I have a lot of mixed feelings about our first weekend in Milan together.
W. went ahead and rented a car and found it a little expensive. I tried convincing him to get an automatic gear car instead of manual but he said manual was okay. My dad actually drove manual for YEARS into "old age" before he finally got an automatic... and was relieved. So I don't exactly get why anyone would voluntarily want to drive a manual car unless you were driving in the desert or on a mountain road or something where it actually makes a difference.
I tried to convince him to not go and waste our weekend shopping but no luck. He said he needed more shirts so off we went to this place called Serravelle. It was raining pretty heavily and it's a total drag to carry an umbrella around while you shop. In the UAE rain is a cause for celebration as it only happens a couple of times a year - if that - but here it ruins plans. But we took our two umbrellas we got from Scarpe & Scarpe (one of those umbrellas that don't form into tidy little handfuls) and off we went.
W. decided to ask the rental car guy if there was an automatic and lo and behold - there was. So I'm happy about that. We were both less happy with the fire-engine red colour of the car and the EUROPCAR and accompanying slogan emblazoned all over it. Might as well have added flashing neon lights to confirm we were tourists, too.
Anyway, so we reach Serravelle and the Italians do not seem bothered by the rain as they came in droves by the number of cars in the parking and the walking people about. They came to shop - as did we - and apparently falling water will not stop us.
Another thing I noticed that we met the first East Asian tourists in this area. I had only seen people from East Asian in the sushi place in Auchan this past week (I thought that was hysterical in a slightly offensive way. Like the food won't be ~authentic~ unless the staff were from East Asia).
Oh yeah! On our way back from the outlet it turns out the strange siren did indeed belong to an ambulance. On another less cheery note it's sobering how many times a day I hear it. Actually, it would be sobering for it to be the police too but it's not quite as bad as hearing an ambulance's sirens.
So W. begins his shopping. It's like we broke the laws of nature and I'm the begrudging husband who waits around while the wife gets to finish shopping but nope. Lucky for W. there are PLENTY of excellent Italian suit maker shops all over the outlet and he takes advantage of it. Apart from a brief Benetton visit in 2008 this is my "first" time shopping in Italy. There are long metal cylindrical bins by the entrances of all the shops where you dump your wet umbrellas while you shop. I mention this because in the course of said shopping I accidentally took another person's umbrella along with our own. :/
W. got really frustrated at this; me and the kids waited while he went back to look for our umbrella but no luck. Our umbrella had been taken, too. W. is convinced that the other umbrella owner had taken ours... But how would s/he know which one to take? I think the shop had more than three umbrellas in the bins.
Anyway so W. comes back with stranger-umbrella and proceeds to use it. I tell him we have no right to use it but he says that the other guy took ours and that we will use this one. We had bought ours for 10 euros so I say that it's not like it was a really expensive one but W. is stubborn. :/ I think we should donate it since the original owner never came back for it when we later went and checked again since it is not ours.
Anyway, so W. gets his suits and takes a LONG TIME. W. is a caffeine addict and is SO HAPPY at the quality coffee shops here in Milan. He's amused at the way Italians drink their coffee standing up like it's some sort of quick fix. Everywhere else I'd been you sit down and drink your coffee while reading or something. Here it's like you're at a bar and do your shot and then you're okay. I can't say I understand either option since I don't drink tea nor coffee myself. I know I'm a rare breed these days.
The rain in the meantime gives little respite. It only seems to increase in droplets and frequency. When it's near twilight there's this GREAT clap of thunder that is awe-inspiring.
I do get a new bag that is still sitting in its plastic case. It's honestly not my usual style but it's cute and elegant and one that I really would not have gotten had I not been there.
We dine at the restaurant there and I'm amused at one of the waiters' enthusiasm. There's a world of difference when you go to a restaurant where the waiters seem cheery and when they're treating you like you're at a funeral. I guess that's why customer service gets such a huge push in places like the US and for good reason.
W. had sent me a link to an Emirati report that said the UAE had stopped importing poultry from Italy as there had been cases of avian flu here so we skipped on anything chicken. The waiter raved about the frutti di mare pasta but W. had tried it before and said we should go for my original choice, the porcini pasta.
The pasta turned out to be pretty tasteless. :/ I don't even think it was salted properly. All you could taste was olive oil and that alone does not a good pasta dish make.
The kids were happier with their margarita pizza and W. dutifully ate the "pizza fried pieces" he'd ordered which were just ordinarily hollow fried dough (and yes, there was an English translation provided so it was not text lost in translation.)
