Leave it to Anna: Villa Arconati Edition
If you have an afternoon flight out of Milan, spend the morning at the nearby historic villa with an excellent Italian lunch.
We were not flying back to London from Milan until late Sunday afternoon, so we decided to check out Villa Arconati for a bite and a walk. Located only 30 minutes from the Linate airport, this 16th century villa is known as the “Versailles of Milan” for its grand French-style formal gardens. On Sundays they serve an opulent buffet-style lunch in the grand dining room overlooking the manicured lawn and immaculately trimmed topiaries. For 35 euro per person, you get as much antipasti and main entrees as you can eat plus a bottle of either red or white wine for the table and coffee after the meal. My favorite was the freshly baked focaccia and prosciutto with melon. The dessert table was buckling under the fresh fruit display, deconstructed cornetto casserole, chocolate cake, and pistachio mousse. While the dining room was fancy, the casual nature of a buffet created a lively atmosphere with local Italian families enjoying a special Sunday meal.
I have been extremely impressed with the Danish Ilse Jacobsen Platform Sneakers in navy that I wore all around Bellagio - they are lightweight, durable, and have a cushy, comfortable sole. I also found these penny loafer moccasins on sale at Nordstrom Rack online (marking them down to $19.98 from $99). They are so cute and comfortable - a great mix of a loafer and a sneaker, which according to Bellagio Barbara is the look of the summer. You heard it here first!
I found two Spigne de Lino dresses at TK Maxx that may have become my summer uniform already - they are made in Italy out of a linen/cotton blend that is very light and breathable. The elevated casual look is formal enough to wear to work, but also great for wearing with sneakers on the weekends. I had the sleeves shortened to a normal short sleeve length since the original ones looked awkward on my petite frame. Highly recommend keeping your tailor on speed dial - they can make off the rack clothing look custom just with a few alterations. So worth it for those of us who did not get picked first for the basketball team at school. Of note, TK Maxx has been crushing it here recently with buried treasures for men as well, such as Thomas Pink and Moncrief shirts my husband found.
You can always count on me for recommending crime-related entertainment options for your consideration. We have binged the debut season of Death Valley on BBC, which is a cozy mystery show set in Wales about an unlikely partnership between a young detective and an older actor who played a famous detective on TV during his heyday.
The Better Sister is a much darker family drama on Prime, which centers around a murder and has an abundance of buried family secrets, glamorous fashion, and picturesque Hamptons views. Both great shows.
Hope that you enjoyed this post and I will see you here on the Stack again next Sunday! Until then, you can follow Leave it to Anna on Instagram or Facebook. If you think your friends will like the recommendations that I sent your way, please share my newsletter. Leave it to Anna is also on Threads, so thread along here.