Metro Challenge 4. Brenta

I am one day past my due date, so I decided to go for a walk to encourage this baby to come out and meet us. I chose a metro station close to home and one that I could walk to to avoid riding public transportation during this coronavirus. Brenta station is on Line 3 of the metro. It was inaugurated in 1991.

I entered the area from Piazza Geremia Bonomelli. According to Wikipedia, "Geremia Bonomelli was the bishop of the diocese of Cremona in the late years of the 19th century and first years of the 20th century. Bonomelli is still remembered for his work in support of Italian emigrants." I couldn't help but notice there are many centri di assistenza fiscale (C.A.F.) in this area. I wonder if it's due to the high concentration of immigrants. I walked along Viale Brenta to Via Don Bosco. Viale Brenta is named after the river that runs from Trentino to the Adriatic Sea. According to Wikipedia, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco a.k.a. Don Bosco "dedicated his life to the betterment and education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other disadvantaged youth. He developed teaching methods based on love rather than punishment." I took a left turn on Via Breno (a comune in Val Camonica, Brescia). This street is very residential. 

On Via Benaco, I discovered Feeling Food. Feeling Food is an event space that can be rented for business or private events. They offer team building services for businesses and a 'chef goes home' service in which a chef cooks for you and 20 guests in your home. Turning onto Via Verbano (a province in Piedmonte) takes you back into the residential area. There are some newer looking buildings on this street, with business on the street level.

Back on Via Don Bosco, you'll find Ristorante Baja Sardinja. This is a very intimate Sardinian restaurant. Reservations are a must. The staff are a bit brusk, but the food is authentic. At the corner of Via Don Bosco and Via Tagliamento is Piazza San Luigi. Here sits the San Luigi Gonzaga church, the main focal point of the area. In fact, this district used to be known as San Luigi. It can be seen from many vantage points in the Brenta area. Aloysius de Gonzaga died as a result of caring for the victims of a serious epidemic, which seems fitting during this coronavirus pandemic. For this reason, he is considered the patron saint of plague victims. Maybe we should all be praying to Saint Luigi! 

I discovered a restaurant that we're going to try called L'Altrimenti Ci Arrabbiamo on Via Tagliamento. Tagliamento is another river that runs from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea. I'm hoping this restaurant will become a new local favourite that we can bring guests to. Check out their antipasti, primi, secondi and dolci.

I'd say the gem of this area has to be Cartoleria e Tipografia Fratelli Bonvini. Even the name of the place is charming. This place has been around since 1909, over 100 years. According to their website, "Fratelli Bonvini Milano, an entrepreneurial initiative and a cultural project created in 2014 by a group of friends who are passionate about graphics, publishing, typography, and art. We refurbished the shop keeping all the original furniture and equipment, restarted the machines, and integrated the equipment. Here you can find all the objects related to our passions: pencils and pens, albums and notebooks, nibs and inks, books and rubber-stamps." This place is my father's dream. From their Facebook page, it looks like they're still hosting workshops and book signings. I bought a set of 16 Carlo Stanga illustrations and two Rifle Paper Co. enamel pins as gifts. A special, historical place in Milan worthy of supporting. 

It seems Le Officine del Dolce has bought up real estate in this area starting at the corner of  Corso Lodi and Via Tagliamento in 2017. Le Officine del Dolce is a pastry shop and laboratory dedicated to gluten-free pastries and gelato. A few doors down from Via Tagliamento, 2 you'll find the Pizza & Salato location of Officine del Dolce. A third location sits on the other side of Corso Lodi at Via Tullo Massarani, 2. It seems the whole business started in 2014 with Centro della Mozzarella, an artisan cheese shop on Via Benaco, 1.

Further down Corso Lodi is La Stazione delle Biciclette. This is more than just a bike and repair shop. One evening each month they transform their workshop to host readings, book and magazine presentations, cinema and cycling stories. From their Facebook page, "evenings to meet, talk about bikes, have a bite to eat and taste a good wine offered by La bottega del Vinaiolo."

Continuing on the north side of Corso Lodi, Via Tullo Massarani (writer, artist and politician) intesects Via Nervesa at a huge park. The huge triangular park surrounds the Mangoni tower. The Mangoni tower was designed by Luca Mangoni, known simply as Mangoni. He is not only an architect, but also a musical artist in the band Elio e le Storie Tese. The tower was built between 1995 and 2000. In the early 2000s it was considered Milan's top and iconic residential high-rise building. Based off a review on Google, it seems the park has been overtaken by Latin gangs. When I walked by, there were mostly adult men hanging out around the park. There is a basketball court where children were playing. The park continues along Via Enrico Gonzales (politician, lawyer, and anti-fascist). The third side of the triangular park is along Via Leo Longanesi (journalist, publicist, screenplayer, playwright, writer and publisher). On this side of the park there is a cool pirate ship-looking playground and a fountain. 

