Moving to Milan with twin babies any advice?

[Abena]

Hello, we move to Italy in two and a half months. I have twins who are 10 months. Does anyone out there either live in Milan or have any advice about childcare, lifestyle, a silly query which is what formula milk do they have over there (mine are on Cow and Gate Comfort for digestion so would want similar) and general stuff. I am currently (started two days ago!) learning some basic Italian as I lived in Mexico city for seven years so speak a bit of Spanish but NO ITALIAN. I would greatly appreciate any advice anyone has out there, thanks!

Also sorry forgot to ask but is airtravel free for babies under 2? If they sit on your lap.

Hi Abena

air travel is free for under 2s on ryanair, but on major airlines you still pay, though I hink onl 25%, but you need to check with each airline.

I have never seen Cow&Gate here, it might have a different name, but you should be able to find a similar formula here.

Childcare: at 12 monhs our babies can go to a nurser (asilo nido), but places are hard to find, even private ones, they usually run from 7ish to 4-4.30. but you can do half das. Expec to find a higher staff/child ratio than in the UK.

Can't tell you much about Milan itself as I've never lived there, but if you have an other questions, feel free to ask!

Abena, hi, I'm from Milano, have been living in England for 7 yrs. I can help you, ask me any question you'd like.

• I'm not sure about cow and gate, there is certainly aptamil.
• as soon as you have the residenza, you can register with an ASL (the Italian NHS, more or less...) paediatrician.
• many milanesi put their little ones in asilo nido, the comunali ones are very good, but it's difficult to get a place, also, you can't enter at anytime, you have to register (usually in February) first and then the children can start in September. Otherwise there are private ones. The quality of both private and comunali is usually very good.
• from the age of three there are scuole materne, both comunali or statali. again on average they are v. good. ( I say this because all my friends in Milano have always been very happy with both nidi and scuole materne)
• unfortunately, there aren't many toddlers' groups etc, but I can give you the addresses of swimming pools etc I really hope you'll like Milano. I love it, but I understand it's not a city easy to love, iykwim...

there is also a private English school and an American one.
Do you know where are you goong to be based? Lots depends on where you live, as moving around can be a bit daunting, due to the traffic...

Hi Franca - I'm going to Milan in ten days' time for the weekend - I'm going to have Friday on my own with my daughter while my partner is working (he has a subsidiary in Milan). Any suggestions as to best things to do? We will be staying in a hotel right by the duomo.

Grazie mille.

Yes!
before I start, there are two things that might spoil your stay: the traffic and the heat. Here are my best tips:
take your dd for a walk near the Universita' statale (XV century), via festa del perdono (5 minutes walk from the duomo). no traffic and you can enter in the statale itself, where you'll find really lovely green medieval cloisters).

• from the statale, it's another 10 (even less) minutes walk from giardini della guastalla. really beautiful (ok, the jardins de luxembourg are something else, but still...)
• alternatively you can take her to giardini di porta venezia (corso di porta venezia), you can take the red tube from duomo and you are there in two stops (palestro is where you get off). There is the museo di storia naturale there as well, again not comparable with the london one, but still a good place for little ones) Shopping: Rinascente (corso vittorio emanuele, so 2 mins from your hotel) has been revamped significantly, but again, is not as good as Liberty or harvey nicks or whatever. The poshest shops are 10 corso como (in corso como 10, which btw is closed to traffic and there are other posh boutiques, plus a shop called high tech, which is quite good fun, but possibly not air conditioned! If you are into interior design you have to make time to go to Spazio Rossana Orlandi (via matteo bandello I think number 14, you can take a taxi) it's amazing, and it's based in an old cravattificio (tie factory). From via mateo bandello you are very near to piazza sant'ambrogio (church) which is another nice spot in Milano (and near where I usde to live, so spare a thought for me). I don't have many tips on restaurants, it's always friends who take me nowadays and I forget where we go. Osteria dei Binari I seem to remember is quite a nice place, it's in via tortona 1. Aperitivo is another big thing in Milano. Pasticceria Cucchi (corso Genova) is a very traditional place, but has only a few tables outside). Piscina Botta is open (or at least it was 2 yrs ago!) for an aperitivo by the swimming pool, but bring lots of mosquito repeller! I'll try and think of something else...

Another good place for "passeggiare" is corso di porta ticinese. It's closed to traffic and has lots of cool shops. It's very near parco delle Basiliche (again the word parco is a bit esagerato, but it's nice) and colonne di san lorenzo, where your little one can run around.

Franca, that's fantastic, thank you very much. I'll get my map out and plan an itinerary. We have three evenings in Milan, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so any restaurant suggestions are welcome - my partner is really into food (he worked in the restaurant business for many years) so if he can be surprised, all the better. Of course, we want to be able to take our daughter with us - she's normally quite well behaved in restaurants, but obviously nothing too smart.

