I stumbled onto the website of Le Tre Torri somehow when searching for a place to stay. The price was right and it's right on the green line which goes to the neighborhood where the Italian lives with his family. I had him go and check it out and it seemed like a nice place and the owners were very nice. The room was a little spartan with Ikea furnishings but it was clean and suited my needs. It's not really a hotel but more like a self-service room rental type place. They also offered free Wi-Fi. The Italian was a little skeptical about the neighborhood called Lambrate because it has a bit of a past but they seem to have cleaned it up and it was very convenient when we wanted to go into the center of Milano as well as going to his families house which we would drive to rather than use the metro. I really recommend this place if you need an economical place to stay in Milano. The longer you stay the more discount they offer. There is a communal kitchen and dining room as well as a washing machine. If I had to, I would definitely stay there again.
The Italian promised to bring me back a really delicious pizza. I was starving so I was really looking forward to it. Well, he didn't disappoint! Wow, I don't know if it was because I was starving but this was among the best pizza I've ever had in my life. Trattoria Pizzera La Cappelletta was near the hotel and seems to have a little history. This is what is written on the box:
Narrano leggende che ai tempi dei Romani, nel luogo ove ora sorge la Cappelletta vi fosse un santuario cristiano. Forse era solo un sasso, ma con il passare del tempo e' diventato un simbolo, che ha acquistato una forza e una simbologia da caratterizzare un intero paese quale era Lambrate. Oggi purtroppo non la si nota quasi piu', sommersa dalle case e dalle auto, ma e' bello sapere che un luogo cosi' ricco di spiritualita' a cui generazioni di lambratesi hanno affidato le loro preghiere, sia sempre qui a portata di mano.
The pizza was like no other pizza I have ever had before. The crust had a bit of a sourdough taste to it and it was absolutely delicious. Unfortunately, because I was so hungry I didn't think to take a picture of it until after I finished it, so I took a picture of the box instead. He just bought enough for me as it was way too early for him to eat dinner. He stayed with me until I fell asleep, then he went home to eat with his family. I asked him to please give my apologies to his family but I was just way too tired. He kept telling me not to worry, that they would understand. When he came back from his dinner I woke up and he let me know that his family completely understood and that they looked forward to meeting me the next day which was Christmas Eve. I was so relieved and went right back to sleep.
6 comments:
I work in Lambrate - and it's true that it's not the best zona!!! Sounds like you managed to find a couple of nice places tho!!
Cool!!! You can't say that you visited only touristic places in Italy. That is great. This way gave you the opportunity to visit a very touristic spot, but to also live it the way people would normally live there (like finding a great pizza place is a non-touristic location). You made me feel wanting a pizza right now :-)!!! I look forward for more trip-stories.
hmmm. The pizza sticks in my mind. Must have been amazing!
P.S.
Can you tell me any good areas in Portland to live? And where to look for rentals. Thanks!
Emmina-wow, we were so close =) Lambrate kind of grew on me and it really was convenient. I never felt unsafe there. Le Tre Torri and the trattorria were both great! Ironically there was some graffitti with the Italian's name right on the next block from Le Tre Torri and I just had to take a picture of it. I will post it soon.
fromtheworld-yes, this was the first time that I didn't spend too much time in the touristy areas. We only went into il centro twice for shopping. I loved being in the suburbs and the locals so much. I even got to meet with another blogger but I will post about that later. I wanted to eat more from the trattoria but We ate most of our meals with his family and his mother wanted it that way. She is an amazing cook, so I was happy to oblige!
MissB-Have you tried the pizza at Ken's Artisan Pizza??? OMG, it is absolutely delicious. The Italian is really picky about his pizza and he really liked it. It's over on 28th off of Burnside on the east side. Monday nights they do pizza at Ken's bakery here in NW PDX on 21st. I have to warn you though, sometimes you will wait an hour or more so I recommend going later like 9pm.
As for where to live, I think you know by now that I am pretty biased about NW PDX. In my opinion it's the best neighborhood in Portland proper. The Pearl is nice, obviously but really $$$. NW is just a few blocks away and while not cheap, is definitely much more economical. Especially now, there are good deals to be had out there. I found my current place on craiglist but even just walking around the neighborhood you can see signs out. Another option is SE PDX like Hawthorne or Belmont district. It's very cool and artsy over there. Lots of cool shops. The only problem with SE is that it's not well connected to the freeways. You have to go all streets for quite a way to get to the freeway. If your on public transportation, then it's no problem. NoPo (North Portland) is being resurrected and is really coming along. A lot of my friends own houses there. The Mississippi area is cool. I imagine that when the Italian and I are ready to buy a home we will most likely to buy in NoPo, unless we can afford to buy in NW, then we will definitely stay here. The area around PSU is pretty cool too. John's Landing is about as far south as I would go though.
My best advice is to try as much as possible to avoid big management companies. If you could rent from a private owner, it's so much better. Let me know if I can be of anymore help :-)
there is nothing like a good Italian pizza... it's making me hungry, so I'm glad you weren't able to take a picture!
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