return to milan.

when i knew i was leaving milan, i had this notion that i wanted to get back to milan on my way home from dubai at christmas. 

for the longest time, the flight scenarios just looked impossible. 

but one day, i happened upon an affordable and doable flight path and i bought it. 

my school in dubai has an extra week off at the holidays, so my friends in milan would still be in the city so that i could say hello. 

caitlin, of course, let me stay at her apartment...i just had to figure out how to get in the door! 

the key was with the doorman, who was nowhere to be found...of course! coffee break, i'm sure! 

so i dropped my bags outside her door hoping i'd be able to jump on her wifi since i'd used her network before...and success! 

after a little while, i checked back downstairs and the doorman had returned. 

and, of course, we had to hit our favorite places.

i love this little wine bar, convivio, and have posted about it many times before.

some of my favorite people!

then it was off to pizza am, one of the best pizzerias in town. you must arrive before they open if you don't want to wait forever.

ugh, so delicious.

good friends, good food.

see? #cleanplateclub

i'd basically been begging for a starbucks to arrive in milan the entire time i lived there.

and then three arrived as soon as i left. #figurati

so i had to go and get a latte. just because i could.

but there were plenty of lines!

i miss watching the little old italians walking the streets.

and i miss this foccacia. it's one of my favorites.

all that deliciousness.

channeling girl eat world.

another mandatory stop was luini's. i mean, when this is the line, you know it's good, right?

panzerotti. basically baby calzones.

delicious food, historic background.

milan was all decked out for the holidays.

blue skies and the duomo.

i was also able to swing by school to say hello and see how the renovations finished up over the summer.

and i couldn't pass up chocolate brioche.

and discovering i've been immortalized on the school's timeline.

i asked my italian teacher to meet me for lunch, somewhere we could have a bowl of delicious pasta.

she insisted on her sister's.

so we lunched over traditional italian ragu.

buonissimo!

it was awesome to get back to milan so soon after leaving. and honestly, surprisingly reassuring that i made the right decision to leave when i did. i'm so happy to have had the experience of living in italy for seven years, but am thrilled to have taken the leap into a new adventure.

until next time, milan.

all the gelato.

before leaving italy, i tried very hard to sample a lot of gelato.

it was necessary to eat as much as possible before moving!

so, here's a rundown of some gelato spots around milan, some of which are among the city's best.

1. alberto marchetti

here i had two flavors, which is pretty standard in italy. one was white chocolate with salted caramel and the other was chocolate chip. the gelato at marchetti is really loose; it doesn’t actually scoop. they simply kind of swirl it on to the cone.

2. gelateria della musica

always known as a solid choice in milan's gelato scene, there are several locations of della musica around the city. here i had biscottocio, a vanilla gelato with cookies and fudge, and pistacchio.
gelato at della musica is much thicker and they have more interesting and diverse flavors that are all named after some musical inspiration.

3. grom

grom is a well-known chain around italy. here i stuck with fruit flavors, lampone e limone (raspberry and lemon). the flavors here are solid, but their fruit flavors not as creamy as i would like them to be.

4. pavé

this is a new spot on the scene. also with a interesting selection of flavors, i stayed pretty neutral with pistacchio and tarte tatin. the texture was really nice. the flavor of my choices were not overly amazing, but still good. i also sampled white chocolate with lime and salt, a unique choice.

5. massimo del gelato

seriously, this place is my absolute, hands down favorite place for gelato anywhere. i arrived on a sunday afternoon to find a line out the door. this time i selected granite, similar to sorbet or italian ice. i had three flavors because i simply could not decide on only two! the three were arancia di sicilia, limone e fragola. (sicilian orange, lemon, and strawberry) they were super tart and mouth puckering, which i loved. the orange was especially amazing.

6. gelaterie milanesi

i tried to go back to gelateria della musica for some peanut butter gelato, but they were closed. so i headed down the street to another neighborhood gelateria. here i chose two fruit flavors that were combinations: strawberry/pomegranate and mango, coconut and ginger. the texture of the gelato was good. the strawberry flavor was awesome. the mango one only really tasted of coconut.

7. rinomata gelateria

this gelateria at the top of the navigli has a solid selection of gelato in both flavor and quality. it's very creamy and even though it's in quite a touristy spot, it's not overpriced. here i had pistacchio e cannella (cinnamon). 

8. gelateria giova

i was walking from my apartment one night when i came across this gelateria. it seemed popular so i decided i would try it out. here i had crema di limone e marscapone con fragola (cream of lemon and marscapone with strawberry). unfortunately, the lemon was too medicinal, but the strawberry was great. 

9. gelateria della musica (again!)

this is the best, close place to my apartment. so i did like to stop here more than others. 

10. riva gelateria (in varenna, on lake como)

the last gelato before leaving milan was up at the lakes. unfortunately, i don't remember the flavors, but it was good enough!

you should eat here.

a few weeks back i was treated to a chance to have lunch at one of my favorite restaurants.

i've mentioned this place before, but it's been awhile, so if you're ever anywhere near milan, and you have a car, you should make a trip out to le proposte.

about an hours drive from milan you can find some of the most fresh, local food in italy.

the food at le proposte is simple, but classic.

when you arrive, you're asked if you would like the antipasti.

the answer is yes.

always.

here's a sample of what we had on our last visit.

selection of salumi

beans with olive oil and herbs

crostini with parmesan cream and strawberry

fried veggies: green onions, zucchini flowers, cauliflower

roasted pumpkin with balsamic

we also ordered two primis (pasta course) to share.

there's no physical menu at the restaurant. they just rattle off what they have that day. you can check their website in advance for what appears to be a fairly accurate version of what we were offered that day. (the menu is likely to change seasonally.)

tortelli di zucca - pumpkin ravioli

tortelli di fonduta con tartufo nero - fonduta cheese ravioli with black truffle

this cheese is super melty! 

we usually skip the secondi (the meat course) and head straight to dessert.

tortino alle fragole - strawberry tart

mousse di cioccolato - chocolate mousse

i love this restaurant. so much.

better than all the food was the amazing company.

peggy just happened to be visiting milan now that she's retired and living in vermont.

so this was a nice opportunity for the four of us to catch up.

ann, angela and peggy

if you get the chance to go, take it!

do have a favorite restaurant in italy? please share it with me in the comments!