An experienced traveler will never go to Rome or Venice in August, unless he is suicidal. There is no point in melting from the heat, standing in endless queues and maneuvering among crowds of Chinese. Moreover, Chinese tourists are a natural disaster. Like the Great Wall of China come to life, they move blindly, holding selfie sticks in front of them and not taking their loving eyes off the cameras. Looking at their happy faces, you begin to suspect that the greatest creations of mankind are not St. Peter’s Cathedral and the Doge’s Palace, but a simple stick that finally allows you to photograph your loved one instead of your fed-up relatives.
If you are not Chinese, then I advise you to postpone Venice until September and go to Milan in the summer. Spacious Milan handles the influx of tourists much better, and there are almost no attractions against which you can “take a selfie.”
Milan is a city of beautiful people. I love to sit in the square in front of the Duomo, eat ice cream and stare at the people passing by. I have never seen such exquisitely dressed men in any European capital. If the women in Paris are beautiful, the men in Italy are incomparable. And everyone: from prime ministers to ice cream sellers. Even the janitors seemed to have just stepped off the catwalk and picked up brooms for a “vogue” photo shoot. They have courageous faces, styled hair and stylish shoes.
Milanese, as all other Italians ironically call the residents of Milan, remind me of Muscovites. They are metropolitan things with aplomb. Firstly, they don’t know their neighbors in the stairwells. Secondly, everything that lies outside Milan is considered dark territories, unsuitable for life. And thirdly, it is absolutely not customary for them to invite friends to visit. They even celebrate birthdays in restaurants, where each invited guest pays for himself. I have always been concerned about the question of whether the birthday boy has to pay by check for the gifts given to him, but so far I have not received an invitation and cannot say for sure. I know only one thing for sure: you shouldn’t ask for a cup of tea in a nightclub if you don’t want to hear “va fan kulo” in response. However, it is pronounced with such feeling that you can’t help but fall in love. Milanese are complex but extremely charismatic people.
If, in addition to the fashionable men of Milan, you are interested in fashionable clothes, I advise you to plan your trip for mid-July. The street from Duoma to Piazza San Babilo will allow you to dress up inexpensively and, if not catch up with the stylish Milanese street sweepers, then at least get closer to them. After shopping, you can have a tasty and cheap meal at the Brek restaurant on the same square. And for dessert, try the most delicious cakes in the world – “cannolo” – in a tiny cafe on Via S. Antonio 15. It is run by the grandson of the legendary Sicilian mafia and personally prepares all the sweets. It’s best not to say his last name out loud, but you can read it on the license to the left of the door. And if, on top of that, you visit the roof of the Duomo with its 135 spiers and 3,400 sculptures, and for dinner you go to the Matarello restaurant, where Milanese eat the most delicate “osso buco”, you can safely assume that you have seen a little more than the average tourist with “ selfie stick.”
