Preface
Once again, I cannot exactly offer a perfect tourist brochure for the city, but I will try to introduce the city as best as I know it and have experienced it ! So welcome to A young girl?s guide to the city of Milan!
Dawn (remember now, dawn for me is 7 am!)
A typical day for a student starts with going to the University or school (duh?). Since the best and quickest way to travel around Milan is via the Metro, every morning you get to see hordes of young and old people riding the underground. As a means of transport, its convenient and covers almost all the major zones in the city. I take the train at 7.30 usually (if I?m not late that is, which I invariably am!). Now, in the morning during the rush hour, these little trains tend to get terribly crowded and stuffy! But whatever, everyone grabs a novel and a CD player and starts a new day with a smile!
First Stop- Milan Centre (around 8.00)
The main hub of the city (although there are many such ?hubs?), is the area around the Duomo, which is a 14th Century massive Cathedral. I typically get off here and walk through Piazza Duomo, which is a large square with two main characteristics (I think..). 1. Lots of fat lazy pigeons who are fed 24/ 7 by amused tourists and 2. Lots of people rushing here and there towards trams and metros since they?re late for somewhere! Er?needless to say, I come in the second category! When not I?m not in a hurry (with exactly 13 minutes left to reach class!), hanging around the Duomo is quite a pleasure! There are shops around the Piazza with the best brands and the ultimate upmarket Milan fashion stores!
The Walk (8:05 am?till?well that depends on how fast I want to walk!)
Now, one thing to know about living in Italy, is that there?s a Hell of a lot of walking to do! One tends to get used to it after a while, but it can be pretty challenging in the beginning! When I first landed in this country almost straight from Delhi, I was used to just stepping out of my house, into a car and just driving to the destination, and getting off. Hardly any walking required there!! But in Italy, walking is survival! Make sure to wear comfortable shoes if you visit, as pencil heels will get you Nowhere (literally!). Anyways, I?m rambling here?
So I walk from the Duomo via the vie della città (streets of the city), and arrive to my Second Destination- The Tram stop!
Now, Trams are another pretty convenient way to travel around the city. Basically, wherever the Metro can?t take you, the tram does! So I buy my 1 euro ticket and board the Tram. Another thing about Italian transportation is, they don?t believe in punctuality! But what to do, you just have to patiently wait!!
Stop Three- The University( 10ish)
Known by the name of The University of Bocconi, this is where I spend most of my time, sometimes studying?and sometimes?er?not studying all that much :D! For your interest, I would say it is one of the few universities in Italy which offers courses in English.
The Journey begins again- Lunch Time! ( 1.00 pm)
I?m not going to elaborate much on the University (yeah?u tend to not talk about things that hurt!?ok just kidding, my Uni rocks!) because I prefer to move on to a more interesting topic? Italian Cuisine! One very special thing about Italy, is that, like India, almost every region has their specialities and specific types of dishes. In Milan, the speciality is La cotoletta Milanese which is fried meat cutlet and really Yummy! Another speciality in this region is Risotto Milanese which is Saffron Rice and quite scrumptious as well!
Apart from that, there are like zillions of Italian restaurant from all over the country! Not only that, since Milan is such an International City, you can find eateries serving food from basically all around the globe!! That?s one reason why I love this city so much :D!
Lunch over- Step Four- Lukhagiri aka Time-pass aka Hanging Around! (around 2.00 pm?to?Indefinite time!)
One thing about this city?its always on its toes!! There?s always some activity or the other going on! So there?s really no room to get bored! If you?re an art-n-culture freak like me, this is the place for you!! The number of museums in this place are like countless, but for starters, there?s a museum called Museo Cenacolo Vinciano, which displays the works of Leonardo Da Vinci?its quite a spectacle! Another absolutely marvellous tourist magnet is Il Castello Sforzesco Milanese which is a gorgeous 14th Century Castle (yeah?there?s lots of ancient stuff here? its Italy remember!). The area around the Castle is really nice to just hang around, really lively and quite pretty looking!
The Lukhagiri ends?and the Step Five begins ? Shopping! (Don?t even THINK about having a set time!)
The reason why I didn?t include Shopping in Time-pass is because many of the shops close for lunch and also because to some Shop-oholics (ahem?including yours truly! Er yes?that would be me!), don?t consider Shopping a time-pass but rather a concrete utilisation of time!!
So, for my comrades in this matter, Milan is a treasure chest!! Right from the famous Galleria Mazzini, where Italy?s top brand names are to be found, to Corso Beunos Aires where you can find a market catering to all the possible needs of a shopper, Fashion stores are abundant in the Fashion Capital of the World! Milan is the ultimate location for a fashion-freak, as you can find the absolute best designer labels in the fascinating streets of the città! One advice to all dads of teenage daughters would be to carry cash/ credit cards, because your daughters are going to go berserk here!! Ask my dad, he will gladly tell you how it is!
Shopping Ends ( ?finally!!? you say??) ? Last Lap- Night Life! (My curfew is 11 pm Razor Sharp! But obviously you can stay longer :p!)
It is kind of obvious that in a totally Metropolitan city like this, there has to be an active (extremely active in this case!) nightlife! Come dusk, and out come the young, and some old, to enjoy a night out with friends! The most popular spot for this is an area called Navigli (pronounced somewhat like Navilli), where you can find the best bars and pubs to hang around! Most restaurants here are placed on the banks of an extremely well lit canal, so the overall affect of the lights and music makes it a really unique place to be at!! These areas are busiest on Saturday nights, when practically all of Milan is out on the streets!!
Continued in the Comments Section...