Home Again

​Home again. It amuses and pleases me that returning to Milano, Italia, is so known and so comfortable. This is my twelfth “dodecesimo”, yearly sojourn. (Included in those years is a period, early on, of 14 intense, amazing months living here, learning the language, the people, and the place.) At this point, I would hate to miss a year. I want to nurture the relationships and maintain the language ability I’ve worked so hard to build.

Here I am, in a lovely apartment in the “Zona Navigli”, the Canal Zone, my neighborhood. (Leonardo da Vinci had a decisive hand in these canals, and that history makes me smile.) My private terrace juts out into a grand, inner courtyard. Feels like a neighborhood all unto itself. I hear kids playing, families talking, eating. Lots of life around me. In this area are some of my dear friends. I have my favorite restaurants, my local grocery stores, the office supply store I frequent. I know where to find what I need.

I arrived Thursday afternoon (9/11) after 24 HOURS OF TRAVEL. Ugh. Dinner out, then to sleep…until 9:30 the next morning. (Tip: if planning a trip from the U.S. to Italy, don’t figure on being full of vim-and-vigor that first full day in Italy!) I awoke slowly, had last night’s leftover pasta for breakfast, unpacked and got organized, made a shopping list, went to the cell phone carrier to recharge my Italian cell phone number, went to the Euro Store (equivalent of the Dollar Store) for cheap stuff that I want/need for the next month, grabbed enough to eat for today, then carried that pile home. I relaxed a while, took a nap, and by evening had enough energy to go back out for grocery shopping to last me a few days longer.

I first came to Italy in 2008. I’ve now been in and through 19 of the 20 regions of Italy. I’ve seen a lot. Small, tiny, little towns. Touristic hot spots. Big cities. “Unknown” places that have all the charm and flavor that most Americans imagine when they think of Italy.

This place really does captivate me.

Milano seems to be hardly on anyone’s list. They all fly into Milano, and then keep right on going. But there’s so much here that thrills my mind, my eye and my heart. I guess that Milano invites one to look more closely, more deeply to be charmed.

Milano is one of the Design Capitals of the World. (One of the reasons it tugs at me, a designer.) In fact, we’re right on the verge of Milan Fall Fashion Week, September 17-23. There are very tall, very skinny women (models) walking around town, taking the subway and buying next-to-nothing at the grocery store. This is also the time when students check into the various schools in the area for the coming school term. The airport and metro station were FULL of people when I arrived on Thursday. And it’s a primo time to be wandering around Italy; the weather is beautiful.

Supergraphic sampling from these last few days in the neighborhood.

Milano takes graffiti to an all-new level, both in a good way… and bad.