Lugano é Milano

After a being pleasantly saturated by Italy the previous days, my Mom and I decided to rest on my sixth day in Italy. That gave us renewed energy for the following day, when Luigi decided to take me across the Italian border to the Lugano, a lovely, quiet town in Switzerland. I would’ve wanted to explore more of Italy but Luigi wanted me to see another country.Lugano is perhaps not uniquely representative of the Swiss culture. Being so close to Italy, it is significantly influenced by its southern neighbor. For one, many people here speaks Italian as well. Nevertheless, the difference between Lugano and the towns and cities of Italy are notable. Lugano felt… calmer. Then again, anything put beside anything Italian would always look calmer! (I do say that with much affection Ü ). Besides, it was refreshing to see the Alps and be introduced to Switzerland.

After having lunch and roaming the streets of Lugano, we took a short drive back to Italia and in a couple of hours found ourselves at the fashion capital of the world, Milano.

Though it is richest city in the most developed region of Italy, Milano paled a bit in comparison to the other cities I’ve been – not that I’ve been to so many or explored them extensively. Based on what I’ve read and my Mom and Luigi’s impression of this city, what makes Milan alluring is really the posh and modern lifestyle of its dwellers. It is therefore more urban than the most of Italy, and in that sense, it is a lot like London.

My mom, as expected, took me to the most iconic of Milano’s tourist stops. The Duomo. Just long enough for a picture, actually. I didn’t even get to go inside. We actually spent a longer time in the LV shop on Via Montenapoleone (where my Mom bought me an iPhone case to remember Milano by – so no complaints).

I chalked it up as another teaser and promised to go back. Then it was back to good ol’ Bologna.