Love the place you live, Milan edition

Hello everyone! Have you ever been to Milan?

I cannot believe that we have less than a month left of our stay here (remember when we arrived last summer?) After 10 years of absence it has been difficult to readjust living in Milan. The traffic, the crazy driving, the pollution. There have been perks, however. It should not come as a surprise that I would summarize them under the general category of "glamorous": the stores, the shopping, the eating in restaurants as well as in bars. In Montreal I could have never gotten a glimpse of Fashion Week as I did here, or enjoyed the juxtaposition of furniture and fashion at Design Week.

What I have also enjoyed (perhaps more than I had anticipated), was rediscovering history at every corner. North America has a recent past compared to the old European continent, but I had forgotten it after such a long absence from my native country. I am talking also about my personal history: rediscovering places from own childhood.

As it always happens (at least, to me) when a departure is approaching, I have found myself looking back to this year more and more. Here are my personal highlights.

My son learnt how to bike as soon as we arrived last summer, and he practiced his new skill in the same urban courtyard where I learnt how to bike as a child. The courtyard has been our favorite hanging out place when the weather has been mild, and I got to meet there the kids of my childhood playpals.

By hanging out with my childhood friends and their children, I became immersed in different parenting styles, where one often finds strong sex segregation. I also uncovered a few unwritten rules of style conduct about wearing shorts, having a fashion mom coach, covering-up with a soprabito in spring, and dressing for going out in the evening without kids.

We explored new places around my parents' country home, including (but not limited to) a Cowboys' hangout and a prehistoric site. We also had an Halloween celebration there for the first time ever (with uttermost surprise of the locals).

We carried on some others of our North American traditions, from brunch to dip-dyeing eggs for Easter, even though they also got an Italian spin.

We bumped into elephants in the city center, and we discovered dinosaurs and white tigers living just outside the city limits.

We took advantage of Milan's location to enjoy skiing on the Alps, although snow came to find us in the city as well.

I did new things such as attending a soccer game and chasing the falling star to the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio, but I also went back to walk on top of the Duomo, to the Planetarium, and to the other city museums including the Triennale.

Last but not least, I discovered vintage at Bahama Mama...