The one street in the area that I didn't explore is Viale Bacchiglione (another river that empties into the Brenta River). I ended my exploration walk at the intersection of Corso Lodi and the Milano Porta Romana train station. I always wonder if Patchouli Cafe is any good, or if it's even open. It's in such a neat location and kind of has a Great Gatsby vibe from the outside. But I wonder if anyone is maintaining it. 

Metro Challenge 3. Sant'Ambrogio

I managed to keep the Metro Challenge going for a second week in a row. One of the new teachers at my school mentioned the Old Fox pub so I looked it up and that's how I decided my second station, Sant'Ambrogio. Like last week, I drew a circle around the station. The first circle seemed too big an area, so I drew a second, smaller circle.

It was a hazy day with overcast cloud coverage. I took public transportation to Sant'Ambrogio station, but not the metro. I took the 94 bus (Porta Volta-Minghetti). It was so easy! Now I know a fast and easy way to get to the Colonne di San Lorenzo.

The first street I explored is Via Edmondo de Amicis. I spotted a store called Rebus that I wanted to check out. I'm glad I did. They have globe lights, hanging hot air balloons, black board stickers, and baby stuff. Another nice looking wedding registry store on Via de Amicis, Ameleto Missaglia. There is also a temporary exposition space at number 53. Other notable locations along Via de Amicis are: focaccieria Sapurì, Sardo seafood restaurant Vento di Sardegna, kitchen supply store Kitchen, Hotel Pierre Milano, Japanese restaurant Tokyo Fish, and cocktail bar Wave.

Turning onto Via Cesare Correnti, the first thing you see in Piazza della Resistenza Partigiana is the statue of Cesare Correnti. Correnti was an Italian revolutionary and politician. Also along Via Correnti is Barbour and Pizzeria Naturale. I found an extremely unique jewellery store on Via Caminadella called Pilgio. A diamond ring caught my eye!

Getting deeper into the neighbourhood, I turned down Via Orazio and walked past the Liceo Ginnasio Alessandro Manzoni. When I turned down Via Francesco Novati I realized I was in the 5 Vie area. Back on Via Caminadella, I happened upon another unique store, Crossover Basket, a basketball speciality shop. This led me to Via Lanzone. This is where I discovered the very clever Milano Home Scouting and Idea 4 Mi.

I continued walking past Piazzetta San Josemaria Escriva to Via San Pio V. The area along Via San Pio V is a beautiful gated community. Number 12 was exceptionally beautiful because of the glass windows and lush plants growing all over. As I walked along Via Lodovico Necchi, into the heart of Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, I realized how many students were walking around. The campus along Via Santa Valeria, Largo Fra Agostino Gemelli, and Piazza Sant Ambrogio is absolutely stunning and extremely clean. It has a scholarly feel. There is also an impressive Temple of Victory to commemorate Milan's war dead in Largo Caduti Milanesi Per La Patria.

Just around the corner is the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio. There was a wedding happening as I walked into the piazza. I went to check out the basilica and recognized the former business manager from my school. He started a wine garden with two business partners attached to the basilica. It's called Milano Wine Garden. They do aperitivo, dinner, wine tasting, and other special events. They also sell wine. But it is only temporary, until September 20th. L and I are going to try dinner there this Friday. The manager told me to check out San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore church. Maybe that will be my Metro Challenge destination next week!

As I walked west on Via San Vittore, past California Bakery, a Del Monte promoter handed me a banana! 

Metro Challenge 2. Bisceglie

This will be a quick post because there's not much to see or do around Bisceglie metro station. This station is the south western terminus of the Red Line 1. I am assuming the station and the street it is on are named after the beach town in Puglia.







Being the terminus, the station opens up to a large parking garage for commuters. I started walking along Via Bisceglie to Via Teobaldo Ciconi (journalist, poet, and playwright, 1824-1864). My first impression of the area was that there are many vast fields of grass and that the whole area is very residential. On Via Ugo Pisa (politician, 1845-1910) there is a large project underway to rebuild the elementary school.

