Enough of this preparing to share. Let’s get on with it!
LAX ➡️ LHR ➡️ MXP
We took American Airlines leaving Los Angeles at 5:30 pm, which gave us a 3 hour layover in London Heathrow before a quick flight from London to Milan Malpensa.
My hubby knows how to pick seats on planes, I tell you what! He really likes the bulkhead seats which have tons of leg room, and that’s good and fine with me. My only gripe is that you have to put your bags in the overhead bins – they cannot stay with you. On the long haul to London, his seat choice ended up giving us the whole row to ourselves!
At our layover, I learned that London’s plastic baggy thing is no joke. You really DO need to pull out the tiny liquids and put them in the clear baggie… lipgloss, lotion, toothpaste, etc. This is very important to be aware of if you’re traveling with a carryon. Everything must fit in the baggy or they will take it! Don’t get caught on the way back home with liquids in your carryon either…
The short flight from LHR to MXP was operated by British Airways and we din’t have a great experience. You couldn’t even get water for free, so make sure you buy some before you get on the flight, but definitely after you pass through the bag check with security! We were more prepared on our return flight for this.
Milan
First things first, we rented a car. Check out my overview on driving in Italy, which includes some need-to-know information about renting. Next stop: our first hotel!
Antares Hotel Rubens, Milan (4/5)
The hotel was about 45 minutes from the airport and easy to find. The gentleman who parked our car and helped with luggage was so so sweet (I can’t exactly remember his name – maybe Massimo?); such a friendly and helpful guy. Our room had a fruit basket and champagne for us with a note (I had stated our anniversary in the reservation), which was perfect for the next morning since we hadn’t selected breakfast!
The room was decent sized, an older European style with murals on the walls, etc. The bathroom had a tub and shower and was also a decent size. The water temperature fluctuated a little, but nothing majorly problematic. Bed and pillows were fine – not great, not terrible. Hair dryer was a little weak, but worked fine. We blew a fuse in the room when trying to use our steamer with the travel adapter (and subsequently killed the steamer), and a woman who worked there helped us get things turned back on pretty quickly. We had great service throughout!
The area near the hotel was decent – far enough outside of Milan to avoid ZTL and traffic, but close enough for ease of access. From the hotel, it was about 7-10 minutes walk to the De Angeli train station, which we used to get into Milan central to visit the Duomo, La Scala, shopping, Starbucks Reserve, etc. Another 2-3 minutes from the train station is an area full of restaurants and gelaterias (around Via Marghera and Via Carlo Ravizza). Several banks/ATMs were just a minute or two away so we could get cash in Euros. We also found a Carrefour market/grocery store about 5-7 minutes walk from the hotel, which is where we got a 6-pack of large waters for the trip (€ 1,09!!) after arriving in Milan. We also got breakfast there the morning we headed out of town.
Our Carrefour: Viale Bezzi Ang, Via Antonio Tolomeo Trivulzio, 20146 Milano
Trattoria Caprese (3.5/5)
Walking the area recommended by our hotel, we encountered Trattoria Caprese. They were handing out free food on the street and it was really good (fried pizza dough and Prosecco). They got us in pretty quickly with that!
Once seated, we were also provided a plain spaghetti noodle dish as an appetizer. Don’t be mistaken – this was incredibly simple, but incredibly delicious.
The ordering process was a little rough, as we know almost zero Italian and happened to have one of the only servers that wasn’t fluent in English. But, eventually you we got it handled!
-Bruschetta was really good – the tomatoes were so sweet and delicious and probably our favorite tomatoes on the entire trip.
-Octopus was decent, but clearly frozen
-Gluten free pizza was NOT good. I found much better crusts later on in the trip.
Getting the bill paid was pretty difficult for us. We asked like 3 times and finally just went to the front to pay after quite a long wait.
Tuesday, September 24
Milan
Starbucks Reserve Roastery
After we visited the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle a couple years ago, I became an instant fan, and the Milan location did not disappoint. This was our first stop in the morning after arriving in Italy.
