Tea Time: Milan

We leave for Rome in less than a week, and I haven't even gotten around to writing anything about Milan yet. So I'm going to try to sum it up in one blog post. If I had to describe Milan in one word, that word would be: disappointing. For those of you thinking I'm crazy to say this, in my defense I will say that 2 other people have given me the exact same appraisal of Milan: 'It's just another city'. One woman was German, one British, and they didn't know each other. I have to say I agree with them, however!
If you love shopping then obviously Milan is the place for you (although most of the stores I saw there were chains that could be found anywhere else in the world). If you love Italian food and culture, then try another city. Not that Milan doesn't have its fair share of art, museums, etc, but I'd have to say that the food was good at best, nothing outstanding. And it's so hard to see the ever-so-famous Last Supper that you either have to pay an insane price or reserve your tickets months in advance (or both). I'm not saying the Last Supper is the only quality piece of art in the city, but if you're touring Milan then you're more than likely going to want to see this famous masterpiece if at all possible.
The fact that it rained our entire weekend there probably didn't help my appraisal of the city, but here are a few highlights from our little getaway.
Milan's Duomo is beautiful. Of course it is: it's the Duomo! And one of the largest in Italy, I think. Didn't really do my homework for this trip unfortunately. Just beware the scammers outside in the piazza: guys will try to give you some birdseed and get you to hold your arms up for the (dirty!) pigeons. They then offer to take a picture on your camera of you feeding said nasty birds. Not really sure what they plan on doing at that point other than picking your pockets or charging you for taking a photo. In any case, if they force the seed on you, drop it and go!
For our first dinner (and our only formal/expensive/sit-down dinner) in Milan, we ate at Nerino Dieci Trattoria, one of the top-rated restaurants in the city. Good service, home-made beer, very eye-pleasing food...but I can't say that our meal was the best ever. Tasty, maybe, but there was no one dish that I specifically remember, either. (Whereas I'm still craving some ribollita from Florence!). For the price, I was expecting some gastronomical treats, but what we got was average food made to look beautiful.
Also, while the service was very attentive and everyone was pleasant to us, it was quite obvious near the end of our meal that our waitress was quietly being told off by the manager because she hadn't cleared a small plate from our table. We'd asked her to leave it for Keila (who was sleeping in her stroller), and while I could see that she was explaining this fact to the manager, there were still lots of annoyed gestures on his part about the whole thing. Kind of ruined the meal for me. The waitress came back and never mentioned a word about the plate, but if it was such a big deal they could've at least been polite enough to discuss it in private instead going at it in full view of us and other diners. I'd still recommend trying it if you're in Milan and want good service (even if they are a bit TOO attentive when it comes to clearing plates), but it just doesn't compare to food in Florence or upper-class Venetian restaurants.
Sweets: we ate some gelato at Gelateria Rinomata, and also had gelato and cake at Chocolat. The gelato at Rinomata was pretty good, although a bit too sugary for my taste. Apparently they've held onto their original recipe for years, and the inside is quaintly old-fashioned, too. I'd stop by again if we were in the area.
Chocolat has great dark chocolate cakes, and their hazelnut dark chocolate gelato was top-notch, too. Keila loved the regular chocolate gelato, but I don't think she's too picky! The cafe interior is very trendy and relaxing at the same time. It seemed to have a good mix of clientele, too. Would defintely return there again.
And, that's it for Milan! We're glad we went but likely won't return. It was a nice weekend getaway but I wouldn't bother going for longer unless you really want to shop or tour some museums.

Nerino Dieci Trattoria in Milan: Via Nerino 10, 20123
Gelateria Rinomata: Ripa Porta Ticinese | Angolo Viale Gorizia
Chocolat in Milan: Via Boccaccio 9, 20121