the milanese summer just was not cooperative. landlocked and disturbingly devoid of greenery, the city provided a preview of what hell resembled in its better days. electricity was expensive by exchange student standards and as it had only gotten to a state of mad blood stirring hot within the last couple of weeks, the housemates decided not to invest in a fan. so you could only imagine the level of frustration I was swimming in most of the time.
in the day, the still dusty air concocted an unglamorous mix of perspiration and filth that clung onto me like a desperate ex-lover whom one could not easily wave off. water was present but i could not just guggle bottles of it as boiling and cooling tap water was a drawn out process that sacre-fied the scarce amount. ice? as precious as the figurative diamonds themselves. though there was a supermarket just a block down, the thought of lugging heavy bottles up five flights of stairs was an agony i no longer wished to inflict upon myself in the already-distressing summer woes. at night, i would wake up clothed in a layer of sweat which seemed cruelly out of place in armani's summer/roast collection.
that being said, i think vanessa suffered much more than i did considering how irritable i was. as a host, she could not have been more gracious nor understanding and maybe i should have taken a leaf out of her ‘keep sane in summer’ manual.
weather aside, there were still memoral experiences in milan..
a momentous affair was catching opera at the renowned teatro alla scala, affectionately known as la scala to the milanese. the hour and half long dido and athenas, written by henry Purcell, was sung in English and to my pleasant surprise incorporated a good deal of contemporary ballet performed by la scala's ballet troupe. this was my first encounter with opera and i must admit i had trouble following the actual performace and subtitles simutaneously. haha.. however, being in la scala was an experience to have and hold. like a child peering into the vast magnificent theatre, I could not help but marvel at the interior splendor of the world's oldest theatre.
a much-practiced and should-be-adopted-in-singapore Milanese custom was the aperitivo (happy hour). what happens is that you get a drink from the bar and that becomes your welcome ticket to a complimentary free flow of finger food such as chips, beer snacks, salads, pasta, sandwiches and pizza bread.
both van and i had fruit cocktails and I particularly enjoy my second conoction called 'garden gallery' (after the ba/restaurant itself) which was a refreshing mix of kiwi, lime and pineapple.
though much of milan is not imposingly high-brow or snobbish, the golden quad was an imposing domain of exclusive designer boutiques whose names were better left un-spoken aloud.
here, the uber-glamorous selected few strut defiantly cool against the milan heat and the air reeked of unchallenged style- i must have came across at least three different Bentleys. i visited the three-storey Armani building, which in addition to all their various collections, had a Armani café, a japanese bar called nobu and get this- their own chocolatier where you could buy Armani chocolate spread and marmalade spread for your everyday toast. oh i simply must awake to the aroma of freshly-grinded coffee beans and armani nutella!! luxury most frivolous? i'll bet.
by the way for you godiva devotees out there, the godiva outlet here has gelato as well.. haha.. otherwise, pop on down to tre gazelle just a two minute walk from galleria vittoria emmanuel. The dazzling array of flavours and their accompany chunks of fruit will have you dazed for a good five minutes. I had the tiramisu and limone flavour which were undoubtly marvelous. but honestly you would be hard-pressed in italy to find bad gelato.
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