Conveniently located steps from the train exit, it was a beautiful space inside and out with all the experiences and goodies you can expect at a Reserve Roastery (in addition to Seattle and Milan, the only other locations are in Chicago, New York, Tokyo & Shanghai).
Duomo di Milano
Most reviewers say this iconic location is a must-visit and recommend the tour of the interior as well. It is not only one of the largest churches in Italy, but also one of the largest gothic cathedrals in the world. It’s located a very short walk from the Starbucks Reserve we started the morning at.
While we’ve heard wonderful things about the interior beauty and rooftop views, we skipped it and just enjoyed the exterior on this trip. The hubby wouldn’t have appreciated it much, so the time and expense wasn’t worth it to us.
FYI: Tickets to get inside depend on if you want entrance or a tour. If you only want entrance, you have to choose where you want entrance to – and the prices vary. The fast-track 90 minute tour is €27 for adults and probably the best value. You get access to almost all spaces, a tour guide, line-skipping preferences, and an elevator.
Lunch @ Maio Restaurant (4/5)
Since I knew we wouldn’t be touring the inside of the Duomo, I did a bit of research and found that there was a nice view of the side/top from a couple bars/restaurants next door. Our plan was to grab something light at Il Bar. While the food reviews online weren’t great, a lot of folks boasted about the view. When we arrived, however, we realized the menu at Maio looked much better, so we ate there instead. They’re right next to each other on the patio, so the view was great at Maio, too!
Note: both restaurants require you to enter into Rinascente Milan (department store) and go up to the food hall at the top. You can take an elevator or ride the escalators up. If you take the escalators, don’t worry about when you’ll arrive. Just keep climbing and climbing. You’ll know when you arrive! Also, both restaurants can get very busy during peak times. You may have to wait!
Our favorite dish was the Crudo di Gamero Rossi – raw shrimp with burrata cheese and pistachios. Wow, this was a perfect start to our dining experiences in Italy! The daily special – Risotto al Castelmagno – with white truffle was decent, but we weren’t fans of the balsamic-style drizzle on top.
Important to note about dining in Italy is that you need to ask for the check or you will never leave the restaurant! We didn’t know this and spent a while sitting there waiting for the server to come. We later looked up the etiquette online and found out it’s considered rude in Italy for the restaurant to bring you the check before you ask. It’s as if they’re asking you to leave. So when you’re ready, don’t feel bad asking!
Near the Piazza del Duomo
After lunch, we strolled around the area, did some shopping near the Duomo and took a peek at the Teatro Alla Scala from outside. It’s a nice area and there are tons of streets to wander down. Spend some time here!
Naviglio Canal area
After our time in central Milan, we drove out to Naviglio for the evening. Despite our rude parking attendant (we had trouble getting the car out of park because of a safety feature and couldn’t move forward into the spot after waiting to enter, so the attendant pulled Bobby out of the car and drove our car into the spot SO fast while I was still in it!), this area was lovely, especially during sunset and after dark. It’s lined with lots of little cafes that offer “happy hour” specials. It was a bit touristy, but we enjoyed it!
Dinner at Cartoccio Milano (4/5)
After walking around and scoping the place out, we chose Cartoccio Milano. They had a happy hour plate for 2 with drinks (9€) that hooked us quickly and was a seriously great deal. We ended up ordering dinner after a bit as well.
-Classic Italian drinks (the Aperol Spritz and a Negroni) that hubby had been talking about for months…
-Appetizer platter with meats, cheeses, bruschetta, pasta, and other little dishes.
-Duck & clams with potato for me – excellent!
-Carbonara pasta for the hubby – good, but not great.
-Service was not great, although we found that to be the case in Milan in general.
While we loved a lot about Milan, we also found that the people were less inviting to and tolerant of tourists. This was not the case in the other cities on our trip, where we had wonderful experiences with the people! Milan is not the only place we’ve experienced this. As we’ve traveled internationally, we’ve found that this is increasingly common in really large cities.
I can’t wait to tell you about our next stops – keep reading!
XO,
J
