milano = milan = home

We are most certainly in Milan.

It is not Chicago, it is not Rome. It is its own fast and furious creature with a heart of style.



On both of our parts there is lingering shock that we've been placed in this city to live. That we are allowed to call it home. That we are residents here. We will become regulars in bars and trattorie. We will buy our fruits and vegetables from one store. And we will know the family who sells them to us. We will buy salami from another store, another family. And we will have a bakery that we love for it's focaccia and another that we visit for its pastries. We will have our cheese shop, our wine shop, our meat shop and our bar. And by bar I mean a place where you pony up to the bar and order a coffee.



Coffee here is not the coffee most people will think of. It is actually something that is strikingly different and stunningly complex and delicious. It is thicker, stronger, and depending on the brand and barista has a flavor that shifts with each sip. It comes in a very small cup and is barely more than a shot and a half. You can add sugar but you will not add creamer. You've already ordered your café with the milk (latte) within if that's how you prefer it. It's an incredible system. I order a Macchiato which is an espresso with a small amount of foamy milk on the top. To this I add sugar and then swirl it in which breaks down the foam a little. You could drink the entire cup with one prolonged swig but I like to slow the flow and have about 10 healthy sips. The thick strength of the café gives it a caramel nature, the milk a creamy touch and then the sugar... it's like putting a bow on a present, not necessary but a fine idea nevertheless.



Il cibo (the food) is loveable. Adorable. Stunning. Even when it's cheap, it's fabulous -- and fresh. We've had pizza, pasta, salads, dessert... and apertivo. Apertivo is very Milano -- you go to your favorite restaurant/café and have a drink. For example a layered and smooth red wine. And as you sip your vino you peruse the apertivo table. It is covered with specialties of the house: salads, pastas, meat dishes, breads, salami, vegetables... and well beyond. You pick up a plate and then you delicately cover it with as much of the apertivo as feels appropriate. One wants to maintain a bella figura (a good image) and not pile on too much. You then take your plate over to your drink and enjoy the two insieme (together). As we were enjoying our apertivo the waiter brought over a plate of a regional specialty for each of us. It was a saffron risotto and was part of the whole system. And what did this system cost? 5 euro. Beautiful!

Milano, here we come!