England are out and god knows what happened to previous world cup champions Italia. But not all is bad in Milano. I just had a delicious lemon granita at Grom. The thought of eating a heavy meal in this heat makes me sick! Luckily I live on Corso Sempione, home to a cluster of great bars all of which do a great aperitivo.

The thing I love about Italians is that everything revolves around food. The focus of evening drinks is not the British happy hour concept where you drink as much as you can whilst it is cheap. In Milan most bars display a large buffet of  food including salads, pastas, cheeses and couscous. The aperitivo concept: pay 8 euros for a cocktail and eat all you want!

Corso Sempione is great as you really are spoilt for choice between Bhangra Bar, Living, Deseo, Jazz bar, Blight or Roialto and Bar Milano within walking distance from  Corso Sempione. My favourite is Blight which is just next to a spa. It has a sense of freshness and you can easily get a platter of fruit and great non alcoholic cocktails. If you are going in a large group and where initmate conversations are not necessary then Deseo has a good vibe, and is probably the most popular. Bar Milano and Roialto are great spaces giving a hotel lobby feel, but the vegetarian options are limited.

A cocktail, good food or simply people watching from the bars that sprawl out on to the street, Corso Sempione is great for all.