We’ve just arrived at Milan’s Piazza del Duomo. A light rain is falling, but it’s still a spectacular place to be. The appearance of the Duomo itself is almost beyond belief. We’re going to take a mini-tour of the city, but first we need to get something to eat. The bad news is that we don’t have much time. The good news is that we’re in Italy – one of the best places in the world to be hungry. Let’s go have “uno spuntino a Milano.”
Before we get started, take a minute to read this sentence aloud: “Facciamo uno spuntino a Milano.” (“Fatch-ee-AH-mo oona spoon-TEE-no ah mee-LAHN-o”). Say it like you were born in Milano. It means “Let’s have a snack in Milan.” It’s a great italiano starter sentence because it’s easy to say, and when you say it, you sound so Italian! Okay. Moving on…
Meet You at the Bar
All over Italy, there are places called “bars.” They aren’t like bars in the U.S., where people go to watch the game or drown their sorrows. A “bar” in Italy is a place to get coffee and maybe something to eat.
When someone goes into a bar, the first thing they do is place their order and pay. Say you want a cappuccino. There’ll be someone standing at a cash register and someone else manning the espresso machine. Tell the person at the cash register what you want, and pay. They’ll give you a little slip of paper. That’s your receipt.
Now go over to the guy at the espresso machine, give him your receipt, and tell him what you want. He won’t start making your cappuccino until he has your receipt. He’ll take the receipt, put a little tear in it, and make your cappuccino.
If you want to have a few laughs at someone else’s expense, hang out for a while in a bar in a busy tourist area. Watch as frustrated tourists go nuts because they can’t get the guy who’s making drinks to give them the time of day.
He’s busy making drinks, the tourist doesn’t speak italian, and he doesn’t have time to explain that the receipt has to come first. By the way, this is funniest when you’re not the tourist who has no idea what’s going on. Ahem!
After you get your coffee, you can stand at the counter or you can sit at a table. Coffee costs more if you sit at a table, but if you’re so inclined, you can sit there all day and no one will mind. You paid for it.
Most people order espressos and drink them while standing at the bar. An espresso is gone in a few sips, anyway, so there wouldn’t be much point in sitting down.
Caprese Panini
Bars usually sell sandwiches, pastries, and maybe gelato. The bar we went into had a great-looking selection of sandwiches. It was a tiny little place, jam-packed with people. I didn’t know how we’d ever get to the cash register, when a girl came from out of nowhere and asked us what we wanted.
This was no time for hesitation, (again!). I said the first thing that came into my head. It was the label on a sandwich in the display case. The label read, “Caprese Panini.”
It’s “Caprese” because it has the same things a caprese salad has in it – tomato slices, mozzarella, basil leaves, olive oil, and maybe some balsamic. It’s a “Panini” because one of the words for “sandwich” in Italian is “panini.”
We paid, got our panini, and miraculously found a place where both of us could stand at a counter to eat it. Ooooh. Someone probably made the bread and the mozzarella this morning. The tomato hadn’t been picked until it was ripe. It’s just a simple sandwich, but it’s so good.
Milano Mini-Tour
After spending a few minutes in caprese panini heaven, it was time to get on the tour bus. It was a beauty – one of those gigantic, air-conditioned beasts with rear-view mirrors that stick out like elephants’ ears.
Our mini-tour only has two stops – Sforza Castle and the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. But as a bonus, we get to ride around Milan with a tour guide to tell us what we’re seeing along the way.
If you’ve been following along, you may recall that after many years of fighting, the Sforza family came to power in Milan. Sforza Castle was their home base. They managed to hold power for quite a while, and during those peaceful years, Milan did well.
The convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie is where Leonardo da Vinci painted one interior wall with his take on the Last Supper. The place is still a convent, but these days, they protect the room where The Last Supper resides like it’s Fort Knox. Not from thieves, but from the elements. Access is extremely limited and controlled. Small groups of visitors are let in for timed viewing periods only after passing through an air-lock. Today we’ll be in one of those groups.
To be continued…
Just for fun…
Facciamo uno Spuntino — Let’s have a snack. (Literally, “Let’s do a snack.”)
Where is X? — “Dov’è la X” or “Dov’è il X”, depending on the gender of X
The receipt –la ricevuta, (Lah ree-che-VOO-ta)
Where is your receipt? — Dov’è la tua ricevuta? (Could come in handy at the bar)
Santa Maria delle Grazie –Holy Mary of Grace
Note: The photo of caprese sandwiches at the top of this post is from christinascucina.com
