucked out and found one just down from our apartment and it was a really nice place. The food was delicious and we were able to sit there for a couple of hours relaxing and eating. See our photos! Unfortunately, we did not think to take pictures of all the antipasti plates. There must have been five different items, seafood mostly. Hence the small plate of spaghetti Jim ordered and the tomatoes and asparagus on rigatoni noodles I had. (Yes, the second wine glass is mine!)

Jim and I had Monday free since that was Michele’s fly-from-Atlanta day so we took a tour up to Lake Como for the day. I’m going to post a separate blog entry on the Como trip and get this entry posted as it is sort of way overdue. Perhaps I can compose and post a Lake Como entry later today or tomorrow. Until then, we’ll see about enjoying our 98º heat and 87% humidity while walking around Florence. A presto!