 

Probably the most impressive building in the neighbourhood is the San Giovanni Battista alla Crete church in the piazza of the same name. The church was designed by architect Giovanni Muzio and built in the middle of the 1950s. The fence around the church has the shape of the Duomo of Milan. Not far from the piazza, on Via della Capinera, is a craft and jewelry store called Fantasy Craft. Good to know, although a bit far from the center.

Another detail I noticed about the neighbourhood is that many of the streets are named after birds. For example, Via della Capinera is named after the blackcap. Other examples include, Via del Cardellino (goldfinch), Via del Usignolo (nightingale), Via Pettirosso (robin), and Via del Allodola (skylark). There you go, a mini-lesson in Italian bird names! Other streets are named after places in Switzerland, for example, Via Zurigo, Via Basilea, and Via Lucerna. A couple of streets, Via Val Devero and Via Valle Antigorio, are named after Alpine valleys in the region of Piedmont.



There is another large green space between Via Lucerna and Via Filippo Maria Beltrami (partisan and anti-fascist, 1908-1944) and perhaps a cascina at the corner of the two streets. I couldn't help but notice a Domino's Pizza at the corner of Via Creta and Via delle Martinella. There is a community garden between Via Paolo Bentivoglio (politician, 1894-1965) and Via Piero Colombi (journalist and editor, 1899-1960). There is another cascina at the corner of Via Veterbo and Via Basilea.




Due to all the old farmhouses, I guess that the area was established quite a long time ago. In fact, it dates back to 1346. The area is named after the Cascina Sella Nuova. More information can be found on urbanfile blog.

Tourists in Toronto, Day 1

Last year we kept a journal of our adventure in British Columbia and Alberta. This year I didn't bring a journal to write in so these blog posts will serve as a record of our summer vacation in Ontario and Quebec. Spoiler alert: the majority of this post will be about food and beverages!

L arrived on Saturday evening. We were late picking him up from Pearson Airport because my dad and I were working on our traditional, embarrassing greeting poster. This year's poster featured L sitting on a corn on the cob throne with the heading "Hold The Corn," a reference my dad and his wife didn't understand because they haven't seen Season 6 of Game of Thrones yet. Back at home, we ate stuffed portobello mushrooms and, of course, corn on the cob. It was early to bed so L could beat his jet lag.

Sunday morning started with mass at Our Lady of the Annunciation followed by breakfast at Symposium Cafe. After finding out that I'm low in vitamin B12 because of the vegetarian/vegan diet I've been following since February, I decided to eat a BLT with an egg. L had French toast with bacon. We drove down into the city after breakfast. My friend let us stay at her place in The Annex/Casa Loma area for three nights while she was out of town.

After dropping off our luggage, we met up with our friend for our Bike 'n' Brewery Crawl. You can check out our antics on Instagram by following the hashtag #lcktakeflight. We decided to try the Bike Share Toronto bikes since L and I have had success with BikeMi bikes in Milan. The Bike Share Toronto bikes turned out to be a bit of a bust. We paid $7 to use them for 24 hours and were only able to use them once because there are few stations in the Bloor & Dufferin area where many of the breweries we wanted to visit are located. We started our crawl at Blood Brothers Brewing. This place reminded L and I of the Tofino Brewing Co. because of it's garage door entrance and casual atmosphere. We each ordered flights that included Hail Saison, Horse Face IPA, Inner, P.Lost White Lies, and Abattoir Farmhouse Brett. The beer was delicious and refreshing. With a bit of beer under our belts, we made our way to Halo Brewery next. The beer wasn't very distinctive or memorable and the place felt more like a café than a craft brewery. After our flights at Halo we were feeling a bit buzzed and peckish. At our next stop, Burdock, we ordered food and beer. We shared the Rye Bread & Pickles, the Spicy Greens, the Broccoli & Cheese, and the Lamb Andouille. The portions were pretty small and definitely not enough to share between three. In our flights were Brett Farmhouse V.4, Hop Cone Syndrome, West Coast Pilsner 50, and Rainhard Armed & Citra. My final impression of Burdock was that it was overpriced. Our final brewery crawl destination ended up being our favourite of the four breweries, Bandit Brewery. The patio at this place is huge and beautiful. We ordered flights and the highlight of this place, food! Since we were still hungry after our tease at Burdock, we ordered Beer Battered Cheese Curds, Fries, and Fresh Pretzels. BEER BATTERED CHEESE CURDS are little clouds of heaven, especially after four rounds of flights of craft beer! Our friend acquired two souvenirs, Bandit glasses, for L and I to take home and remember our experience.

