Saturday, March 24, 2018

Las Vegas Action and a Break in the Action


Friday, 23 March, 2018

This just in from Las Vegas, Nevada . . .

Grandson Kevin's
school had a Color Run!

Goggles looked like
a GREAT call!

As I understand it, the Color Run
is just a fun way for the kids
to head into Spring Break

From the looks of it, Kevin had about all the fun a six year old can have!

Meanwhile, back on the Continent . . .

After spending most of the week indoors and seeing a beautiful Spring day outside my window, I opted to head into Milano.

The tradeoff for this mind cleansing trip would be a long Friday night and an early Saturday morning finishing my breakdown of our Blue Storms video.

I needed the break.

Giovanni Battista Piatti
1812-1867
A Civil Engineer from Milan

He invented a pneumatic rock drilling machine used to to dig tunnels.

Old meets New
on Piazza XXV Aprile

On this very same piazza one finds EATALY, a great place to have a light lunch and gaze at several well displayed items of nourishment.

Purple?

I wonder how the Huskies' Spring football practice is going?

Heirlooms, I believe

Aromatic citrus fruits

Did you know that Milano has its own Chinatown?

Well it does, and thanks to my interesting book 111 Places in Milan That You Must Not Miss, today I would explore it.

#103 Via Paolo Sarpi
Milan's very own Chinatown

The red lanterns and Chinese writing
were a dead giveaway that I was
in the right spot!

Most shops along Chinatown's main
street advertise in both Italian and Chinese

Via Paolo Sarpi,
where two cultures meet

And, I'd guess they probably clash sometimes too.

An old Italian clothing store
still holding its own on this pleasant street

Milano's Chinatown even has
LOS ANGELES RAMS FANS!

A GREAT street indeed!

A Chinese Trattoria?

Sure, why not?

That's not Chinese or Italian cuisine!

It was an American
Soul Chicken Bistro

You can find just about anything and everything on Via Paolo Sarpi!

Including colorful . . .

. . . buildings and . . .

. . . dragon murals

A Sicilian gelateria in Chinatown
was a bonus!

Their pastries looked . . .

. . . AMAZING!

I opted for the gelato instead.

The delicious mandorla and pistacchio gelato were perfect reminders of why we need to get back to Catania this Spring if time permits. 

Old School scale

It was in a random store window that I passed while strolling the neighborhood.

Suddenly I was on
the African Savannah

What a neighborhood!

I ambled on into Parco Sempione where . . .

People were sunning themselves
on a beautiful Friday Spring day

Trees are blooming

Sforza Castle never gets old
to me

Just a splendid tower

Four Friends, a Fountain and
a Balmy Spring Day

I kept my exploration trek going full throttle as I was in search of . . .

#79 Sant'Ambroeus
The Belle Époque cake shop

I found it near the La Scala Opera House

The bar area was nice and the coffee
was as rich as the orange cake
that was cut up for bar patrons
to partake of while sipping their drinks

This place is definitely an A-list destination given the furnishings that include large Murano glass lampshades, silver mirrors and fine wood paneling.

This place has been a Milano landmark since 1936. 

They had more amazing . . .

. . . sweets for your palate

As I left, I turned up a new street for me, Via Montenapolene.

This street led me into the
Quadrilateral d'Oro

This is Milano's uber-high end shopping area. In the windows of this Fendi store the cheapest item I saw was a pair of women's sandals for a mere 800 Euros or about $990 USD!

Cova is another fine, historical
cake and sweet shop

Cova was founded in 1817, by one of Napoleon's soldiers.

Located in the Quadrilateral d'Oro, Cova holds its own in these upscale surroundings.

Cova was crowded, I was still ok with the coffee and cake that I'd enjoyed at Sant'Ambroeus a few minutes ago but I could still take a look at their wares.

Oh my!

I need a calorie count, NOW!

Holy Mother of GOD!

This is just NOT FAIR!

Meanwhile, back on the high end shopping streets . . .

Asian Shoppers strutting their stuff

And one Italian photo bomber.

Nice jewelry at Van Clef & Arpels

A bit over my head

If you are going to be a street
musician, you might as well 
follow the money in the
Quadrilateral d'Oro

That were pretty good

A plain, black Dior dress

More amazing jewelry

I got kind of a
"Breakfast at Tiffany's"
feel from this photo

Expensive clothing screams for
equally expensive wheels

The Grand Hotel of Milan

The Sforza Family crest's snake is purportedly giving birth to, not eating that man.

Holy Cannoli!

On the #1 Tram heading back
to the Cadorna Train Station

My head and body cleansed from a good Spring day in Milano, it was time to head back to the Villa Skorpion and get back to work.

BEAT THE KNIGHTS!

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