Milan is like New York City - only with better food and creepier street people. And because I had just grown tired of and moved away from NYC, I was a little put off at first. Or a lot.

Especially after a couple days in sleepy Turin, the metropolitan rush of Milan was a shock. After dropping my bag at the hostel, I wandered down to the Duomo, fending off the pigeon food sellers and other assorted con artists (after a while, “No, thank you” becomes, “No. Get lost!” and you don’t even feel badly about it) and then decided I’d had enough.

Basta.

So I took myself to the American Bookstore (corner of Via Dante and Via Camperio), bought a couple of novels and planted myself in Parco Sempione. Where I ate grilled panini from a park vendor and read my book on a sunny park bench for the rest of the afternoon. And that’s when Milan became a-okay by me. When I found something a little more my speed.

Now, I know there’s no rule that says you have to love every foreign city you visit, but I have a rule that I have to find something to love, or at least like, about every place I go. Here’s what I liked about Milan:

I loved the pumpkin soup at Il Panino Giusto. Or the panini at Panino Guisto. Such great, cheap food. I loved the sacrilegious feeling of seeing Prada or Dolce & Gabana ads plastered on churches and cathedrals. Even god is for sale! I loved the strange contrast of walking by a pungent (phew!) fish shop, and realizing its neighbor is a ritzy shoe boutique, and the public transportation that looks like caterpillars creeping through the city. Italy, it is strange and wonderful.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007 | don't miss!, general