2Dec, Day 111, Rockefeller Centro

This entry is dedicated to Jessica -for remembering me when I forget.

I went “downtown” today to look for some Christmas gifts. In Europe, they usually call it the centro-in italian, but with things decorated for Christmas I felt some nostalgia of NYC. They even have some kind of a tree in the piazza duomo, but it’s not decorated for Christmas, so I’m not sure what’s the motivation for sticking it there. It would really be really festive if we got some snow, but the people bundle up in scarves and long coats as though it could be snowing although I’m told this is an exceptionally warm year. (However, although it has been quite damp.) But the streets were packed with a bustle of shoppers walking with bags and packages, and I think we’ve also increased the number of window-shoppers by at least a factor of three. Now they have to jockey for space in front of the glass to study the shopkeeper’s wares.

But I made a slight tactical error today in forgetting the map and compass yet deciding to try to walk from Garibaldi to downtown instead of taking the metro. It ended up taking about 90 minutes longer than it should have if I took a direct route, but my roundabout track brought me by the Lincoln Road-esque Corso Como on before reaching the designer district of via Montenapoleone, and then finally Corso Vittorio Emanuele ending at the Duomo. I particularly enjoyed the designer district where one can gaze in awe upon a single outfit that costs more than all the clothes I own. However, after a second or two my attention is drawn to the eccentric people who are actually shopping here. They are a mix of models accompanied by rich men, opulently dressed ‘nobility’, and tourists who probably aren’t going to take anything home but their photos of the window displays.

I stopped in the Antica Ambrosiana to thaw out with a hot chocolate, but the circulating brew actually looks better than they are. (–This one anyway.) Allow my to clarify that statement. The hot chocolate can be seen being mixed above the bar next to the espresso machine. It is somewhat reminiscent of the Ghirardelli factory in San Francisco, but on a much smaller scale. They pour it with a tap, but it comes out a consistency similar to yogurt and is served with a spoon. If you let it cool it begins to develop a film or crust on top, but I just didn’t find it satisfying. In think if I was sitting in front of a fire instead of standing at a bar it might’ve had a different effect on me.

The Piazza del Duomo was just as packed with people as the side streets leading into it. Only here there is little for sale besides pigeon food. I noticed someone had erected a small log cabin with a large tree in the behind it. I’m not actually sure if this is a related to Christmas or not because the tree was not decorated. Meanwhile, on the far side a group of pacifists were juggling to the transiberian orchestra’s Christmas album. I crossed the flock human-birdfeeders in the center of the piazza continuing on to Corso Sempione where I found one of the gifts I was looking for. The street running parallel to sempione was having some sort of crafts fair. I browsed over the goods without seeing anything of interest aside from the first Christmas trees that I’ve seen for sale in Italy. These were small trees in pots. I guess people might plant them in January! I would actually like a potted pine tree on my balcony, but it would be a hassle to carry the pot all the way from ‘downtown’. My last stop was Peck, Milan’s best gourmet restaurant and food store. Here, I did not find what I was looking for at a reasonable price.

I had dinner with the neighbors where we had homemade pizza, a small meatloaf in a piecrust with a carrot in the middle, and a spinach pie. Some of the highlights were hearing how they make lemoncello, strufula, and rococo.

After dinner I went back to Milan to meet a couple of Sicilian guys who are new at work and some of their friends. We went to a warehouse converted into a club I think they called Studio Uno. We had a good time and stayed quite late.