Gone Shopping...In Milan!

Prague was filled with tons of fun, but we purposely scheduled an early morning flight to Milan to enjoy the unique shopping offered there. This was a short trip, but it was one to remember. Milan is primarily a business and fashion city, so as you can imagine, the mentality is "go go go!” And, boy, did we run around like crazy. There was so much to see in such a short amount of time, but my priority was shopping and pasta, both of which were hugely successful.

Naturally, one of our first stops was Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It is the definition of fabulous. From the floors to the ceilings, it is the epitome of stunning. I wish all malls looked like this! The Galleria contains the most expensive fashion brands and the stores are uniquely designed to perfectly display each upcoming collection. For clarity though, I was not shopping at the upscale stores … but I did do a lot of browsing there, for sure! Luckily, I was able to find some fabulous items that were affordable and memorable during our little shopping adventure. The Galleria has oodles of stores and it was fun to discover brands that I had never heard of, but can be ordered online. The romper I wore in our last Fashion Friday post was from Bershka, one of my new favorite stores.

Sidenote: He's pretty cute right?

After spending the better part of the day at the Galleria running around, we headed out to dinner. We intentionally left our dinner plans pretty loose because we knew would have a full day of shopping and didn’t want to be up against a time constraint. Most of the time we made dinner reservations in advance during our trip, but it was nice to allow one or two meals to be completely unplanned. You never know what fun and exciting places you’ll find along the way. In Milan, we discovered Da Puccini. We walked in around 9:30 p.m. and, quite frankly, didn’t really have high expectations as we hadn't read any reviews on it. But much to our surprise, it was delicious! My husband and I shared the veal with risotto. It was tender, creamy and cooked to perfection. Our friends ordered pasta and we all split a bottle of wine. Once again, wine is fairly affordable in Europe so it is easy to justify a bottle for the table. ​

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Our time in Milan was short, but we definitely did what we came to do! We consumed mounds of pasta, visited some awesome rooftop bars, enjoyed delicious wine and definitely shopped till we dropped. 

​Here are some of my tips for shopping in Milan that helped make our experience stress free. Do you have any shopping/travel tips or tricks to add? Feel free to comment below. 

1) Set a budget. I know my friends are rolling their eyes right now because this is so typical of me … but oh so helpful. Having a set budget allowed me to go in with a plan and not get overwhelmed with the vast number of stores and merchandise to choose from. How often are you shopping in Milan? Make the most of it and come with a plan!
2) Have a couple of ideas of what exactly you are looking for. For me, I wanted an all-seasons leather purse and whatever $$$ were left, was going toward my number 2 priority – clothes! Lucky for me, I found both. Woohoo!
3) Wear comfortable shoes. Wear comfortable shoes. Wear comfortable shoes. Seriously, my feet were killing me by the end of the day and I was wearing tennis shoes! If you like to shop, like I do, your feet will take a beating – but in Milan, it’s totally worth it. You’ll want to explore and discover all the fun stores so comfort is key. And, ladies, this look is totally in style with all the cute dresses available today!
4) Make sure you have a designated meeting time and place if you get separated from your shopping buddy. My friend, Rachel (not my SIL! Confusing, I know!), and I talked before we set out for the day about what we would do if we accidently went in different directions. We can both get lost in clothes (shocker), so sometimes it can be easy to get separated. Having a designated meeting time and place, put our minds at ease and gave us the freedom to browse without worry. 
5) Keep your belongings close! This should be a no brainer, but nonetheless it’s a good reminder. There’s a high concentration of people in and around Milan and when they approach, they aren’t afraid to get in your personal space. Stay alert and don’t make yourself an easy target for pickpocketing. I kept one hand on my purse at all times and gripped it to my side. Do not put your purse down for any reason. I felt fairly safe everywhere else we traveled, but I definitely had to be more aware in Milan.  

And there you have it, my top 5 tips for shopping in Milan. It is a once in a lifetime experience, so make sure you are prepared and ready to conquer.

That's all for now! In my next post we will be exploring Lake Como. Be prepared, it is one of the dreamiest places on earth!

​-Grace 
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