Italy

Location: Milan, Italy

Travel Time: June 15-16, 2016

Needless to say, our arrival in Milan was not the most pleasant one. Our flight was scheduled to depart from London at 6:20pm and arrive in Milan at 9:15pm. However, due to a plethora of delays from RyanAir, we did not land in Milan until almost midnight. Then, to get from Malpensa airport to Milan Central Station was still an hour train ride away. Fortunately we caught the very last train going out. We arrived at Milan Central Station a little after 1am. Our B&B Hosts were not very happy considering their latest check-in time is 9pm. They were gracious enough to understand our situation but required that we go to their personal residence to pick up the keys since nobody would be at the B&B to let us in. So we walked… and walked… this was definitely one of the many times I was thankful to have a backpack instead of rolling luggage. After a 15 minute walk to get the keys and another 15 minute walk back towards the train station, we were finally at our destination: B&B I am Here – Central Station (http://www.bbiamhere.com/index.php/en/). To be honest, as soon as we arrived I took a shower and passed out. So I can’t even confirm the benefits of our accommodations. I will say there was a full kitchen and snacks laid out (some of which I put in my bag). But before I knew it, it was morning and time to check out.

After somewhat of a rough night, our group realized we were off to a bad start with Italy. So we figured let’s wipe the slate clean and start over. What better way to do that than with pizza and a little vino. We had a feast! The family owned restaurant even let us keep one of the wine carafes as a souvenir. Even though the weather was somewhat unpleasant, we decided to head for the heart of Milan: El Duomo.

For a small fee we were able to leave our luggage at the train station since we would be leaving out of there later that evening. Just as I mentioned in my previous post, I would try condensing your bags since they charge you based on the number of bags you have and not the weight. We took the local train to the heart of the city and to our surprise the sun came out. It seemed like it was going to be a great day after all. TJ was still in ‘London Mode’ holding pigeons while I was taking in the sights. As we stood in line for the Duomo I realized I broke a cardinal rule of church touring; I wore a dress instead of pants (whoops). Fortunately, one of my friends let me borrow a sweater that I somehow MacGyver’ed into a long shawl that covered my legs. So we were good to go.

The Milan Cathedral, also known as Milan Duomo, is the largest church in Italy and the fifth largest in the world. The building has been around since 1386 and has a rooftop that offers a beautiful view of the city. The gothic architecture and stained glass windows definitely left an artistic impression on me. We opted to pay the extra fee to go to the top and the views were well worth it. That is, until it started pouring rain on us! That didn’t stop us though from getting our money’s worth. Rain and all we took as many photos as we could.

After running around the roof (and goofing off a bit), it was time for some dinner. We ran to the closest restaurant we could find since it was still raining. The name was Signorvino. The food was okay and very overpriced but I guess that’s to be expected in such a touristy area. After leaving, we decided to walk around the famous Galleria Vitoria, one of the oldest shopping malls in the world. Our group decided to split up and meet back in about an hour to be ready for our train. Since this was the only time TJ and I were going to be in Italy for this particular trip, we opted to get some gelato. Pistachio flavor will always be my favorite. Yum!

As our group gathered to heard back to the train, TJ realized we had left our credit card at the restaurant. Since we only had a short time to return, pick up our bags and head for the train, we decided to split up again. Unfortunately, during the time we spent at the Galleria the restaurant had closed so we were not able to get our credit card back. This just shows the importance of having an extra card available when you travel. We also had a photocopy of our card to call the credit company and have them cancel it right away. As we ran through the streets of Milan we were able to catch up with the rest of our group. Even though Milan was just a pit stop, I am glad we had the opportunity to get out and explore a bit. Now we were on our way to Switzerland. Up until this point, our trip had been somewhat of a whirlwind. I was looking forward to spending a few days relaxing with our friends and taking things a little slower. Off on the train we went!