Although our brewery crawl ended at Bandit, our food tour continued into the evening. We met up with my brother who has been wanting to try Bar Raval for some time now. This place is magical; it's like walking into another world. It totally captures the beauty of Barcelona and Gaudi's architecture. The interior is lined with a flowing wood bar that climbs up the walls and ceiling as if it were a living thing. The service was terrible, but the food made up for it. I am a tapas skeptic, but the Tomato Bread, Green Beans in Buttermilk Dressing, Shishito Peppers, and Hot Octopus have converted me and made me a believer. I would definitely like to go back and sample more of what Bar Raval's menu has to offer. As if beer battered cheese curds and all the tapas weren't enough, we couldn't leave College Street without trying the Big Mac Bao at Lopan, the upstairs dim sum and cocktail bar above DaiLo. Even though I am not eating meat and cannot remember the last time I ate anything from McDonalds, the bao was well worth the calories. We threw in the towel after the bao! On our way out, my friend recognized one of our elementary/middle school classmates, Bruce Lee, who owns Roselle with his wife Stephanie. Although we couldn't possibly consume anything else on Sunday night, we will be trying a dessert from Roselle on Friday after our dinner and theatre date with my dad and his wife.

Metro Challenge 1. Wagner

The Metro Challenge has officially started. The idea came to me last August. I must have come back from summer vacation and realized, after weeks of traveling, that in order to appreciate the city I live in, and to get to know Milan better, I should get out an explore. The basic concept is this: explore a new metro stop each Saturday morning, then blog about it.

So, I got out my map of Milan and picked a station. Wagner. Then, I drew a circle around Wagner station to figure out the general area that I would explore. On Saturday morning, I finally used my BikeMi subscription. There's a station conveniently positioned right outside our condominium. It's incredibly easy to use the bikes.

I will outline my path so you can follow along.

Teatro Nazionale

Wagner station is just northeast of Piazza Piemonte, a large and impressive square. The main attractions are the Barclays Teatro Nazionale, two apartment buildings, and la Feltrinelli bookstore. In 2009 the theatre was completely renovated. During our first year of dating, L and I went to see Beauty and the Beast at the Teatro Nazionale. For some reason, I remember everyone in the audience wore red that evening. On the south end of the square are two similar, but not identical apartment buildings. Sprinkled around the square are several statues. The statue in front of Teatro Nazionale is called Il Grande Ciclista by Aligi Sassu, 1998. Le Tre Grazie by Salvatore Fiume is in the south end of the square. On a more practical note, there is also a taxi stand on the northeast end of the square by la Feltrinelli.

Le Tre Grazie

Casa Verdi

I started my exploration by walked north up Via Michelangelo Buonarroti. As I walked, I took note of restaurants worth trying and other neat attractions. Along Via Buonarroti the first restaurant I noticed was Fatto Bene Burger. I've seen other locations, so it must be a chain. In Piazza Riccardo Wagner there is a covered market. It reminded me of a very small version of other covered markets we've been to like St. Lawrence Market in Toronto or the Public Market on Granville island. Each stand specializes in a different food: fish, meats, cheeses, produce, and bread. I did notice a stand that sold Scots Whiskey. Continuing along Via Buonarroti, you come to the Casa di riposo per musicisti fondazione Verdi. This neo-Gothic Romanesque-revival building is actually a home for retired opera singers and musicians. It was founded by the composer Giuseppe Verdi in 1896 and he and his wife are buried there. In 1984, Swiss director Daniel Schmid made a documentary about life in the Casa Verdi called Il Bacio di Tosca. In the middle of Piazza Michelangelo Buonarroti, there is a statue of Verdi by Enrico Butti. On Via Raffaello Sanzio, there is a small fruit garden. The miniature orchard was created as part of the Verdi Verde exhibition. Peach, plum, pear, and apple trees are among the plants in the small garden.

I continued to walk along Via Raffaello Sanzio to explore the northwest area of my Wagner station tour. Most of the restaurants and bars along Via Sanzio are Asian, wine or burger: Sushi Hama, Ristorante Nuovo Yacht, La Salumeria del Vino, La Cantina di Franco, Ba Asian Mood, and Baobab Organic Burger. A really beautiful pair of Pulchrum! shoes that L would like caught my eye in the Vibram store. I walked by a school. I'm always fascinated to see public schools in Milan. I wonder if they're like the public schools that I went to in Toronto.