As I said, I'm not very good with restaurants as my memory has gone. Also typical milanese cuisine, can be too rich for a very hot june evening. Anyway, you can take your dd pretty much everywhere. All these places need reservations, even well in advance.
check this:
www.aimoenadia.com/ this is quite famous, I've never actually been there but it always makes it in the 10 top list (I think) of Italian restaurants.

www.classcity.it/class_city/contenuti/t_libero/ristorante/ristoc_result.jsp?reg=Lombardia&rist=Joia
something less posh...
www.piccolaischia.it/ this is one of the best pizzerie, I think

www.tagiura.it/ this used to be good.
One of my dearest friends raves about this www.teatro7.com/. I went once, thought it was all right but nothing incredibly special. Needs reservation well in advance. I'll email him (he likes to think of himself as an expert ), see what he recommends.

sorry, something less posh is the pizzeria, joia is rather posh!

Have some Magic pizza Anna - it's lush!

opps, jus read your DP's tastes, he probably would not approve of magic pizza

what's magic pizza?

sorry, what we used to call spitzico (sp?) pizza; standy uppy pizza

(I was thinking something more in the line of magic mashrooms )
Btw, an excellent standy uppy food is a panzerotto (fried mini calzone), you get it at Luini, just behind the rinascente (as your hotel for right address). YUMMIE.

spizzico makes pizza with chips on top !

uh, and for luch I also recommend "Al panino giusto", there's one off corso vittorio emanuele, one in corso garibaldi (near corso como, if you visit the posh shop) and one in corso di porta ticinese.

omg, I so want a spizzico pizza with chips on!

Franca thanks for the advice. My dh and me are both teachers and he has a job in Sir James Henderson school and apparently accommodation will be near the school. It is a British International school and the street is called Via Pisani Dossi. We herad he had the job three days ago so I havent got a clue about anything! I think its near a parc called Parco Lambro or something but not sure. We also have two golden retreiver dogs to get over there who have only just got here from Mexico in the last few months poor things.I am not working here in UK as childcare would be the equivalent of my salary but would like to work in Italy therefore I wonder if childcare is as expensive as here. We have 2 and a half months to sort out EVERYTHING!

Franca, this all sounds wonderful, thank you so, so much. I'll start making restaurant reservations tomorrow. Grazie mille.

Anna: I find that the best city guides (well, my favourite) are the time out guides. see if you can fetch one on Milan.
I really hope you'll have a nice stay, Milano can be utterly charming, if it wants... . The worst thing is def the traffic, but by staying at duomo you have two lines out of the three (pathetic I know), and as the city center is quite small it won't be too expensive taking a cab.

Abena, good luck with your move! I don't know much about the area you are moving to (I've heard about the english school though, and it's got lots of lovely facilities if I remember well) and being close to Parco Lambro it's certainly good for your dogs... as I said I don't know much about Lambrate, but there' is a metropolitana (tube) which relieves a lot of stress, as moving around in Milan is a major pain.
Childcare is cheaper than in the UK, and that's because there are asili nidi comunali (run by the council). A place in asilo nido comunale (for children between 9 months to three year old) costs between 100 euros and 400 euros a month, depending on your household income. It's very difficult to find a place in asilo comunale, and you have to put your name down on a set date (usually in february or march, I think) to start the following september. Private nidi are good as well, more expensive (tbh don't know how much) but not as expensive as in the UK. The staff needs to have a proper qualification, so no stroppy teenagers on site. I'm not by any means saying it's perfect, but again, friends feedback has always been very good.
Scuole materne (for 3- 5 and a half) are both statali or comunali and cost 50 euros a year . they are the last bulwark of a once good education system. I'm told it's quite difficult to find a place there as well, but again, my friends with children have never had a problem and have all been extremely happy.
Alternatively you can employ a babysitter, but this seems to work a lot by word of mouth, I can ask my friends if you want!
If your husband is going to work in an english environment, your move will be much easier, I believe, and you might be in touch with otehr english mummies. As I said, I don't think there are many activities for mothers and toddlers. But there's lots of socializing in giardinetti and parks. And there are also swimming lessons for little ones in almost every swimming pool in Milan, there's a puppet theatre etc etc.
I'll be happy to answer any other question. There's another english mntter who lives near milano, brangelina.
I'm feeling all protective of you now, I do think that moving to Italy can be quite shocking for an English person (and certainly also the otehr way around ), I really wish you all the best!

Hello,

I am from Milano too. With regard to milk, one of the best shops I have found is a German chain called "Schlecker", where you can find Humana formula milk and other German formulas at a cheaper price. I also know of a few mums who buy baby stuff such as nappies etc. on the internet from a farmacia (chemist) down south - I think it's farmaciademeo.com, but you should check on that. All the best! Ciao

and also by the time you are there they'll be 12 months and you can ditch the formula, if memory serves me well.

you should all join us on the Mumsnet little italy - especially you abena soon-to-be-expact-in-milan.

This is so helpful and also its just good to know there are people out there I can chat to. As for traffic and pollution I lived in Mexico city for seven years until 10 months ago so I am used to THAT! Yes you are right they wont need formula after 12 months, I think. Not speaking Italian will be a problem but then again I went to Mexico without any Spanish and you learn a language quickly when you have to. It has just been a whirlwind in the last year and after having twins, premature delivery, moving countries and then having a scary miscarriage a couple of months ago I have felt stressed to say the least so thanks for your support! I have felt isolated here in UK for the last 10 months so Italy is an exciting new adventure I HOPE!