Watercolors, Flamingos, and a Castle

I spent today exploring new areas of Milan. I read an article a while back about some fun, hidden places in the city. Today, I went to three of those.

Taking the 24 tram to the Crochetta stop, I walked to Giardini della Guastalla. This is a public garden/park area. It was very nice and peaceful. A number of people were enjoying the sunny day but it wasn't crowded.

From the park, I walked to (what the article called) the Milan Watercolors. There is a small street called Via Abramo Lincoln and the houses on either side of the short street are each painted a different color. It was a lovely and peaceful street but also very green with many trees. It was hard to see the houses and impossible to get a picture really showing all of the colors. I enjoyed walking down the street and trying to picture the colors coming more alive in the winter season.

My last planned stop was to see some flamingos! (Not plastic ones.) I wasn't sure if this would really happen or not... but it did! And I saw a castle on the way : )  That was a fun surprise. The large, ornate building stopped me in my tracks (and that says a lot, considering I was on my way to see flamingos). There was a plaque that showed the building is Palazzo Berri-Meregalli and was built in the early 1900's.

The flamingos were all out and enjoying the gorgeous day! If you go to Villa Invernizzi on Via Cappuccini, you are able to peak through the gate and into the yard. There is a small pond in the middle of a lovely yard. Four flamingos were enjoying a one-legged lap in the pond, while about 8 or so others were in the yard... some eating and the rest just hanging out.

Fun day!

This is one side of the castle: Palazzo Berri-Meregalli

Duomo di Milano

Milan's cathedral, or Duomo, is truly magnificent! (I've blogged about it before with photos... and I'm going to do it again, ha!)

A fun fact from the Wikipedia page (linked above): Milan's cathedral is the fifth largest in the world! -- and the largest in Italy.

Not from the Wikipedia page... but told to me by Clara, the lady that runs the Cooking in Milan classes: the famous bronze Madonnina (Mother Mary) statue atop the cathedral has always been the tallest point in all of Milan. Today, there are two modern buildings in the city that are taller... and they each have a mini Madonnina on top, in respect to the Cathedral's! The only way the OK was granted to construct each building that tall, was if a mini Mary statue was put on top. I love that. I really like how Italy sticks to tradition out of respect for... well... tradition.

Spring is here!

One weekend in the Fall, the duomo's piazza is covered with white paper and people can create public art by writing and/or drawing. Lots of fun. I like when cities create fun communities like this.

back on the bike!

I'm SO happy to be riding my bicycle to and from school again! That is one piece that I've missed from when I lived in Opera. I haven't ridden to work since being in the city this school year because there has been construction along the way and I'd have to be on a busy road for part of the ride. Now that the bike path (shown in the first picture below) is complete, I am absolutely loving the ride!

The ride is about 5 miles each way and takes me less than 25 minutes. It's faster than taking the bus! I miss my reading time on the bus but am enjoying the exercise and the ride even more. Because I'm on the path and don't have to worry about traffic, I listen to music along the way too. It's just a very enjoyable way to start and end each work day.

(There has been one day so far that I've forgotten to pack my work outfit! Ha! I ended up in leggings and my jacket all day. Thankfully, they actually looked like a decent outfit together.)

Some days are foggy... super foggy...

Last Saturday morning I rode past school and out to Opera to go to the morning market! I was hoping to pick up some curtain material for my mom but they don't have the specific style anymore. I still enjoyed the ride to and from... 

The past couple of weeks have been fabulous with the trees blooming... and poppies along the way too!

The set of four pictures below is from my ride from school to IKEA on a Saturday after keeping score at a basketball tournament. I took a bit of a detour to go by an abbey in Chiaravalle called Santa Maria di Rovegnano. It's gorgeous!

Mostly recently -- just this past Thursday, the two pictures below show the difference in weather between my ride to work in the morning and my ride home in the afternoon (not everyday is like this... but sometimes!) --

It's not often that I'm gifted with the lovely view of the mountains... not many days are clear enough to see them. ...But then a day comes along that is clear and the mountains are amazing! A picture really doesn't do it justice.

Funny enough -- I've been seeing the same people on the bike path each morning. As I'm heading to school they are heading into the city, presumably to work. We are on the same morning schedule. There's one man that bikes past me in the morning... and in the afternoon! Haha. Last week I smiled and waved a couple times -- it's funny to see each other every day to and from work.

When I rode the bus each day it was kind of the same thing -- seeing many of the same faces. There's a difference though, being on the bike path instead of public transport. It's ok to be more friendly and wave, acknowledging that we see each other every day.

A photo from a usual morning on the bus to work a month ago or so:

enjoying Milan

Finally getting around to posting some pictures that I've taken while out and about in the city this school year. I'm really enjoying living in the city and being close to everything! The past two years in Opera were peaceful and quiet... but it's so nice to be in the city and able to get around more easily and so much faster.

There are many industrial buildings around my neighborhood. I found one that now houses a large leather purse outlet! Ummm yes, please! (I've bought a few so far... just a few...)  :P

Metro ridin'

Great piece of street art about a block from my apartment building.

