What do you mean by arbitrary business hours? Most shops these days follow standard hours (that are longer than elsewhere in Europe), certainly in big cities like Milan. Closing for lunch and randomly at other times is really only a thing in small family-run places in the villages.
I’m also curious about corruption; I mean, I’m sure there is corruption behind the scenes like in any country, but I’ve never witnessed overt corruption, like cops or civil workers taking bribes form the public.
I agree about the weather, architecture and locals in Milan. Food is great, though! Not so much the traditional Milanese (although there are some good dishes, and the cotoletta isn’t chicken), but everything else; you can find any Italian regional cuisine and lots of international cuisine, and the dining scene is brilliant. And the Po plain is depressing, but Milan is one hour away from lake Como, and while the high mountains are 1.5-2 hours away, they’re the central Alps, with easy access and world-class hiking and skiing, they’re mot some random range.
What do you mean by arbitrary business hours? Most shops these days follow standard hours (that are longer than elsewhere in Europe), certainly in big cities like Milan. Closing for lunch and randomly at other times is really only a thing in small family-run places in the villages.
I’m also curious about corruption; I mean, I’m sure there is corruption behind the scenes like in any country, but I’ve never witnessed overt corruption, like cops or civil workers taking bribes form the public.
I agree about the weather, architecture and locals in Milan. Food is great, though! Not so much the traditional Milanese (although there are some good dishes, and the cotoletta isn’t chicken), but everything else; you can find any Italian regional cuisine and lots of international cuisine, and the dining scene is brilliant. And the Po plain is depressing, but Milan is one hour away from lake Como, and while the high mountains are 1.5-2 hours away, they’re the central Alps, with easy access and world-class hiking and skiing, they’re mot some random range.