Baby friendly? No, grazie.
November 7th, 2007
On Saturday morning we decided to go and have a look at the new food hall on the 7th floor at “La Rinascente” (which is basically the only department store in Milan).
It does look great. It reminds me a bit of the 5th floor at Harvey Nicks (in London) …although it’s possibly smaller.
There’s a restaurant, coffee bar, chocolate (Valrhona) corner, juice bar, sushi bar, sandwich bar and a mozzarella bar. Plus you can buy some fine teas, biscuits, ham, cheeses, sauces etc.
So why am I telling you this?
Because it sounds like a good place to go for a quick lunch, a mid morning coffee, a nice stop while shopping in the center of town… BUT it’s not baby friendly!
They refurbished possibly 10 restrooms and there is not even a changing table…. and of course not a high chair in sight!
Italian business owners are a bit short-sighted; they still don’t understand how mums with babies are nowadays great customers. We are used to going out- lunch&dine, earn&spend. Why should we have to miss all these opportunities after having a baby?
Unfortunately in Milan, babies are only truly welcomed (with appropriate space and equipment) in very few places, and I am determined to discover them all in the very near future!
-Michela
Entry Filed under: Restaurants
2 Comments Add your own
1. Emil | June 19th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
aaaaaaaargh! I am about to from Switzerland to Milano with my two girls (3 months & 2 y.o) and this kind of things scare me!!! what will I do there, where I’ll go, where are the playgrounds? etc…
In switzerland they are not so baby friendly, but I thought Italy was THE country of babies…hum…
Anyway, thank you very much for all your precious informations!!!
See you in Milano!
2. Mariangela | December 26th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
I know I know what you are talking about.
I am an Italian mother of a 4 months old baby and in September I left England for Milan after 10 years in London and 2 in Sussex because I had a baby and I was thinking (I WAS THINKING) that was better to go back to Italy to spend more time with my family, but I am STRUGGLING … I am now closer to my family but I lost all the other things that England is famous for ..
Babies are SO IMPORTANT in England.. there are places for mothers and babies, most restaurants are child friendly and changing tables and high chairs are just normal… no rare objects… You can meet mothers in nice and fresh and cute cafes without the needs to joini a posh mamma club etc. and you can spend all your maternity leave and your maternity allowance with other mother or if you are too busy to go out you can just enjoy the baby shopping online …plenty …lots of choices for baby clothes, baby stuff in general and ALSO eco nappies .. and not sitting at home all the time surrounded by the family that yes is IMPORTANT (this is why I came in the first place) but not the only element for the developing of a baby. And also I found Baby stuff VERY EXPENSIVE… compared with the UK… In England you don’t even pay VAT on top of their products … but hey I need to stop complaining.. I am BACK and maybe this summer I will enjoy the weather and going out with very little to wear….;-)
BUT I am very disappointed with what I am discovering .. (or better with what I am not discovering) but few months in Milan are not enough .. and I am planning to keep going and to go out and see where, what, when and why ?? I will use all my experience abroad as a woman and now as a mother to get my way around Milan!!! no matters how long it takes.
And yes teh Rinascente .. with its posh seventh floor is lacking of toilettes and also impossible to browse the posh food market with a pram … even a small one!! Pity pity pity.
Italy is the country of babies??? Yes but most things are like in the Seventies….when my mother was a mother.
Mariangela
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed