20. Milano! Milano! Milano! (Day 5 in Milan) April 30 2023.

Hope you are all doing well. We are finally confirmed on flights—leaving from Milan to SFO via Newark—arriving on Wednesday night. We will find time somewhere this year to get to Geneva; maybe Xmas… if we can make it work.

I started my day dealing canceling our reservations for the Geneva hotel and train from Milan to Geneva. Indeed, it feels like we live in Milan (not a bad thing). Yesterday, three different groups of people asked me for directions and one salesperson continued to speak to me in Italian and finally said, in English, “Gee I could have sworn you were Italian; you look Italian.” I took it all as a compliment.

And one note— there are an estimated 4.7 billion photos shot on phones each day (!!); I am convinced that at least a billion of those are taken here in Milan. While everywhere you travel you see people taking photos, especially selfies, with girlfriends, boyfriends, parents, children in front of or next to whatever monument, piazza, restaurant, museum, canal, building or whatever, it does seem like the proliferation is greater here in Milan than anywhere! All over, people are primping as they use all of Milan as a backdrop for pictures of themselves.

Mike is slowly emerging back into the world, but the laryngitis hasn’t gone away yet. Tomorrow, he ends the five days of isolation and the Paxlovid regimen. Hopefully, he’ll have two more days to just rest and maybe stroll before we head back.

I headed out this morning by taxi to the Fondazione Prada which is in the southern part of Milan. Was going to do Metro, but wanted to get there more quickly as I hadn’t had breakfast and figured the place had a café. I was correct. In fact the café was designed by filmmaker Wes Anderson; it’s sort of kitschy, called Bar Luce and is designed to refer to various landmarks in Milan from the 1950s and 60s, which can be seen in the color palette and various finishes like veneered paneling, formica, and the furniture. Armed with morning pastry, I was ready to view this huge 5-acre complex/campus which had been a distillery in its productive life. Sort of ironic that now it houses artworks from the collection of (or commissioned by) the founder and designer of a luxury fashion house. The historic buildings have been converted to house different activities of the Foundation and also temporary exhibitions (mostly very large scale installations). There are also new buildings. One is called the Tower, one that is covered in gold leaf and is three stories, and the Podium which has huge spaces on each of two floors.

The architect for the project was Rem Koolhaus. I was very mesmerized by the campus which has multiple buildings clad in reflective surfaces, so that you are always looking at reflections showing what is behind you as well as looking ahead. The elevator (which is gigantic) in the tower has some marbleized light red surfaces that change color as the elevator rises, based on how much light is coming into the elevator.

While I actually liked the complex, I found it totally strange that this was once a workplace where people held blue collar jobs, and probably lived close by in what has been described as a “scruffy” neighborhood… Well no more. New buildings are popping up in close proximity and the scale of this campus totally changes whatever community still exists nearby. Must have taken the sale of a lot of Prada handbags to build this complex; the price tag has never been revealed and probably never will be told since it was all private money— as I said lots of handbags! And, it’s amazing what you can do when money is no object. That said, previously industrial buildings have long found new uses as art spaces.

After lunch at the Torre Restaurant at the top of the tower building—a wonderful soaring space with windows and views of the city into the distance. Unfortunately the food doesn’t match the space. I’d give it a 2 out of 5, but with prices that are 5+. Headed back to the hotel since rain was predicted and went to the pharmacy to get Mike some lozenges.

And then got a surprise text from friends from Phoenix—who it turns out were in Milan today. Switched plans (I was going to have dinner at a fusion restaurant called—appropriately—Benoteca, a Japanese/Italian place) and instead found a little hole-in-the-wall place to have dinner with these good friends, who are traveling for 7 weeks through Italy and France, and having a blast. Disappointed Mike couldn’t join in, but he’s been a real trouper. I’m hoping he’ll be able to leave the hotel tomorrow and maybe join me for dinner.

I’m trying to be really careful so that I don’t come down with Covid and that we can leave as planned on Wednesday. So far, so good…

Finally, another observation: on this trip and on other overseas travels over the past 7 years or so, I’ve noticed a definite decline in interest in the US. Years ago, when we traveled abroad, people were curious about the US and they seemed to follow it on the news. Some Europeans, Asians, and others were almost mesmerized by what they saw as this giant, powerful, and wealthy country. Some hated the US (most especially during the Vietnam War when we lived overseas) and some tried to mimic aspects of US culture. Today, I sense minimal interest in the US on the part of Europeans, more of a sense of the failures of the US and its foibles. You can see it on the news—barely a mention of US issues; far deeper interest in global issues and in the events in other parts of the world. I’m glad. When asked where we are from, we never say the US… we always say “California,’ thinking it’s sort of “code” that California is different from the rest of the country. Every so often you’ll spot graffiti that mentions George Floyd or other racial comments. But overall, we are just another country across a very big pond.

Tomorrow, I plan to visit a few more neighborhoods and also to see the Dan Flavin installation at some church… and to see what may or may not happen on May Day, which is a national holiday here in Italy called Festa dei Lavoratori or Festa del Lavoro— Workers Day. I’m guessing parades? Demonstrations? Strikes?

Stay well.
Fern