Food wasn't a total disappointment that day. There was one thing that made me not regret going to the Sarravelle outlet that day and that was the incredible Lindt shop. What an enchanting place! I think I started drooling as soon as I entered the place. Being as it was so cold I opted for hot chocolate and it was so thick and rich.
When we first arrived at our apartment in Monza there was this small bowl of sweets called Horath. It was jelly-like and I hoped to God it did not contain gelatine because it was so damn tasty. Imagine my relief when I found these very sweets in the Lindt place and written by the ingredients were the blessed words: SENZA GELATIN. Thank you Google Translate.
I would have bought more but I'm trying to be ~weight conscious~ but resisting was so hard with THESE in sight.
We finally left and went by Auchan in Monza to pick up an ironing board and water and some other necessities. Speaking of, W. had asked our broker if the tap water in Italy was drinkable and he said it was but that he personally did not and bought bottled water. Everyone buys bottled water in the UAE but this was disappointing. After our first mistake buying sparkling water by mistake we now look meaningfully for the word AQUA NATURALE. I mean it's so widespread the word "natural" needs to be used on every bottle that isn't fizzy is kind of funny.
This was on Saturday.
On Sunday we decided to go on our first trek across the border to Laguno, Switzerland. The people there still spoke Italian as some regions near others across countries in Europe do.
When we got to the borders I told my husband that it's a good thing we brought our passports just in case - but it turns out we didn't need it.
I was very cynical when the border police decided to stop us "randomly" for an inspection but it turns out there was no need for worry. We simply did not have a highway permit decal for Switzerland. W. was pleasantly surprised when he learned it was valid for a year.
As we sped back onto the highway I kept checking the GPS on my phone on Google Maps to see if we were on the right track. W. had suggested going to Como but I insisted on Laguno. He'd already been to Como and I prefer that we go places where's it's the first time for us both.
We passed by an outlet called Foxtown on the way (and looking really masonic looking with its wink and, well, the numerical meaning of the name). W. enthused that he wasn't expecting to pass by it as he'd already been in the two weeks before we came and I warned him that I'd get another discounted designer bag if he wanted to go.
It was sunny yesterday and it illuminated the Alps magnificently. It was really beautiful.
The nearer to Laguno we drove the more snow appeared on the road and then it was suddenly everywhere. My son N. had always wished to play with the snow and now his dream was coming true. We finally got there and we were just amazed at how much snow was there - and how sunny it was, too!
Anyway... This has been saved as a draft for too long.
W. went ahead and rented a car and found it a little expensive. I tried convincing him to get an automatic gear car instead of manual but he said manual was okay. My dad actually drove manual for YEARS into "old age" before he finally got an automatic... and was relieved. So I don't exactly get why anyone would voluntarily want to drive a manual car unless you were driving in the desert or on a mountain road or something where it actually makes a difference.
I tried to convince him to not go and waste our weekend shopping but no luck. He said he needed more shirts so off we went to this place called Serravelle. It was raining pretty heavily and it's a total drag to carry an umbrella around while you shop. In the UAE rain is a cause for celebration as it only happens a couple of times a year - if that - but here it ruins plans. But we took our two umbrellas we got from Scarpe & Scarpe (one of those umbrellas that don't form into tidy little handfuls) and off we went.
W. decided to ask the rental car guy if there was an automatic and lo and behold - there was. So I'm happy about that. We were both less happy with the fire-engine red colour of the car and the EUROPCAR and accompanying slogan emblazoned all over it. Might as well have added flashing neon lights to confirm we were tourists, too.
Anyway, so we reach Serravelle and the Italians do not seem bothered by the rain as they came in droves by the number of cars in the parking and the walking people about. They came to shop - as did we - and apparently falling water will not stop us.
Another thing I noticed that we met the first East Asian tourists in this area. I had only seen people from East Asian in the sushi place in Auchan this past week (I thought that was hysterical in a slightly offensive way. Like the food won't be ~authentic~ unless the staff were from East Asia).
Oh yeah! On our way back from the outlet it turns out the strange siren did indeed belong to an ambulance. On another less cheery note it's sobering how many times a day I hear it. Actually, it would be sobering for it to be the police too but it's not quite as bad as hearing an ambulance's sirens.
