Shopping Day Two: Milano

I think I've hit the limit of how much cheese I can consume. The idea of consuming anything with any dairy product in or on it, with the exception maybe of gelato, is becoming revolting to me. But no, mom, I'm not going vegan anytime soon. I just need a break. I need Thai food or basically any greens stirfried with hot pepper, garlic, soy sauce and Shao Hsing. I guess some Americans come to Italy and after a while, they crave American food. I start to crave Chinese food. Last year, I was here for a month and didn't think once about eating anything but Italian food. This time is different, I guess.

But anyway.... today I took the fast train to Milano to go shopping. I had the choice of taking the slow train, but seeing as how the fast train is so much more comfortable (not that the slow train is bad at all, by American standards it's luxury) and I enjoy being on the Frecce trains. It was a bit more expensive, but whatever, it was part of the experience. Ironically, the fast train was 15 minutes late, so we only got to Milano 5 minutes before the slow train. Oh well.
Once I got to Milano, I was very prepared. I know the layout of the city pretty well since spending some time there two years ago. I've noticed that I have a strange memory for places. I can visualize exactly what some place looks like, or how to get there even many years after I visited. It's weird, but very helpful. That said, I went straight for the ticket machine, bought myself a day pass for the Metro (Milano is a big city) and I was off to the Piazza del Duomo.
Piazza del Duomo acts as the center point for lots of giant shopping streets in Milano. You can find anything, from the absurdly high-end Galleria and Rinascente, to the more affordable chain stores around Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Via Torino, Via Dante, and so forth. Leading out of the center is Corso Venizia, which features high end boutiques which then turns into Corso Buenos Aires, which has smaller stores and chain stores mixed in. Apparently Corso Buenos Aires is one of the longest city streets in all of Europe. I believe it. I walked all the way out to the end from the center. It's definitely a few miles. It's like the mall, if it went on for a few miles!
One of the great things about Milano is that many of the chain stores have two or more locations, sometimes even on the same street. I went into four different Bata shoe stores today, and when one didn't have my size in the color I was looking for, I just walked down the street and they had it at the other one. Cool! Milano is really a shopper's paradise. I am sure somewhere there are streets of vintage shops, lower end stuff, probably some markets, but it's a big city, you can't see it all. You could shop until you literally drop. And I almost did. Even with taking the subway, I walked countless miles today. My feet hurt!
Basically here's what happened. I walked, I walked and I walked. In and out of stores, picking up shoes, trying on shoes. After all was said and done, after I felt I had covered as much of Milano as possible, I ended up with two very different pairs of shoes. I love European shoes. American shoes suck! It's like you either get sneakers in crazy colors or dress shoes. There is little in between. Europe thrives on the in between. That's because the horrible stupid trend of wearing basketball shorts, crew socks, neon colored basketball or skater shoes, and giant t-shirts luckily hasn't caught on here. Trust me, Italians have some weird style things going on too, but at least there aren't grown men walking around looking like they're ready to hit the gym, though clearly they have not hit the gym in a long time. You can always spot the Americans!
But, like I was saying, Italians thrive on that in-between shoe. The sneaker that also looks like a fancy dress shoe. It's hard to describe. And even sneakers look much more distinguished and high fashion. I love it. In America I have trouble finding one pair of shoes. Here I have trouble deciding on only one pair of shoes, which is why I bought two. I intentionally wore a pair of shoes here that, well, let's say they've served me well. I've broken the laces, parts of the leather are falling off in the creases. They're ready to be retired. It's all part of the plan.
Luckily, since I didn't spend any crazy money on shoes this year (both pairs combined cost less than the one incredible pair I bought last year), I have money for a sweater and another etto of porcini mushrooms. The thing that I realized too is that, by wearing one pair home, I'll have an empty shoe box which I can put in my bike bag to safely carry my balsamic vinegars and porcini mushrooms. It's all coming together.
Before I digress from the subject of fashion, here's what I've noticed is "in" here this year. For guys, it's oddly enough Varsity type jackets, and also sleeveless shirts. The weather is such that a guy can wear sleeveless in the daytime and then need said Varsity jacket at night. Also, all these colored cut-off type shorts are in, which is unusual because for a very long time in Italy, shorts weren't really a thing. Again, at least they're not wearing gym shorts. And for girls, two things I've noticed; the high wasted shorts riding right up the ass is in, just like it is in the US, and high top Converse All Stars (or Chucks, whatever you want to call them) almost exclusively in white. It's almost like no other shoe exists right now. I think 75% of girls in Parma right now are wearing white Chucks, and denim shorts stuck up their asses. How is that comfortable? I'm just thinking about the chaffing. Ouch!

