me, myself & milan

dreaming of an italian summer. aren't we all?

coffee in milan

i woke up early the other day (i haven’t been sleeping well, but that’s another story). i began reminiscing on my italian summer last year, and proceeded to chaotically upload about 17 stories/photos to instagram about how much i miss my 2023 italian summer, with a passion. it got me thinking about how much travel is such a huge part of what inspires my cooking, my soul, and my life. and how lucky i am to be able to experience everything i do.

and i want to write about it.

of course, i want to write about food as well, but for me it is all entwined.

---

last summer i was lucky enough to enroll myself into culinary school in calabria, italy. the italian culinary institute, in fact. after a few glasses of wine with my friend justine, one late night in brooklyn—we decided to take the plunge and sign up. before we knew it, june had rolled around and i was on a flight to milan. justine was meeting me there a few days later and then we were going to fly to calabria together.

i love travelling with my husband, of course—it is my favorite thing to do in life! but boy do i love travelling alone. andy was going to meet me in sicily after cooking school and so right now it was just me, myself and milan!

my accommodation whilst in milan was this cute little hostel type place. because, the price of normal-ish-looking hotels in june were insane! i had my own room and it was perfectly comfy and cosy.

on the way to my hotel, i asked my uber driver to stop at the autogrill so that i could grab a little panino (as it was midnight), turns out to be one of the best sandwiches i have ever eaten in my entire life (of course, it’s italy. even gas station sandwiches are elite). it was more of a mini pizza slice/tartine than a sandwich, i suppose. it was filled with a savory salty pistachio cream, topped with mortadella and a pistachio crumb.

suffice to say, i was tired but very happy.

i spent the next day exploring and dining alone. one of my favorite things to do. i love immersing myself in my surroundings or in a book that i am reading. my friends told me about an amazing restaurant called bice, which was truly such a special solo lunch. a very traditional italian restaurant that specializes in lombardy cuisine. imagine a very stylish italian elite, but in a semi-relaxed setting. people were dressed in cream linen suits and pink shirts. the chicest of the chic.

bice ristorante, milan

i continued to roam around milan for the rest of the day then went back to the hotel for a much-needed power nap.

for dinner, my friend nino suggested røst in the porta venezia neighbourhood. i decided to walk there. the streets were bustling and alive. people were stood outside of the bars drinking wine in the street. one of my favorite things about europe—street wines!

røst is a sweet little restaurant with a very cool, moody pink interior and a few tables out on the street too. it’s exactly how you would imagine a european natural wine and small plates place to be. cosy yet chic.

røst

the food was exquisite and everyone was so sweet and kind, being that i was dining on my own. they had these braised white onions with fresh oregano, served with some house-made sourdough. i could not get over how simple, yet absolutely mind-blowing this was. so elegant. and such a fantastic example of how simplicity really is the best.

i drank a delicious sparkling rose which had notes of black pepper and orange rind—it was really special.

i strolled home enjoying the streets at night. i walked past a smattering of more cool-looking places to dine, making mental notes for when justine arrived the next day.

more on italy soon..