Location: Via Caterina Da Forli, 58, Milano COIN LAUNDRY!
Tel: (+39)/(0)349 10 72 208
Metro: Near MA Metro station Bande Nere
Hours: Open 07:40-22:00 including Sundays!!
I had to blog about this experience, not knowing at the time what a big deal it was to do coin laundry in Italy (or other parts of Europe, apparently). I brought my American habits to other places, much like bad drivers from China bring their scary driving habits to the US. Later that evening I was told by colleagues that laundromat style laundry in Italy is a rare thing, and typically for Morrocans. ?!?
Had originally intended to be in just Milan for 1.5 week work trip. Packed just a little over enough underwear and clothes. However a last minute work extension to Madrid meant only one thing. Find laundromat asap else run around commando in Madrid. Perhaps sexy idea, yet Soledad style usually means leaving options open (ie have underwear and clean tshirts and jeans rather than not). Of course, I could have just thrown my laundry to the Hotel Una Tocq Milan in Corsa Como. At an affordable 1.75EU for 1 undergarment (less than half the price of a late night street panini!) somehow told me that was not a wise business decision considering I had a full suitcase of lazy clothes that really just needed a domestic washer and dryer! Also, the hotel lavanderie was closed weekends anyway.
Saturday I'd planned to go on an adventure and to the coin laundry at a Lavanderie that a friend had googled for me near 3am that Friday night prior. Too bad I ended spending that entire Saturday until 630pm Milano time in my awesome hotel bed doing absolutely NOTHING. Which left THE SUNDAY RUSH before early morning Monday MXP/MAD! Very hard finding coin operated laundry in Milan. Googled and only found two that Sunday. Neither was nearby. TAXI! Hustled my dirty clothes into a suitcase, and called hotel lobby for taxi service. Taxi driver was confused when I gave him directions to another part of town on that cold dreary Sunday afternoon... "Lavenderie" I told him. He pointed out that it was not the closest and asked if I was meeting friends there LOL!... I asked for alternative coin laundry, which he did not know of any. Okay then, so off we went.
15-20 minutes and 21EUROS later (YES!!! that's perhaps the best part about this story), I was dropped off at a small coin-op laundry. Inside were 4 washers and 2 dryers. Not exactly the rows and rows we see in excess in US. 2 nice Italian ladies in side. Thank God, as one of them showed me how to operate the machines (kind of difficult if you don't know the language). Made my Euros coin-op change, tink tink tink, bought my mini detergent and fabric softner (more tink tink tink tink), et voila! Laundry wash! I even had a coin-op instand espresso machine on the wall which I happily and hastily used. LOVE these coin-op espresso machines in Italy!!!!
Went for a nice cold walk outside the laundromat and got some more espresso and sweets to eat... such a cool way to enjoy doing laundry on a Sunday (my last) afternoon in Milan! Laundry done with STYLEZZZ MILAN STYLE!!! Went back to load up my Dryer load, what a RELIEF to have clean laundry!! Finally, stuffed it all back into my suitcase and hauled it back via Milan Metro underground back to citi-centre. What an adventure!!!!
Perhaps the best part about this trip aside from the entire excursion above - might have been my taxi driver en route. In his Italian accent "I LLiiiiIIKKKEEE CaliFORnia WOH-men! They HAV-uh the BLOND-uh HAIrrrr!! I LIIKKEEE! Please SEND me PAaMela ANderson!! Sometimes girl get LONEly and DEPressed... SEND to me in miLAAHNN I take CARE of BLONDE gurrl!!" And the crazy look he gave me when after 2 or 3 times asking me "....MUSIC???" I finaly realized my iTouch was blaring in my purse... HAHHAHAHA. So Soledad Blonde err. Bleu.
No comments:
Post a Comment