Musei e Castelli

September 9, 2018

Kati, Witten, and Me in Navigli

Our first full day in Milan was a long one and it started way too early. I made it back to the hotel around 10:15 last night and crawled into bed for a well-earned night’s sleep. Witten, however, had different plans. I woke up to the sound of her screaming . . . she had to pee, she was hungry, she needed water (none of which were true). I leapt out of bed to be the good husband buying Kati another 30 minutes of sleep before we all had to be up and out for the day. Then I looked at the clock. 11:30 p.m. I had been asleep for just over an hour. Witten didn’t go down for at least another two. I woke up again at 6:30, rolled over, and felt a wee little arm underneath me. Witten was sprawled out, somehow taking up at least half of our bed. We don’t let Witten sleep with us, but it had been that bad of a night.

The alarm sounded at 7:30. The room was pitch black, and I was discombobulated. Still, we managed to get our act together and get out of the hotel by 8:30, with a very difficult Witten in tow. Our first stop was at the Pinactoteca di Brera - the most famous art museum in Milan. We grabbed a quick breakfast at a cafe outside the museum before inadvertently taking a detour around the outside of the Brera’s entire campus, only to end up exactly where we started - at the main entrance and the ticket office.

The Brera is amazing. I forgot just how much I loved European art museums. At least for me, the highlight of the collection is and always will be Mantegna. His art is transfixing and I could stare at it all day, particularly hisThe Lamentation Over the Dead Christ. At one point, Kati and I looked over and Witten was standing in front of a piece of art with her hands by her side, intently analyzing the work before her. Mimicry or not, it was adorable.

We ended up spending more time than expected at the Brera, so when we left it was definitely lunch time (for Americans, not Italians). We made it to Giacomo Arengario at 11:50 . . . ten minutes before it opened. Talk about an impressive restaurant. It would have been enough just to be on the second floor, overlooking the Piazza del Duomo, but the food was incredible. Kati got a green tagliolini with baby octopi, and I got an asparagus and crab risotto. We also got some artisanal Italian beers - English pale ales - which were pretty good.

After lunch it was time for Witten’s nap, so we stopped back at the hotel to put her down. She was out instantaneously, so we dropped the baby monitor with my parents, and Kati, Callie, and I went on a bit of an adventure to the nearest supermarket. After stocking up on water, we walked down to peek in San Lorenzo Maggiore, walk under the remnants of the ancient Milanese wall, and marvel in the glory of Constantine’s prestigious statue. We also got some gelato on the way back for our afternoon rest.

Outside Grand Hotel L'Osteria

I woke Witten up from her slumbering state at 3:45, so that we could get out and get going again. First, we walked over to the Castello Sforszesca so that Kati could breathe in the essence of her idol - Caterina Sforza. Unfortunately, the Castello had already closed for the day, so we could just explore the courtyards. Afterwards, we took the Metro down to Navigli to walk the canals.

Over the course of our two-hour meander through the canal district, we ended up at the Grand Hotel L’Osteria, which was in a very shady part of town, tucked away down a hidden driveway. It’s a small, local, Italian tavern. The owner is a wine expert with an incredible wine list. Our dinner took almost two hours, and was amazing. Rabbit ravioli with roasted red pepper sauce, a huge cut of lamb, tuna linguine, and some outstanding triple-chocolate mousse. We took our time under the pagoda in a restaurant where they spoke virtually no English, and it was amazing! It took us until almost 10:00 to make it back to the hotel, at which point we laid Witten down in her crib and went to grab a drink up at the rooftop bar of our hotel. Unfortunately, 30 minutes later, my mom told us that Witten was screaming on the baby monitor. It took her until midnight to finally go to sleep!