Milan

It was a short ride down to Milan from Como. I was excited to stay at another Ostello Bello hostel since I liked the one in Como so much (I even emailed them asking if I could work for them somehow with my software skills, but I didn’t get a response).

Milan used large cobblestones for its streets, which looks charming but practically difficult to cycle on
  • Hostel patio
  • I think I ate 10 slices of this while in Milan
I checked into the hostel and the first thing I did was hunt down some excellent pizza.

The next morning I went out to explore the Duomo neighborhood I was staying in. I must’ve been in 10 different Instagram stories as I walked through the Duomo plaza. Everyone was making selfies. I don’t really blame them though, the Duomo might be the most ornate and impressive buildings I’ve ever seen – you can’t not look at it. The area near Duomo is a giant shopping center and it feels like it’s been that way for a thousand years with luxury stores inside of old Italian architecture. Everyone seemed to be well dressed. Lots of black. Lots of eyewear and makeup. I had the black part of the dress code down at least.

Duomo Piazza
The “Apple Cathedral” just steps away from the Duomo Cathedral
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II – Italy’s oldest active shopping mall

In my hostel room there were two young guys in their 20s visiting from Ireland: Lee and Danny. I met up with them in the commons area of the hostel for a beer and we were hanging out for a bit watching a soccer game I could care less about. I was trying to find a place to go 80’s dancing in Milan. One thing I like to try out when traveling is the 80’s dancing scene – I always compare with SF Cat Club the best 80’s dance scene I know of. Danny went to the bathroom and came back with another hosteler, Kaila, another 20-something year old dancer from New York. I suggested trying to find a place to go out dancing and Kaila enthusiastically said yes, Danny and Lee quickly succumbed to the peer pressure and within a few minutes we were all on our way to the Toilet Club. Unfortunately there wasn’t any 80’s music, but I pretended to know the lyrics to the more recent songs I recognized. There was a pretty cool drag show as well.

The next day Kaila and I went to explore the city some more. Milan had great urban parks. I loved Parco Sempione in particular. It was very easy to walk in and escape the bustle of the city. There were large cafes nestled in the trees for refreshments, dog parks full of running dogs, and people of all ages meandering around in no hurry at all.

  • SF style street cars
  • Sforzesco Castle
  • Central Bank
  • Obligatory Vespa
  • “This garden is older than the USA”
  • Columns of St. Lawrence – from the 2nd century

Kaila coincidentally had also planed to go west towards Venice from Milan, so we agreed to travel together for a few days.