So W. begins his shopping. It's like we broke the laws of nature and I'm the begrudging husband who waits around while the wife gets to finish shopping but nope. Lucky for W. there are PLENTY of excellent Italian suit maker shops all over the outlet and he takes advantage of it. Apart from a brief Benetton visit in 2008 this is my "first" time shopping in Italy. There are long metal cylindrical bins by the entrances of all the shops where you dump your wet umbrellas while you shop. I mention this because in the course of said shopping I accidentally took another person's umbrella along with our own. :/
W. got really frustrated at this; me and the kids waited while he went back to look for our umbrella but no luck. Our umbrella had been taken, too. W. is convinced that the other umbrella owner had taken ours... But how would s/he know which one to take? I think the shop had more than three umbrellas in the bins.
Anyway so W. comes back with stranger-umbrella and proceeds to use it. I tell him we have no right to use it but he says that the other guy took ours and that we will use this one. We had bought ours for 10 euros so I say that it's not like it was a really expensive one but W. is stubborn. :/ I think we should donate it since the original owner never came back for it when we later went and checked again since it is not ours.
Anyway, so W. gets his suits and takes a LONG TIME. W. is a caffeine addict and is SO HAPPY at the quality coffee shops here in Milan. He's amused at the way Italians drink their coffee standing up like it's some sort of quick fix. Everywhere else I'd been you sit down and drink your coffee while reading or something. Here it's like you're at a bar and do your shot and then you're okay. I can't say I understand either option since I don't drink tea nor coffee myself. I know I'm a rare breed these days.
The rain in the meantime gives little respite. It only seems to increase in droplets and frequency. When it's near twilight there's this GREAT clap of thunder that is awe-inspiring.
I do get a new bag that is still sitting in its plastic case. It's honestly not my usual style but it's cute and elegant and one that I really would not have gotten had I not been there.
We dine at the restaurant there and I'm amused at one of the waiters' enthusiasm. There's a world of difference when you go to a restaurant where the waiters seem cheery and when they're treating you like you're at a funeral. I guess that's why customer service gets such a huge push in places like the US and for good reason.
W. had sent me a link to an Emirati report that said the UAE had stopped importing poultry from Italy as there had been cases of avian flu here so we skipped on anything chicken. The waiter raved about the frutti di mare pasta but W. had tried it before and said we should go for my original choice, the porcini pasta.
The pasta turned out to be pretty tasteless. :/ I don't even think it was salted properly. All you could taste was olive oil and that alone does not a good pasta dish make.
The kids were happier with their margarita pizza and W. dutifully ate the "pizza fried pieces" he'd ordered which were just ordinarily hollow fried dough (and yes, there was an English translation provided so it was not text lost in translation.)
Food wasn't a total disappointment that day. There was one thing that made me not regret going to the Sarravelle outlet that day and that was the incredible Lindt shop. What an enchanting place! I think I started drooling as soon as I entered the place. Being as it was so cold I opted for hot chocolate and it was so thick and rich.
We finally left and went by Auchan in Monza to pick up an ironing board and water and some other necessities. Speaking of, W. had asked our broker if the tap water in Italy was drinkable and he said it was but that he personally did not and bought bottled water. Everyone buys bottled water in the UAE but this was disappointing. After our first mistake buying sparkling water by mistake we now look meaningfully for the word AQUA NATURALE. I mean it's so widespread the word "natural" needs to be used on every bottle that isn't fizzy is kind of funny.
This was on Saturday.
On Sunday we decided to go on our first trek across the border to Laguno, Switzerland. The people there still spoke Italian as some regions near others across countries in Europe do.
When we got to the borders I told my husband that it's a good thing we brought our passports just in case - but it turns out we didn't need it.
I was very cynical when the border police decided to stop us "randomly" for an inspection but it turns out there was no need for worry. We simply did not have a highway permit decal for Switzerland. W. was pleasantly surprised when he learned it was valid for a year.
As we sped back onto the highway I kept checking the GPS on my phone on Google Maps to see if we were on the right track. W. had suggested going to Como but I insisted on Laguno. He'd already been to Como and I prefer that we go places where's it's the first time for us both.
We passed by an outlet called Foxtown on the way (and looking really masonic looking with its wink and, well, the numerical meaning of the name). W. enthused that he wasn't expecting to pass by it as he'd already been in the two weeks before we came and I warned him that I'd get another discounted designer bag if he wanted to go.
It was sunny yesterday and it illuminated the Alps magnificently. It was really beautiful.
The nearer to Laguno we drove the more snow appeared on the road and then it was suddenly everywhere. My son N. had always wished to play with the snow and now his dream was coming true. We finally got there and we were just amazed at how much snow was there - and how sunny it was, too!
Anyway... This has been saved as a draft for too long.
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