Sunday, October 29, 2006

12 Aug: Wander/Wondering in Milan

We COULD visit the Last Supper of the da Vinci Code fame in Milan but according to my brother it involves lining up for hours and ending up staring at a wall. Not the most intriguing experience I would have hoped for. I feel that there is no point to suffer all of that for the bragging rights that of seeing the Last Supper.

Noting that Milan is officially on holiday, there isn't much we can do. So, we decided to take it slow and have a light stroll around town. So we had a light breakfast (this hotel never provide) and moved out.



I read that there is this morning market that is only open on Saturday mornings. What luck! So we took the metro to the market and we saw

A busker singing on the metro. No one batted an eyelid.

The morning market was sucky. Kinda like pasar malam + wet market but a hell lot suckier. So much so that we did not even bother to take pictures. So on to the town area we go. I read that there is this stretch of road that houses the high end boutiques. We found it all right: LV, Prada, Jimmy Choo, Armani etc.


We went into the Sonia Rykiel boutique as I fondly remember the ah lians of that era clutching to Sonia Rykiel bags. Those quilt bags were actually quite nice (and I was hoping of getting a nice one for Shuyi) but them ah lians have the uncanny talent at spoiling everything they touch. Kinda like Midas Touch but in the other direction. Upon exiting the boutique I gained a new found respect for the ah lians. Nabeh the handbags expensive lor. Where they get that kinda money? It was a rather plasant morning with some light rain. Thank god for the foldable umbrella in my bag which mom insisted that I bring. Heng ar.


And there were boutiques we don't even dare to enter. Like the LV one with the doorman decked in a spiffy suit. I know we should treat them like dirt and they will respect us like the dogs they are. But I still need a lot more practice to diao the LV doorman.

Diesel is quite dead in Singapore but there, it is quite up market with 3 storey boutiques everywhere.

Near the main Piazza there is the usual Zara, Massimo Dutti, Mango, Esprit etc. But the season end sale is almost over. Lucky I got a Dutti shirt at SGD42. Hoho good fortune.

Lunch is at this Marche concept food court in the mall.


Steak and risotto.

In Milan, they have the normal malls we are used to: big building, multi-floors. Unlike in Rome where their mall is flattened. From the front it looks pretty big. But the side profile is only the thickness of a shop. Kinda hard to explain. Oh well, n'air mind.

Unkle in Milan dress damn pai kia one. This is the conservative one already. In our trip, we see men in bright yellow, blue, red etc pants prancing around.


Here is Shuyi taking a shot with Leonardo (ninja turtle with sword) in his own little Piazza.

We basically did nothing but just wander around town looking at overpriced stuff. So eventually its time for dinner. Yea. Not happening at all right. We ended up here and we ordered

Melon + pineapple pizza and risotto (again). The melon and pineapple pizza was quite refreshing and unique.

There happen to be a huge park with lots of activities going on opposite the restaurant we were in. So we strolled on over after dinner. I bet this castle + church is pretty famous judging from the crowd there but we don't really care. Further into the park, we saw this...

Italian Ah Gong Ah Ma Dance Dance Revolution 2006!!! There we live music and performance while the Ah Gongs and Ah Mas danced it out. Some were even doing some funky moves at the risk of breaking their hips.


Look out for the auntie with the backache patch in the video. Hilarious.

Walking further into the park
















On our way back the party ended and the oldies head home


We saw this little girl helping her dad with packing up of his makeshift handbag store. Together with her mom and dad, they compose a heartwarming picture of a close knit family going against the odds in a foreign land.

Night fell and we wandered back to the hotel. Notice I used the term 'wandered' instead of 'went'. We got kinda lost *again* and had to ask around for directions. We're pretty used to it though and on hindsight, you could say that is was part of the fun.

Tomorrow, we head home.

Posted by weelian at 1:17 AM

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