Sunday Shopping: 10 Corso Como Outlet

Since today was quite busy, I'm covering in a separate entry. I slept in. Why? B/c it's Sunday, and I'm in Milan, and I'm not catholic (practically every church here is), and I don't understand the langugage very well. I dragged myself out of bed around 11, and decided that I would finish where I left off yesterday and visit the stores that were on my list. Now, on Sundays a lot of stores are closed. And I knew this. But, one of the key places I wanted to visit was the 10 Corso Como outlet (which actually is not on Corso Como at all), and I knew they would be open so I figured if nothing else, it would be worth it if I got to check them out. I tried to check hours for the other stores on my list, but my computer was spazzing out again, and my Blackberry wasn't pulling back much. So off I went.
I checked my map before I left and it showed that I should be able to take the 29/30 tram which would put me a block away from the outlets. I could take it in either direction since this part of town is directly opposite from where we are staying. So I decided to take it in the direction of Sempione, and waited 20 minutes before a tram finally showed up. Everything was going fine, until we got close to where I was supposed to get off, and the driver stopped the tram. There were about four of us passengers on board. He told us we had to get off and take the "30 autobus". Ummm, yeah ok. I get off and I don't see a bus in sight, so since I know I'm nearby, I decided to walk. Wrong move. I walked about a block or two and then all of a sudden the area just started to look desolate. There were blocks that were fenced up, and walls filled with graffiti. This random guy walked up to me and said something in Italian. I told him I speak very little Italian. He laughed and then said something else in Italian. Ok, what part of "I speak very little Italian" did he not get? I kept going about my business, making sure to speed walk so I could leave him in the dust. Finding the street where the 10 Corso Como outlet was located, was not hard. However, the store itself could easily be missed from the street. There were no signs outside and it looked like a normal residential building. Good thing I had the address. Outside, there were racks of clothing, and shelves of shoes and accessories that were on sale. Inside, there were more clothes, and handbags for both men and women. They had some nice stuff, and some not so nice stuff. Supposedly, after a year, everything that does not sell at the 10 Corso Como store goes to the outlet. Some of the stuff, you can tell why it hasn't sold. Others make you wonder. I walked in the door and the very first bag I looked at was a white leather Chloe purse. The pricetag said 109 euros. My mouth dropped. This is Chloe we're talking about. I had to take into account that the bag was white. And the straps were short. And the style was cute, but not "oh my goodness, I have to have it" cute. But still 109 euros for a Chloe bag...you're practically giving it away. Unfortunately, the very cute purple Chloe bag sitting right above it was 1380 euros. Ah, back to reality.
Overall, the store had really nice items. Most of the clothing was 60% or 70% off. About half of the bags were on sale. Since I was not shopping for myself, I snagged up a couple of gift items, and called it a day. I did consider buying a pair of denim boots though - yeah, I know, may sound kinda crazy but they were perfect for me. Skinny leg, high heel, mid-calf length...I was sold. And the final sale price was 20 euros. Except they only had one pair left in a size 37 (I'm still not quite sure what the translation to US sizes is, but I know I'm about a 41/42 so clearly, it wasn't going to fit). Oh well, maybe another day.
After I left the outlet, I went in search of the A.O.C. - African Oriental Craft store. This store was recommended by several travel guides, particularly if you are visiting the Corso Como neighborhood, since it's in the same area. I looked at my map, and walked up and down this one street looking for an intersection that would have taken me almost directly to the store. I couldn't find it so I ended up walking this long, roundabout route around the Porta Garibaldi train station that took me about 20/25 minutes. The area was very residential so not much to see. Then when I got there, the store had the nerve to be closed! Wow. I chalked it up as my workout for the day.
I made my way to Corso Como (which is only 1 block, by the way - for all the hype it gets you would think it was longer) and passed by the main store, but didn't go in. Corso Como runs into Corso Garibaldi, so I just kept walking, and stopped for some gelato along the way. I was originally planning to walk to the 14 tram then go back to the apartment, then I decided to walk far enough to see if a couple other stores on my list were open. They weren't. Oh well. I hopped on the 3 tram, which was the first one to arrive, and since it goes to the Porta Ticinese area, which is not far from the apartment, I rode it to Ticinese, in search of the Target store. Apparently, there is a store called "Target" here, nothing like my future employer's stores in the states. I found it but it was closed. It supposedly opens at 3pm on Sundays but like most of the stores in Milan, store hours are flexible. It was 3:30 when I got there. Peeking in the window, it looked like they had a hodgepodge of random items, but I couldn't get a good look b/c it was pretty dark inside. From there I walked back to the apartment, fully intending to go right upstairs. But then I figured since I was done watching the DVDs I bought last week, I should go by Blockbuster and purchase some more.
So I did. Except this time, I discovered racks and racks of DVDs that I had missed the first time. Some were used, and some were priced as low as 2.5 euros. So I gave myself a price limit, and scooped up a bunch of movies including American Gangster, Be Cool, Blood Diamonds, Shall We Dance (with Richard Gere - love him!) and a couple others that I hadn't heard of before but which looked interesting. I resisted the urge to buy Grease, and An Officer and a Gentleman. Those are easily in my top 10 (meaning, I've seen them both about 100 times). On the walk back, I had to pass the supermarket, so I went in and bought some meat to cook for the week (steak and chicken - I need something to balance that turkey sausage, which I've been devouring), a 10 euro phone card, and some orange ice pops, which I've come to love. Needless to say, by the time I got back to the apartment, my legs were killing me from all the walking. I cooked immediately since I hadn't eaten anything but cereal and gelato all day. Now I'm just relaxing, about to call my grandma then watch a movie. This week will be interesting - our presentation is on Wednesday (I'm supposed to receive everyone's spreadsheets by tonight to consolidate - something tells me I won't get them all), and we are supposed to be meeting with Stefania tomorrow although a time hasn't been set, which I have a feeling means it won't be happening. So it may be a crazy week for me, but I hope you all have a great week! Tomorrow marks my two weeks remaining point, so I will be seeing (some of) you very soon. Ciao! Here is the link for pics from this weekend, including Foxtown. I will be adding some of my purchases here too: http://picasaweb.google.com/keeshaun/WeekendJuly11th13thFoxtownAndMilanShopping