I got up rather early on our first morning in Milan. We had done a bit of shopping before heading to dinner the night before, so we had breakfast and lunch covered. After a light breakfast, I was ready to head on out. The Missus just wanted to relax, so I went in search of something I'd read about before our trip. This walk had me going down Via Mercato, which we'd walk pass several times a day during our stay; with bakeries and such, it was a fun street to shop and eat. The street eventually turned into Via Broletto and there's a lot to see here as well. Like the Neoclassical designed Church of San Tomaso in Terramara.
Via Broletto ends at the very busy and picturesque Piazza Cordusio.
From here, there was an interesting public art piece I was looking for. A bit further west lies Piazza Affari where the Milan Stock Exchange is located. It is quite busy.
As for me, I was more interested in the sculpture right across the way; which seems to send a message to the bankers and financiers of Milan, considered to be the "economic" capital of Italy.
Yep, for real. You gotta love it! The name of this sculpture is L.O.V.E, which stands for Liberta, Odio, Vendetta, Eternita (Freedom, Hate, Vengeance, Eternity).
Could you imagine something like this standing outside the stock exchange in the states?
From here I took a now familiar route back to the apartment. I noticed that the Instagrammers were out in full force in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
On the way back, I stopped at this bakery.
And got the Missus some cannoli to have with lunch.
She especially enjoyed the pistachio version; saying that it was not overly sweet.
Panetteria Mercato
Via Mercato 24
20121 Milan, Italy
After lunch we headed on out. To do a some exploring and shopping. As we passed this church for the fourth time, seeing that it was open, we decided to check it out.
This is the Chiesa del Carmine (Santa Maria del Carmine Church).
The church dates back to 15th century. And the chapel, which dates back to the Baroque period is considered a masterpiece.
And if to really display the contrasts between the ancient and modern; right in front of the church is this sculpture.
Named the "Great Toscano" by Polish artist Igor Mitoraj.
As we strolled down Via Broletto, the Missus stopped at this sneaker/shoe shop. The brand was Golden Goose?
Looking at the prices, I jokingly told the Missus that She was limited to one pair. Her response; "no, I already have the one's I want at home." !!!!!!
We enjoyed wandering the streets of Milan.
Walking thru places that now seemed quite familiar to us.
As we headed a bit further afield and headed past the Duomo.
That's the Chiesa di Santa Maria presso San Satiro, a church that dates back to the 15th century!
That's San Giovanni in Conca above. The remnants of a church which dates back to the 4th century. What remains of the church is the crypt! I've always thought of Milan as being so modern, so hip, but what I saw really gave me a better appreciation of the city!
And yet, there were places we walked past that just brought on a smile….
Heading back to the apartment, we strolled thru Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II once again.
No matter how many times we walked thru the shopping center; there always seemed to be something we'd notice that we hadn't paid attention to before.
On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at this shop.
Where the Missus found a small purse She loved. Heck, this was Milan, you want a purse….well go for it, right?
We got back to apartment and took a break. I had dinner reservations nearby. But first, we decided to do the Milanese thing…. Yes, it was Aperitivo time! There was a Chinese restaurant that was recommended to us that we decided to try. It was located close by; in fact less than a block from where we'd had dinner the night before. So, we decided what the heck and went to Rosso Brera for Aperitivo. It was really funny; the same young man who waited on us the night before came on out. He smiled and I told him we were here for Aperitvo. He cracked up and we were served with a smile! So yes, a Negroni for me; Prosecco for the Missus, and some typical snacks.
Before heading off to dinner.
Rosso Brera
Via Marco Formentini 7
20121 Milan, Italy
We were really enjoying the Milanese lifestyle. You could say that we were falling in L.O.V.E. with Milan!
The Cold Brew was ok, on the milder side. The scone was pretty good, not overly dense, nice chunks of corn, and not too sweet. I did not find it to be overly salty. Quite filling to be sure.
Slices of pork belly wrapped around cucumber; looking at it, we were reminded of what we’d had 
The pastry was quite flakey and crisp. The interior a bit wet and on the doughy side, but acceptable. The amount of salt was good, but it was sorely lacking in butter.
Which turned out to be true…at least for me. Man, look at all that pork! The pork was nicely seasoned; though, at least for me, I'm all about proportion and balance of flavor and frankly, this was just too much pork, and where's the jamon? And the bread was just not up to the task as it got really mushy plus all of the pork muted the pickles. And was there even mustard on this….I do like a good counter-point to the rich pork. Still, if you want a very porky sandwich, here it is….. It's just not the kind of Cubano I enjoy.
