Friday, 8 February, 2019
I awoke to a sunny day with temperatures in the 50°F range, in other words, it was SPRING IN LOMBARDIA for at least one day, relatively speaking.
ROAD TRIP!
Not a big one, just the usual bus/train/Metro ride into the heart of Milano.
This chimney, dated 1927, makes this
a brand new home in our area of Varese
The C line bus (Pullman) picked me up right on time but I missed the train to Milano by about 50 meters/10 seconds as I watched the 10:20 a.m. local leave without me.
The next train for Milano did not leave the Varese Nord station until 11:16 a.m. but at least it was a faster moving, fewer stop making, Express.
I opted to use most of my next 56 minutes searching the mean streets of Varese for a cappuccino and a brioche.
I love this stylish building in the
heart of the city with its
red berry bush in full bloom
No, I do not get tired of
taking pictures of this fine
Bell Tower . . .
. . . nor of this statue dedicated
to the Fallen in the Giuseppe Garibaldi led
fight for Italian unification in the
period from 1848 and 1867
Once safely in Milano's Cadorna train station, I boarded the M2 Green Line for the short ride to the Moscova exit.
In the Chinese Calendar,
it is the Year of the Pig
Just in case you were wondering and wanted to board a Cathay Pacific airplane to fly to China and celebrate with the locals.
My first goal of today's modest agenda was lunch at a ristorante recommended in my book Italy for the Gourmet Traveler.
Latteria San Marco
Via San Marco, 24
20121 Milano
Telephone 02-659-7653
The story here is a simple one.
It is a tiny ristorante, named Latteria after the dairy shop that used to occupy this space.
The aromas coming out of the cucina were amazing so I had a decision to make.
But first, a glass of house red wine to aid in the decision making.
As I stated, it is a small ristorante
I'm sitting in the corner table right next to the cucina. There are two tables to the right where that man in the back coat is standing and about five more tables to my left, that's it.
I'd say it has room for about 30 people MAX.
The head chef with the paper
hat came out to see if all of the
customers were happy with his efforts
I had not received my order just yet but everyone else was happy with their choices from what I could tell.
Then it arrived . . .
My gnocchi in a fabulous olive
oil based sauce with just a hint
of parmesan cheese sprinkled atop
It was so amazingly good that I ranked it #2 in my 2019 International Gnocchi Rankings behind only Giorgio Nardi's home made excellence.
I found the entire hirsute look
of the man on the right interesting
A solid café after my delicious meal really hit the spot and I was on my way.
I opted for a brisk walk to aid in my digestion of my top notch meal.
Graffiti is big in Milano
Old meets New yet again
This is the
Porta Nuova City Gate
But it definitely is not new, dating from 1810.
The Porta Nuova is a tad
weather beaten
Memorial at Porta Nuova
to Lorenzi Egidio a fallen
WWII partisan
He died in battle just short of his 18th birthday fighting in the village of Canetto Pavese about 40 miles south of Milano.
Harris?
The former Pittsburgh Steeler, Hall of Fame RB's mother was Italian you know.
Old Building with an
Old Tram sporting a New Paint Job
Maybe it is Francisco or . . .
. . . maybe this is Franco who
is spray painting this roll away
business door by daylight
I was now ready for my second and final scheduled stop of the day at one of my other book's, 111 Places in Milan that You Must Not Miss, hidden gems of this great city.
#4 Baladin
"Open source" beer
Via Solferino, 56
20121 Milano
Telephone 02-659-7758
The brain child of Piedmontese biermeister Teo Musso, it's name means acrobat in French. It is a microbrewery of the first order from what I saw today.
The "open source" means that on their website anyone interested can view their over 30 beer recipes in the spirit of sharing and hopefully improving the brews over the years.
Again I need to make a choice
I'm hiding in the mirror again
I'll have a . . .
. . . hearty blond beer, per favore
It hit the spot!
It was time to head back to Varese but a bit more strolling was needed first.
I just liked this sign's looks
Majestic Building
I don't get tired of this
Sforza Castle shot either
Powerful Sforza Castle
Watch Tower
Maybe even a rook by medieval terminology.
I'd like a simple grate
over my castle window . . .
The Peace Arch in the distance
HEY! That looks like fun,
I'll have check their website
Tomorrow at 3:00 p.m., we
will host our second scrimmage
of the pre-season
The Lugano Rebels, who went to the Swiss DIII Super Bowl last year, will be invading Skorpion Field's frozen tundra this weekend.
It's another chance for both squads to learn and improve before the start of our respective, fast approaching regular seasons.
I arrived in Varese three weeks ago today and have already experienced several great meals, fun times with friends old and new and have had lots of positive experiences coaching all levels of the Skorpions.
Now for the good news, it these three action packed weeks I have lost 2.8 kilos of body weight which equals 6.18 pounds!
Days like today just might have
something to do with it
Keep your fingers crossed for our team's efforts in Saturday's scrimmage . . .
Go Skorpions GO!
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