I turned on Via Carlo Ravizza. I noted two yummy looking pizzerias: Antica Pizzeria Leone and Lievita Pizzeria Gourmet. I turned onto Via Vittoria Colonna, which is mostly a residential street. That led me to Via San Siro, followed by Via Correggio, and back onto Via Carlo Ravizza. Back on Via Ravizza, I saw a jewellery store with a clever name, Nove25, another Japanese restaurant Kiyo and ristorante Casa Lucia.

Heading east on Via Marghera, we're back to shopping and culture. We come across ristorante Al Mozzo, Cô-te a cute boutique selling bags and accessories, I LoVegetarian vegetarian restaurant, Berimbau Brazilian restaurant, Mondadori bookstore, a Ham Holy Burger, and Eugenio Boer's Essenza restaurant. Turning onto Via Luigi Sacco, we come across a rougher square at Piazza Ernesto de Angeli. What struck me was the number of retirees sitting having lunch and coffee at Original Bar.

The next site is what I consider one of the highlights of the area, Biblioteca Sicilia. This beautiful redbrick building has two beautiful large steel and glass skylights. I can only imagine what it looks like inside. From the outside, I saw many people inside working and collaborating. Behind the library, there are benches and a pear tree! I'll be coming back here to check out the interior.

I am in the southwest corner of the Wagner station area. I walk up Via Seprio back toward Piazza Piemonte. Walking up this street I pass another school and modern homes and smell the odour of cat pee. I walk down Via Sardegna. Another highlight of the area is the fire station. In six years of living in Milan, I can't say that I've ever noticed a fire station. The best part was the old, golden lab sleeping in front of the station. He couldn't be bothered with people walking by, he only lifted his head when the gate of the station opened and a car drove in. Vibel-L'Architecte de L'Enfant is an adorable children't furniture store in Piazza Sicilia.

I turned east onto Via Ruggiero Settimo. Quite the contrast in buildings on this street. There was a building with dark graffiti on the facade and the side directly beside this beautiful house with a calm, Mediterranean blue glass exterior. On Via Giorgio Washington I walked north back to Piazza Piemonte. I passed a ArtDance Milano school. Number 14 Via Washington caught my eye because of the latin writing and windows and balconies. 

I continued my tour in the east end of the Wagner station circle, walking along Via Elba. The architecture on this grand boulevard is very beautiful. Centro HOY is a mix between health spa, osteopathy, halotherapy and yoga studio. Walking east on Via Romualdo Marenco I saw interesting architecture, gates and residences. I concluded the southeast section of my tour along Via Domenico Cimarosa and Corso Vercelli. 

  

Corso Vercelli is like Via Torino or Corso Buenos Aires. It has all the big stores: Zara Home, Sephora, Coin, Victoria's Secret, Keihl's, etc. I was intrigued by the Scuola Cova. It's a foundation that offers courses in furniture, ceramics, screen printing, glass and multimedia design. I past Barabba pizzeria as I walked up Via Belfiore, which is like Via Lazzaro Spallanzani.   

I walked along Via Piero Capponi, Via Giotto, and Via Mario Pagano. There is a monument to Luigi Calabresi. He was a police officer who was shot in the street and murdered in Milan on 17 May 1972 on his way to work. Just outside Pagano station, there is a food container that serves pasta called E Pasta. Walking along Via del Burchiello, beside Parco Guido Vergani, I couldn't get over how green the area is. There are tons of trees and the parking lot had spots for electric cars and bicycles. I also heard many people speaking English. 

I've made a point of including the full street name of all the places I went. I love that the street signs in Milan actually tell you who the person that the street is named after was and when they lived. Like Via Piero Capponi, who was an Italian statesman and warrior from Florence. There is another school of Via Capponi. Via Tranquillo Cremona is named after a painter. There were lots of children playing here. I went down Via Privata Duccio di Bonisegna, who was another painter, active in the city of Siena in Tuscany in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Number 3 had shutters with cut outs in the shape of all the suits of cards: hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds. Along this street there is also the Club Alpino Italiano. I concluded my tour of the Wagner station area by walking up Via Giotto back to Piazza Piemonte past the Auditorium and Periodicals San Paolo and Consulate of Jordan on the way.

Walking around this area felt like being in a different city. I can't believe I've lived here for 6 years and didn't know Corso Vercelli existed. I will come back, especially to check out Biblioteca Sicilia and Scuola Cova.