Now, let's digress from the subject of fashion. It's not something I know much about, I just know how to put on cloths and not look too stupid, and I know that I like clothes. Something I do know about, however, is food. In Milano there is this amazing bakery that makes the best focaccia, and I guess what would technically be more properly classified as focaccia pizza, that I've ever had! Everything is "bio" which here means organic. It's all baked in a wood-fired oven, and only the best ingredients are used. I went in around lunchtime just as a lot of the varieties were coming out of the oven. I picked up way too much. I think my sister and I ate three big pieces, I got three big pieces to myself. FAT!! But it's so good! One piece had some type of feta-like cheese on it with fresh tomatoes and olives. Another had mozzarella, onions, sweet peppers, eggplant and zucchini and the other was just mozzarella and zucchini. In addition, I got three big crunchy breadsticks- not grissini- with green olives. All in all, it came out to 15 Euro. That's kind of expensive, but some things are worth it. I won't go there again until I'm back in Milano, and who knows when that will be. But... it's on my list of places that are worth going back to a certain city just to eat at. I have a Thai place in Montreal, of course Su Xing House in Philadelphia, Osteria Cento Poveri in Firenze, and Bakery Princi in Milano.
One thing about traveling; experience. Today I showed up in Milano without a camera, without a backpack. I wasn't trying to be a tourists and I don't think anyone on the streets took me as one. It's nice to be out of that mold. Another part of the experience thing is knowing to not buy water at the cafes or little markets. With experience, you pay attention more. When you see the giant Billa sign, with experience you know what that means. Instead of paying 2 Euro for a big bottle of water, you go to the Billa grocery store and pay 30 cents. That's what I like about going places again and again. You start to learn little things about how to "live" there rather than running around like a tourist with your head up you ass. You know, the ones with the backpacks on their fronts, giant camera over their shoulder, maybe a fanny pack in there too (people are now wearing fanny packs across the chest, diagonally... just no). Wearing a bucket hat in the way that only a tourist can wear it, and taking photos with an iPad. Please stop!!
Another observation I made was that in Milano, being a giant city of international commerce and industry, everyone speaks English. It's like I'm not even in Italy. It's kind of a drag. I'd rather attempt to communicate and make it work, learning a little more Italian here and there, than someone just speaking English with me. But there is this real drive to do things in English in Milano. Tons of stores have all there signs in English, lots of fascination with America. I don't know why. It's not that great! The grass is always greener they say.

To add a little culture to my day, I also popped into the Duomo. It's really beautiful inside and out and is a great place to sit down and unwind for a few minutes from the craziness of shopping in Milano. The organ is also notably gigantic! One place I regret not getting to check out is La Scala Opera House. I didn't get there last time either, and it's on my list, but I have a feeling that it's closed for tours in August anyway. Wherever you go, you'll never see it all; there is always something to bring you back.
So anyway, after a day in crazy Milano (which I still enjoy much more than Roma), I'm actually glad to be back in quiet Parma. I have a few more days here, another day of cycling tomorrow if the weather is good and my legs aren't shot from all the walking; plus, a trip to Cinque Terre I guess. We'll see. I don't know how much more I want to ride the train.
Either way, not like I'm rushing to get back to real life or anything, but for once it'll actually be nice to come home. I'll miss Italy's long climbs, but cycling-wise Hunterdon/ Bucks really is a special place to ride a bike. And I know once I'm back I'll miss the fresh pasta everywhere, all the cheeses, and the focaccia. But luckily, I can always cook this stuff. Yes, the food is spectacular, and maybe from the perspective of someone who doesn't eat and cook like this all the time, it's something incredible, but I am very proud to say that what I've grown up eating at home and the food that comes out of my kitchen is not much different that what I'm eating here. That is a great privilege and something that I am very proud of. Plus, I think I've learned some new things, and once I get some diversity back in my diet, I'll be ready to try out some new tricks I've picked up here on my third adventure in bella Italia!