Gothic Duomo masterpiece, unforgettable Italian meals, and sparkling red wine!
Milan turned out to be the perfect way to end our cruise adventure. Even though the cruise was over, it felt like we still had one more special place to explore together as a family.
My daughter and I had been to Milan before, but everyone else was experiencing it for the first time, which made it even more exciting to share this beautiful city with them.
We stayed at the Glam Hotel Milano, which was absolutely perfect for our needs. From our windows, we could see Milan Central Station, and the location made it so easy to hop on the subway to see the Duomo and get to the airport the next morning without worrying about transportation stress.
For lunch, we headed to Il Tavolino, and once again, we ordered a feast! We started with pizzas as appetizers – a regular pizza, a ricotta pizza, and one with mushroom and ham.
For our main meals everyone found something delicious! From lasagna, large rigatoni pasta with hot spicy tomato sauce topped with ricotta, and creamy saffron carbonara on linguine, we all enjoyed every bite!
After lunch, we went to explore the Duomo, which is one of my absolute favorite churches along with the Florence Duomo and Spain’s Sagrada Familia.
Even though I’d been before, I did something new this time and went into the museum and saw all the artifacts. I was surprised to learn that many of the details you see on the Duomo itself are actually replicas, and the real originals are preserved in the museum.
I also did the lucky bull ritual in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, where you put your heel in the bull’s mosaic and spin around to make a wish.
I had done this before on my previous Milan visit, but it’s one of those traditions you can’t skip! I have to keep my wish secret for it to come true, but I think you can probably guess what someone who just had such an incredible family trip might wish for…
After our afternoon of exploring, we came back to the hotel to relax.
For dinner, everyone kind of went their separate ways – some rested, others did their own thing. My oldest son and his girlfriend treated my husband and me to dinner at Osteria Italiana, which was right around the corner from our hotel.
We started with Insalata Caprese with basil dressing.
My husband had a jumbo breaded pork chop served over French fries, my son went with spaghetti and meatballs, and his girlfriend had saffron carbonara on linguine.
I chose spinach ravioli stuffed with mushrooms in a tomato sauce with a creamy basil drizzle on top.
I was thrilled to discover they had sparkling red wine! Sweet red dessert wines are my favorite – I know, I know, it’s like drinking Welch’s grape juice – but sparkling red wine is incredibly rare to find anywhere, let alone in a restaurant. Discovering it on their menu was such a treat.
We ended dinner with Amaro Silano and biscotti as a nightcap – not something I’d normally order, but it was a nice way to complete the Italian dining experience.
The next day, before heading to the airport, we stopped at All’Antico Vinaio for flatbread sandwiches. I got L’Estiva, which had ham, ricotta, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, and baby spinach. Oh my gosh, it was so delicious!
My daughter mentioned that All’Antico Vinaio is actually a chain with multiple locations, and they even have spots in New York City. I’ll definitely have to stop by one and see how it compares.
Milan was the perfect ending to an incredible cruise adventure – ten amazing days of family memories, unforgettable meals, and discovering places we’d never been before.
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