The latest experiment!
Consider this a part 2 from THIS post about my humongous crush on the financial capital. And parlayed from attempting to imagine Florence beyond Disneyland beyond absolute, black and white thinking.
And if you follow on IG, you might have gotten a whiff already that I’ve been in risotto town for the last few months living between Florence.
Of course I didn’t want to exactly pour my heart out on an IG post, and frankly the last time I documented similar updates like trying out Bologna or moving to San Francisco, I’m pretty sure some people thought I broke up with Florence indefinitely. I’m pretty sure there’s someone out there who still thinks I live in Bologna.
We don’t owe strangers on the internet anything. But partly why I’ve started to keep to myself is because a. the haters (they love hate watching instead of focusing on their lane or going to therapy) and b. I think a lot of people have a hard time understanding the trajectory of someone who call many places home.
One of the most common questions I get from my tour guests is: “so will you live here in Florence forever?”
For a while, I oscillated between longing for being back home and then Italy when I was there. With the way things are going so insanely across the pond, I’m currently the most content I’ve ever been with my side.
This lifestyle of living abroad/moving around is normal to me in spite of American culture that encourages us to embark on a pretty predictable sequence of life events.
So I can appreciate how novel it seems to choose to uproot your life to move abroad. Therefore, I find it hard to answer the the “is Florence forever?” q with a yes or no.
But I’ll be totally honest here: part of the reason I’ve been in Milan the last few months was partly for work but also to see if I would want to live here.
I love Florence, it will always be home (and have had a flat for the last decade allowing me to try on different cities risk-free) but I needed a change.
If you had asked me before would I ever live in Milan, I would have said “I moved to Florence because I wanted to live in Italy. At that point, I might as well live in London.”
Ha! Well, last year I went to Milan to visit friends, then asked myself “where has Milan been my whole Italy life?!” and I realized I had to eat my words.
Randomly, a word of mouth opportunity came about to take an apartment in Milan for 6 months with the option to extend.
The timing was perfect since now I’m in my low season of work and I have the ability to share my apartment in Florence.
I quietly sort of packed up and took it. I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t want to be put yet again in another box. I didn’t want to have to explain my circumstances and worry later I just trauma dumped to strangers on the internet. Especially now as the jury is still out whether or not I’ll stay or go back to my apartment in Florence.
So thank you for allowing me to be a contradiction with such a personal update!
Part of the reason I’ve become disillusioned with Florence with how difficult it has been to find a house- whether to buy or rent. I have been curious to buy for what seems like 5 years.
Surely the pandemic has something to do with the snail slow pace, and frankly being terrified of making such a big commitment. Like, it’s not a dress I can take back!
But now that I’m ready (and have been) – it is a nightmare. I try not to think too much about how awful the market it, which has a lot to do with a lack of options, unfair competition coupled with baffling inflated prices.
Beyond that, we all know Florence has started to feel like a Disneyland.
I also started to crave what I got from SF when I was living there between Florence. That is: an exciting dining scene, diversity (Italy still has a lot of work to do but Milan is the best Italy’s got) and forward thinking.
And honestly being someone with big Leo energy who thrives by running on all 12 cylinders, I was feeling like I needed something bigger and at a more challenging pace while still being in Italy. I feel I have already expressed this so you get the drift.
So now that it’s been a few months, what are some thoughts?
Well, I find it interesting the must-have dish here is risotto alla Milanese (ideally with a hunk of juicy ossobuco atop and a healthy dose of midollo).
It is this dish that has me reminiscing of my childhood memories eating Persian rice. It breaks my half Persian heart to see packets sold of ready to use saffron powder. The secret handshake for legit risotto is to make sure a plate has visible strands.
I find it curious the few instances I’ve heard other Persians say Milan’s signature saffron risotto is basically Persian rice but too gooey, starchy and soupy in comparison.
On the contrary, I find it fascinating how 2 ingredients are transformed in 2 markedly different dishes. Persian rice’s crispy oily crust from fragrant basmati and Milano’s made from amid-rich carnaroli swimming in a buttery saffron crema in waves.
I love how in Italy, I find my favorite childhood flavors expressed in traditional dishes and treats. I can eat anything with pistachio just about every day. Pomegranates are my love language. And saffron is what grounds me to remembering my grandmother.
When I was small, I spent a lot of time at my grandmother’s. My father owned an art gallery and was often working. When I was home with my mamanjoon, the perma vignette I have is of her is over a cauldron of Persian stew with pomegranate trees in the backdrop from the kitchen window view of her humble backyard garden in Orange County, California.
And then eating whatever stew or meat alongside saffron stained buttered rice together watching Gilligan’s Island. She didn’t speak English and because my parents were divorced, I never had the chance to learn Farsi.
Food was how we spent time together without a common language and it is how I remember my mamanjoon.
Given that rice connects me to my roots, along with saffron- Milan in a way, feels like home.
It’s not perfect, I miss Florence sometimes, especially when it comes to getting varied, high quality fresh produce on a daily basis. And bike rides in the sunshine:) That’s for another post…
Will I extend my current lease or go back to my flat in Florence? Who knows.
For the moment, I’ll be licking every plate of saffron risotto clean until I do know…
If you’d like a list of restaurants I’m loving in Milan at the moment, check out this post:
Curious about cocktails in Milan? I have given in to TikTok. This spot is worth saving. Wine bars? Bookmark this guy. More lists coming soon- watch this space!
Have any qs about Milan? Life in Italy? Feel comfortable to share any childhood food memory? Please comment!
Coral x
