Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II In Milan Italy

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

I had no idea of what to expect in Milan. It was a city I’d heard of but not one I really knew much about. For tourists it is more of a pass through city than a destination city and that was case for us. It was where we flew into from Fez, Morocco, on our way to Venice. But I wish we had more time there.

This photo is of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, considered to be one of the first shopping malls in all of human history. For me it was a great place to explore because of the building itself, not the shops inside. I’d say when it comes to shopping Milan is a bit out of my league. Though there was a giant book store in there that we spent a fair amount of time browsing even though most books were written in Italian.

Eat Cheap In Italy With The Tradition Of Aperitivo

Food and Drink, Travel Tips

Eat cheap in Italy by learning about this great Italian tradition.

Eat Cheap In Italy

Oddly enough it was while we were in Scotland that we discovered Prosecco, a sparkling wine similar to Champagne, but it was while we were in Rome that we discovered it is sometimes served with free food. You order a glass of Prosecco and it shows up with a few plates of food as well at no extra cost.

We found this curious but the bar we frequented during our time in Rome spoke zero English so we could not get any details as to what was going on.

Turns out what we experienced was the Italian tradition of apericena or aperitivo depending on the type of food being served with your beverage. I learned this when I came across A beginner’s guide to aperitivo in Italy over at TheLocal.it.

The article introduces the aperitivo like this:

They are long leisurely affairs to be undertaken with friends in early or late evening, the food is usually more than decent and they are affordable even on the most meagre of budgets. All you need to do is buy a drink and your food is free.

And goes on to clarify the difference between aperitivo and apericena:

A standard pre-dinner drink becomes an aperitivo when it is accompanied by more than just nuts or crisps. Maybe a small starter of goats cheese, olives, or something like that.
You can be sure you’re at an apericena however, when your drink is accompanied by dinner in the form of an all-you-can-eat buffet. Confusingly, the word aperitivo is often used to describe this too, which will probably annoy the traditionalists but hey-ho, we didn’t make the rules.
Now that that’s out the way we’re ready to get going. All you need to do is order a drink.

Click here to read the whole article, and eat cheap in Italy!

So you can see how this is a great way to enjoy yourself in Italy even when on a budget.

Thank you Michela Simoncini for the photo used in the title image.

Venice – Italy’s Most Romantic City?

Destinations, Managing Money, Our Travel Stories

Next, we were off to Venice by train. This 5-day trip to Italy was really just a case of making use of layovers. To get from Morocco to Istanbul, we had to fly through Europe somewhere. Milan happened to be one of the cheapest options (thank you, RyanAir), and Venice is just a short train ride away. Since I’ve always wanted to see Venice, it seemed a good opportunity – so we took it.

Venice is unlike any other city, with transport only by foot or boat. It’s made up of 118 islands separated by canals and connected by bridges. The entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I just find the idea of Venice and the look and feel of it romantic. I didn’t feel the need necessarily to do or see anything, in particular, just to wander and get lost in it. And that’s what we did for 3 days.

The weather was a little dreary, but the city was bustling. There is a lot of shopping to be done here, lots of Italian leather goods, Venetian glass, and clothes, and being the week before Christmas, things were busy.

One of the best parts of Italy is the food and wine. Our favorite places for inexpensive, tasty food were Alfredo’s Fresh Pasta and Antico Forno. At Alfredo’s, you could get fresh pasta for 6 euros, but there are only a few seats. We got to sit both times we visited, but you need to be ready to stand. At Antico Forno, you could get delicious pizza slices for 2.50 euros. They were pretty busy, so the chance to get a slice of a pie right out of the oven was quite good.

I’ve had people tell me that they think Venice is overrated, but I disagree. I loved it for the character that comes from the canals and hundreds of little alleys. Even when it is crowded on the main streets, there are plenty of out-of-the-way places to get away and wander. It won’t take long to find yourself alone. I do think Venice is an inherently romantic place. There is just something about it that makes you feel like there are treasures to be discovered around every corner. This city offers you so many moments with romantic potential its hard to ignore.