La Vineria, Navigli, Milano

This place is a really little find. After cramming into an impossibly small and inanely crowded  bar for an overpriced aperitif we strolled towards the second flat we were going to view that day and  in Via Casale we found this really cool bar/shop. Basically selling wine and olive oil on tap it also offers the option to buy a small glass of wine (about the size of a shot glass) and a board with cheese, salami and ham and bread sticks.

What is really impressive is how cheap it all is. One glass of wine is 1 Euro and the food, served on a wooden cutting board cost from 3-6 Euro. Trust me, you won’t get anything cheaper in this area.

But it’s not just cost that attracts people here as the atmosphere is delightfully informal and unpretentious. When we finally move I’m going to make this a regular.

 

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Un pomeriggio a Milano

Un pomeriggio a Milano, or two actually as one of our house hunting afternoons was aborted due to bad weather and missed appointments- grrr

So anyways this is a little overview of the area currently selected as ideal place of abode for our sparkling Milanese future: Porta Genova/Navigli.

I’d heard about this mythical caffè Cucchi ( http://www.pasticceriacucchi.it) and the famous ‘Zuccotto‘ that they make there so insisted on paying it a visit.  I can’t comment on the Zuccotto yet but will give them their due on their assortment of pastries both savoury and sweet and the delicious croissants well hidden under a rather unimpressive café exterior.Personally I think it needs a restorative refurb but I’ll probably be lynched for suggesting that…

A little stroll in this area takes you from picture-post card Milan classics to quirky new businesses. Below are the well known ‘San Lorenzo columns’. These are actually a roman ruin built around what presumably used to be a roman bath. Now the basilica takes that place and the tram runs just below them. The Milanese love to meet here and linger a while to chat or have a beer on a summer evening.

By following the road pictured below (Via Porta Ticinese) you get eventually to the main canal (Naviglio Grande) and Darsena. This area is packed with restaurants, bars and all the nightlife you could possibly want. There are also plenty of vintage clothing and accessories shops as well as a couple of huge second-hand book shops which sell foreign language books and vintage furniture shops.

Plenty of foot-bridges cross the canal, but expect don’t expect car bridges.

Along the main canal (which gets pretty smelly in the summer by the way) are so many restaurants it seems impossible they all manage to stay in business, but actually the area is usually packed with tourists and locals almost all the time.

A leafy trattoria on the water’s edge:

Traditional Milanese trattoria offering risotto alla milanese (‘yellow’ saffron risotto’ )with marrow bone

Wine bars and pizzerias are also tucked in between the roads that lead off the canal.

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