Though it looked over-baked, the exterior wasn't flakey and crisp. The interior was on the doughy-bready-chewy side and the croissant, in my opinion really lacked butteriness. This was mediocre at best and was the same as what I'd had before from their stand. Well, at least they're consistent, right?
But the Missus cut into it and took a bite and made a face. She made me have a taste. The crust was doughy, gummy, and lacking in crispness. It was on the thick side. The filling was too sweet for my taste as well.
It was soft and doughy, lacking in that flaky-crispness that I enjoy. I'm not sure why they call this a "Butter Croissant" as sorely needed more butter flavor. The interior was a bit too "moist" for my taste as well. 
Overall, this was quite disappointing. I was looking forward to Izola reopening. I'm thinking I'll try the place in a couple of months and am hoping that this was just an off day. And at seven bucks a croissant….man, how would Parisians react to a six Euro croissant? I can only imagine!
Wayfarer tends to over bake their croissants; but this wasn't bad, quite flaky and crisp, the interior a bit on the dry side, but light and fluffy with a decent butter-salt ratio.
The new president, Ed Morales, was introduced and he 
The artist rendition for the 2025 
Even moreso in real life! See the slot in the front hill? That is where the "Spotter" sits and can view what is in front of the float. The Spotter speaks to the driver via a headset and has a set of brakes there at the front, in case an emergency type of stopping is necessary.
Kiwanis International has the theme "Being Together" and is going to be even more beautiful when covered in natural materials and flowers. The slot for the Spotter to view is at the top of the honeycomb
The Service organization of Oddfellows and Rebekahs has their 2025 entry depicted 
Here it is in real life! so vibrant and, again, cute. You can see the rectangular slot in front. The Driver, who only follows the 'Rose Colored Line' on the street is situated near the middle of the float.
The drawing of the 2025 
This beauty is surreal and so detailed; everyone (on either side of the parade route) will see something different.
The 2025 entry for the Luthern Hour Ministries and 
There will be 'stained glass' windows on the church, all created with natural materials. This float will be magnificent with it's theme "Behold! Jesus the Savior is Born". The Petal Pushers volunteers assist with decorating about eight floats during decorating days.
The Fraternal Service Organization of Elks will have another float in the 2025 Rose Parade.
"Cherished Memories" is the theme. Remember that all floats must 'fit' down the parade route, so the Elk at the back of the float must be able to collapse down to the maximum allowable size.
Shriners Children's 2025 float will feature a working waterfall!
So far, in it's basic stages, I can see that the two parrots will be lifted up to go down the parade route, then lowered as it gets to the tight spots along the route. 
I have not seen any drawings for the City of Alhambra entry, but it was also tested on July 13. 
A cortadito ($3.39) was a nice alternative to coffee. The espresso with sweetened condensed milk really hit the spot. 
A new beverage is an iced passion fruit, yuzu pear lemonade ($5.45) and we just had to try it. Topped with edible violas and mint, this was a very pleasant, not overly sweet treat.
A peach target ($4.55) and a matcha raspberry eclair ($3.90) were our choices to try later that day. Wonderful crust and pastry and fruit and cream. Very nice indulgences.
A walnut-raisin batard ($4.65) is a must purchase item. Crisp crust, an almost sourdough base and walnuts and raisins; a perfect snack or breakfast.
Two cheese rolls ($1.19 each). were enjoyed in the car on the way home. Crisp and flaky and sugar topped with a whipped cream cheese filling. Another perfect item.
We ordered Torrejas (Cuban French Toast) ($9.15), a wonderful breakfast item, especially with the cream cheese and fresh fruit.
Instead of an eggy sandwich, we shared a lechon sandwich ($8.69) Roasted pork, so tender and topped with pickled onions, served on fresh, pressed bread that was spread with a wonderful house made chimichurri sauce. This satisfied the cravings I had for about half a year.
The bread looked like a rolled French Baguette. It was quite crusty, though a bit more dense then what I'd call a typical banh mi. The jalapenos were really mild. There was a thin sliver of cucumber….though I must say that cucumbers are MIA in many banh mi's these days. There was a good ration of pickled veggies to mayo to pork.
So yes, this was scalding hot. Did I notice a difference? Well, 6 wings were now $9.99 and it seemed to have much more black pepper and was even saltier than I recalled. Also, the coating got soggy quite quickly. Not sure if it was just my imagination, but it seemed that way. The wings were of decent quality, it was moist, but again really high on the sodium scale for me.