The One Where We Go To Italy...for a Day

The Italians have a saying, "dolce far niente," meaning, "the sweetness of doing nothing." Well, I'm married to a man who hasn't a clue how to do nothing. We are always doing something. So last week when he called me with a question, "Hey, I have a meeting next week in Milan. Want to bring the kids on the train? It's just for one night," I jumped at the idea. The kids have two weeks off for spring break. Why wouldn't I want to take them on a train to Italy, if only for one night?

Many of you know my pure adoration for everything British. Well, I'm quickly becoming an Italophile as well. Tobi and I visited Rome, Positano, and Capri on our tenth anniversary about 3 years ago, and since then I cannot get enough of Italy. Italians are just about the most friendly people I've ever encountered. They're always helpful and cheerful, with smiles on their faces. I am taking German lessons and yet I'm terrified to say one word in German, here in Zurich. I only know a tiny bit of Italian (tourist Italian, if you will, from my 10 week class, 3 years ago) but the Italians are generous with their language. They love for you to try even if you screw it up. Their eyes light up when you use a word they never thought you'd know (on this trip, I said sinistra to a woman. It means left, and she actually clapped when I said it because she didn't know the English word for left). I had so much fun using the small amount of Italian I know, and I was happy to practice it again.

We took a three and a half hour train from Zurich to Milano. Tobi immediately got in a car with his Milanese coworker to dash off to a meeting. So here I am, in front of the Stazione Centrale with 3 kids and a stroller and about 100 Euro. I was scared to move. I didn't have a map or trusty guidebook, and only a vague idea where the city center was and nary a clue where the hotel was. BUT the kids, who were cranky and tired, honed in immediately on the McDonald's across from the train station. Normally, I would never think of eating at a McDonald's in a foreign country, but I just didn't know what else to do. So three Happy Meals later, the kids were fed. I started to walk in the general direction of the hotel, but then stopped to ask someone for directions (Parla Inglese? are the 2 most important Italian words you could ever learn - because not everyone speaks English, even in the big cities). Turned out, our hotel was way too far for the kids or the stroller on bumpy, broken Milano sidewalks. Luckily, I found a taxi and we made our way to the hotel.

The hotel, while a little bit far from the city center, was very lovely. You usually don't think of boutique hotels being exactly kid-friendly, but the Enterprise Hotel was extremely accommodating and welcoming. We actually stayed in one of their apartments, which had a loft bedroom for us, and the hotel staff put 2 twin beds and a crib in the living room. It was perfect.

We spent the afternoon eating gelato, playing at a nearby park, and Charlie & Caroline both got a nap in before Tobi got back for dinner. In the evening, the five of us took a tram into the city where we viewed the Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace) and the Castello Sforzesco in the Sempione Park. We had dinner in the garden at Ristorante Quattro Mori. Luckily, I also know how to say pasta al burro (buttered noodles)! The kids thought it was the best dinner out, and we did many rounds of "Cheers!"

On Wednesday, Tobi had to work in the Milan office for the morning, so I took the kids on the tram again into the city and we toured the Cathedral of Santa Maria Nascante, the famousDuomo di Milano. Charlie, in particular, has been very interested in churches lately and so we decided we had to go in. Even though it is tough to ask two and four (and even eight) year olds to remain quiet in a place of worship, they were all extremely well behaved and we all enjoyed the beautiful stained glass windows and the "really pretty pictures" as Charlie called the centuries-old paintings.

We met Tobi back at the hotel in time to visit the gelateria again for more wonderful gelato, and then we headed to the train station to come back to Zurich. It was a short, sweet trip and a nice introduction for the kids to the wonders of Italy. I asked both boys what 3 things will now remind them of Italy. Charlie answered, "Gelato, playgrounds, and the Duomo." Grant said, "Straccitella (the chocolate chip flavor of gelato he got), motor scooters, and the Duomo." For me, I'd have to say the language, the churches, and the people.

La dolce vita, indeed.

Cheers!

Tiffany

Note on photography: all taken by me, except the picture of the tram at the top. That was taken by Grant, and as he said, it's a "perfect shot." LOL. Check my FB page for all the pics from the trip.