An entire crew of teachers all ended up on the same tram heading home one night!

Just gorgeous. 

Winter Concert - Santa Maria delle Grazie

Soooooo my school's winter concert was in the Santa Maria delle Grazie -- which is the church where THE The Last Supper is! The Last Supper is painted on a walk within the refectory building, attached to the church. Amazing!

The entire program was absolutely stunning. The choir, string orchestra, and band played. The mix of holiday music was well done and I am always so impressed with the students' talents. I was blown away. All of this, within such a great structure -- the inside of this church is very beautiful.

The pictures above were taken by staff at school and posted onto ASM's social media sites -- they are not my pictures. The two below are ones that I took during the concert with my phone : )

East Market, Milan

East Market takes place in the northeast part of the city and it's a lot of fun. I've been a couple times now -- the photos below are from my second visit, when I went with Carrie, a friend from school.

The market takes place in two different buildings - both large warehouses. There are new things from many local designers, used/vintage things, an entire record section, and food trucks!

Mmmmmm cannoli food truck!

And we took a super cute tram back home... I love the one-car trams with wooden benches.

Cooking in Milan

A couple weekends ago, I partook in an Italian cooking class. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would AND I had already heard great things from colleagues of mine that have done this same cooking class!

I took one of the Market Tour cooking classes with Cook in Milan. Clara is an Italian woman that began this business in her home around the time that I moved to Milan over two years ago. She is well-organized and a good manager, so that the participants get to take part in cooking as well as it being easy, productive, and fun. I am not a proficient cook but Clara put me in charge of the bechamel sauce for the lasagna and it turned out alright!

We began the morning in a local market to pick up cheeses and fresh produce for the menu ahead:

Clara explained the multi-course menu ahead in her living room:

I love an Italian kitchen! It is usually small, cozy, and packed with all the utensils needed.

The day's group included people from Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States!

Clara and I each enjoyed a bubbly drink during a quick aperitivo while the pie cooled before our meal. Italians do it well!

We made two primi dishes (yes!). One was lasagna di zucca -- lasagna with squash. The other was risotto al radicchio -- risotto with chicory. For the secondi, we had a lentil and meat dish (not pictured).

My new favorite is chestnut jam! I had never heard of it before the day at Clara's but now I have 3 jars in the cupboard  :P  We made a crostata di castagne -- sweet chestnut pie. I haven't liked roasted chestnuts when I've tried them in the past but this jam is smooth, sweet, aaaand delicious.

I was supposed to go to this cooking class over the summer with my mom and aunt but there was a glitch in the website's registration system. The system charged my aunt's credit card but did not actually reserve any spots for the day. D'Oh! Clara was very nice and apologetic but we were not able to fit into the cooking class during their time in Italy. That was a bummer. The fee was refunded to my aunt and Clara gifted one free class. My aunt then gifted the free class to me as a birthday gift!! Super sweet of her. I was excited to experience the cooking class BUT... the entire time, I was thinking about how much fun it would have been to do it together, the 3 of us. My mom and aunt would have loved it. (Maybe in the future!) Overall, if you decide to sign up for one of Clara's classes (I completely recommend doing so if you're in Milan!), I would follow up with her to make sure the registration went through on her end.

EXPO - American Pavilion's BRUNCH

The universal exposition has been going on in Milan since the beginning of last May. It ends the last day of October (tomorrow!). EXPO has brought millions of visitors to the city over the past 6 months. Preparations for the event started before I even moved here, more than two years ago.

EXPO 2015

Wikipedia article: EXPO 2015

It has been a really big deal (for good reason -- it's a HUGE event!) and many hoped that it would boost Milan/Italy's economy. Not everyone have been fans of having such a large project in the city though. It's been expensive to host and has brought many extra people to the area. During the opening weekend last May, there were protests, riots, and vandalism in various areas of the city. Throughout the city, there have been plenty of examples of the negative feelings:

Since opening weekend, however, the EXPO seems to have gone pretty well. Friends of mine from school that have gone have really enjoyed it... or said that it was too crowded, they didn't get to go inside many pavilions, it's too big to really see all of it in one visit, etc. Instead of going to the actual EXPO grounds, where countries around the world each have a pavilion and then fit the theme, Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life, I went to an American-style brunch instead! Perrrrrrfect.

I fully enjoyed going to a lovely brunch instead of braving the crowds of the full event.

Joining a couple friends from school, we went to brunch on a Sunday that was offered through the American pavilion and were really pleased. (We went in early September -- I'm still behind on posting to the blog!) People could also attend multi-course dinners led by famous chefs. Brunch took place on an outdoor patio overlooking the Duomo's plaza. It was great. (Oh, and there was also unlimited coffee, food, and mimosas... I enjoyed fresh orange juice.)   :P

Gorgeous day. Gorgeous view.

It doesn't get much better than delicious coffee AND a giant chocolate chip cookie!

Heath and Angela were the same two friends that I went out for dinner with on my birthday in August! We then stopped by Bar Luce for a drink: