Milano, by night, in the eyes of an accidental passenger

Posljednjeg dana tečaja par jako dobrih i dragih ljudi (rekoše da žele ostati anonimni, pa, eto, nazovimo ih Sonja i Giorgio ;)), odlučili su da me neće pustiti da se vratim kući, a da, kad sam već prešla toliki put, mi ne pokažu Milano. Ljubazno su se prilagodili mom natrpanom rasporedu, doputovali iz susjednog gradića, putem postali žrtve lažljivog GPS-a, zalutali u labirintu jednosmjernih ulica te došli po mene. Zaputili smo se prema metropoli i tamo stigli oko 21-22 h. Kako nas je tek nekoliko sati dijelilo od mog leta natrag kući i početka njihovog napornog radnog tjedna, moji vodiči, od kojih je jedan rođeni Milanes , odlučili su me provesti  kroz najuži centar i pokazati “koncentrat” Milana- vizualni, taktilni, slušni i okusni ;).

On the last day of my course, a couple of  very dear and kind people ( they wanted to stay anonimous, so let’s name them Sonja and Giorgio ;)), deciced, since I came all that way,  they wouldn’t  let me go back home without showing me Milan. They kindly adjusted to my fulfilled schedule, travelled all away from neighbouring town, became victims of a lying GPS, got lost in a labyrinth of one-way streets and then came to pick me up. We headed our ways toward town and arrived around 9-10 pm. Since we were only a couple of hours away from my flight back home, and their busy and hardworking week was about to begin, my guiding tour operators ;), one of which is native born Milanes, decided that they would show me the very heart of town , so I can see, feel ,hear and taste the “concentrate” of Milano.

Prva stanica- naravno, Il Duomo, ili kako Sonja kaže - “čipkana” katedrala. ;) Ogromna, dugačka, divna, prepuna vitraža koji oduzimaju dah….ogromna! Iako sam znala da je Milano metropola, iznenadila sam se činjenicom koliko je velik, i  koliko su široke njegove ulice i aleje….….Žao  mi je što su fotografije malo mutne, ali bi mi bilo još više žao zakinuti vas za ovaj prizor.

Our first stop – Il Duomo, of course, or, as Sonja says “stone lace cathedral”. ;) So big, long, divine, with so many breathtaking  vitrailles…so big! Although I knew Milan is such a big metropolis, I was surprised with the size, and the width of its streets and alleys…I am so sorry these photos are a little blurred, but I would regret even more if I hadn’t show them to you.

 

 

U neposrednoj blizini nalazi se i La Scala …

La Scala is really closeby…

 

…i svima dobro poznata Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, prepuna dućana zvučnih imena. Brandovi pršte sa svih strana, ipak je suvremeni Milano najpoznatiji i kao centar visoke mode. No, iako su prizori pojedinih izloga pravi estetski doživljaj, nije mi baš to bilo previše “napeto”. Pažnju mi je više zaokupilo nešto drugo.

…and also the famous Galleria Vittorio Emaunele, full of shops of famous designers. Brands are all over the place, after all, modern Milan is very well known center of high couture. Although some of the scenes from these stores are truly unique aesthetic experience, I wasn’t “so much into it”. My attention was attracted by other things.

   

 

Kako je moj đir shoppinga više window shopping  ;),osim ako nisu kistovi ili knjige nisu u pitanju, uživala sam u live izvedbi brojnih dizajnera, koji u Milanu svaki, ali baš svaki dan iznova uređuju izloge. Kao u onoj bajci braće Grimm o malim postolarima, kad svi odu spavati, kad prodavači odu kući, kad ljudi isprazne dućane, dizajneri nastupaju.  Transformacija započinje i kreće postavljanje nove scenografije  za naredni dan…Osjećala sam se kao da gledam uličnu kazališnu predstavu, priče u slikam, bez riječi.  Baš sam bila zablesila, toliko da sam kod najzanimljivijih zaboravila izvaditi foto-aparat :!. Pravi je to praznik za Božićnog Terorista bio ;), jeleni, saonice, snijeg i pahuljice na sve strane, ali i ne samo to…. Evo tek nekih primjera:

I am more of a shopwindow kind of shopper ;), except  when it comes to brushes or books shopping, so I have enjoyed live performance of milanese shopwindow designers who decorate their windows every, but I mean every night , one after another. It’s like in the Brothers’ Grimm fairytale of two little shoemakers, when everybody goes to bed, when salesmen leave, when people empty the shops – it’s their showtime. The transformation begins and here comes another scenery for the next day…I felt like I was watching street -theatre show, story in pictures, without lyrics. I caught myself staring at them, so much I forgot to take my camera and make a photo…! It was like a holiday for me, The Christmas Terrorist, with all these reindeers, sleigh, snowflakes and all…and even more:

To su redom: Replayev dućan u kojeg bih se mogla preseliti,jer je čitava unutrašnjost na dvije etaže pravi pravcati vrt. Ma, što vrt, prašuma!….Zatim , Abercrombie&Fitch, robna kuća za muškarce u kojoj ne koriste lutke, već su modeli pravi, živi muški manekeni….na svim odjelima! Nisam ih osobno vidjela uživo, ali što sam se naslušala priča o njimaaaaa…….Trećem se ne sjećam imena, ali te divovske ruže su me očarale!

These are, in order: Replay shop I could move in, because all the interior was transformed into a true garden..No, into the jungle! Then, Abercrombie& Fitch, department store for men, which doesn’t use mannequins, but real live male models…at all departments! Haven’t seen them in live, but I’ve heard stoooories….:D This third picture- I can’t remember which shop it was, but I was delighted by those giantic roses!

Svaki put kad posjetim novo mjesto ili grad, nekako ga volim pustiti da mi se samo pokaže. Volim impresije koje spontano dođu. Ono po čemu ću najviše zapamtiti Milano je taj doživljaj estetike. Nije bitno jesu li stare građevine u pitanju, ili izlozi, ili hrana (ova stavka vrijedi za cijelu Italiju!) ili tegle za cvijeće ispred kuća, ili balkoni, ili predmeti i trenuci na koje slučajno naletiš: sve ima viziju u podlozi, teksturu, oblik koji pomiče granice.….kao što rekoh, nisam sve uspjela uhvatiti, ali evo komadića i detalja koje jesam:

Every time I visit new place or town, I like to let it show itself to me. I love spontanious impressions. The thing I will remember about Milano the most is this experience of aesthetics. It doesn’t matter if there are old buildings, or shopwindows, or food ( and this one goes for every part of Italy!), or flowerpots in front of houses, or balconies, or objects and moments you run into by accident: all these has a background vision, a texture, a shape that moves boundaries…as I said, I didn’t quite catch it all, but these are pieces of the details I did:

     

 

    

I, šećer na kraju: onaj okusni dio Milana! Posjetili smo “Santa Luciu”, nimalo pretenciozan ali vrhunski i ultra popularan restoran koji je otvoren kao prva pizzeria u Milanu još 1929. godine. Danas je puno više od toga, što dokazuju i brojni posjeti popularnih gostiju, čije fotografije prekrivaju zidove restorana. Svaka fotografija je i rukom potpisana. Vlasnik je Napolitanac, pa okusi talijanskog  juga ipak prevladavaju i na jelovniku i na dekoru. Osjećala sam se kao u sceni iz Velog Mista. Kao doma ;).

And last, but not the least: the “tasting” part of Milan! We’ve  visited “Santa Lucia”, one of the  top restaurants in town, very popular though not pretencious, which began as the first pizzeria in 1929. Today it is a lot more than pizza place, as evidenced by numerous visits of very famous guests, whose photos are all over the walls. Every and each one of them is signed by hand.  The owner is Napoletano, so the flavours of italian south dominate on the menu and through the decoration. I felt like home. ;)

 

  

 

Gurmanska zanimljivost: regija Lombardia poznata je po proizvodnji i jelima od mesa, pa sam po preporuci probala upravo mesna jela, iako ih baš ne volim.  Antipasto je na gornjoj fotografiji, to je ovo što sliči na naš pršut, samo što nije ni dimljeno ni preslano. To je bresaola, sušena govedina u umaku od maslinova ulja, soka od limuna i s paprom, a tako tanko narezana da se topi u ustima. Jako fino, kao i ostatak menija, no ja sam ipak tip od deserta, pa sam na kraju probala i Pastieru Napoletanu- tradicionalnu tortu sa sastojkom kojeg nam nisu rekli, već smo ga morali pogoditi. Okus je doista bio domaći i starinski, i podsjećao me na nešto što je oduvijek tu, nešto više bakino nego mamino, nešto što uopće nije mirisalo na kuhinju, pred očima su mi letjele slike vrućih ljetnih popodneva i siesta…Sa svakim zalogajem sve nas je više frustriralo što se nikako nismo mogli sjetiti što je to bilo, jer je bilo toliko, toliko poznato…ali nitko od nas troje nije uspio pogoditi.

A gourmanic fact : Lombardia is well known for its meat production and dishes made of meat, so I was recommended to  try some of them out, and I did,  although usually I am not a big fan. As an antipasto I had bresaola, dried beef in olive oil, lemon juice and pepper, sliced so thin that you could melt it in your mouth. It was very delicious, as the res of the menu, but I am the kind of person who eats desser first ;), so I had to try Pastiera Napoletana, traditional cake with misterious ingedient we had to find out by guessing. The taste was very domestic and traditionalo indeed, and it reminded me of something that had been always there by my side, something more  “grandmotherly” than “motherly”. something that didn’t remind me of kitchen at all, but of hot summer afternoons and siestas…With every bite we were more and more frustrated that we couldn’t have guessed what it was, because it had been so, so familiar…but non of us found the answer.

Na izlasku su nam rekli: ružina vodica.

Tom je ružinom vodicom moja baka natapala kuglice tkanine i stavljala u ormare, a ljeti i u bočice s maslinovim uljem, kojim nas je mazala na  plaži.

Neću nikad zaboraviti ovu tortu.

 

So, on our way out, they  told us: rose water.

My grandmother used to put rose water in little balls of fabric and put them into her closets, and in the summertime she made her own sunscreen of olive oil and rose water, which she made us kids put on during long days on the beach.

I will never forget this cake.

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