Italy Tour - Milano

Following is my trip diary from Milan. Enjoy!

Day 1 (24-10-06) - Milano: My plan was to fly to Milano from Oslo by Ryan Air and take the tour from there. My flight was to Bergamo International airport which is a small city right close to the Italian Fashion Capital. I took a airport shuttle from the Bergamo airport to Milan Central Station(TerraVision Shuttles). First thing I did was to go and buy my train ticket to my next destination Firenze (otherwise knwon as Florence to English speaking people). There was an option of taking a Intercity train which was a bit cheaper and longer time or to go for the fast Train Eurostar(eqv. of French TGV's) which was much faster and bit more expensive. I wanted to experience the fast train experience and chose the Eurostar and it also gave me a bit more time in Milan on an otherwise tight schedule. That done, I had to go look out for a Train pass for the Metros and Buses. I went to the Hostel and refreshed myself and came out on the streets to start my tour. It was almost so late in the evening that I had to just go out walking and catch a bite. So I went straight ahead to Duomo. Since it was Xmas eve I didnt really expect so many people outside, but to my surprise there were lots of tourists walking around. This Duomo is a cathedral which is an amazing piece of architecture and art. Read more about this wonderful monument from this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duomo_di_Milano. It was so well lit up and so was the adjacent Vittorio Emanuel II Monument. It is the symbol of Milano. Together it was such a spectacle in the night with a huge Xmas tree in the Piazza(square). Spent sometime there and went ahead to eat some Italian food. I went to a nice restraunt and ordered a Pizza with a fancy name. Turned out Anchovies is a horrible smelling fish that almost made me puke. So had to just bit off the edges so as not to waste my my moneys worth and sipped on some nice Italian wine to wash off the horrible smell of the Fish from my mouth. They must be wondering why the hell did he order a fish pizza and not eat the fish. But this restraunt had a fantastic Home-made Tiramisu. It just melted in my mouth and was probably the best Tiramisu I ve ever had so far. Yummy.... After not so great meal, but wonderful desert I headed off to my Hostel to get a good nights sleep after a tiring day.

Day 2 (25-10-06) - Milano: Since I was leaving the city that night I checked out my Hostel in the morning and left my luggage with the Hostel reception. Since this hostel was run by a chinese family, I felt much safer to leave my luggage there. But I would suggest to leave the luggage in a locker or Left luggage in the railway station esp. if you are planing to catch a train later to avoid all the tension of going to hostel to pick up your bags before catching the train. Anyway, I first went to have a proper breakfast the Italian way. I thought Italy being predominantly a christian Majority, the roads would be empty. On the contrary there were lots of people and cars on street much like a bigger city and so unlike Oslo. I went and had a Cappucho (Cappuchino) and a Brioche (Chocolato). Ofcourse I had to say Ciao and Gracie and Ciao again. Quite Funny, Ciao goes for both Hi and Bye and then throw in some 'Prego'(Its Ok, You are welcome) everywhere and you can speak perfect Italiano. Then I started walking along the streets and look what I found, a Vespa Scooter. There were tons of Scooterists in the streets of Italy. I went straight to Castello Sforzesco. Just walked inside the Castle and came out on the other end. Nothing great about it really except that there was a map inside which showed that in Olden days this Castle was the center of the entire city and whole city was built around this castle and the Duomo. Apparently Milano was the capital of Napolean's Italy. He even built a big arch right behind this castle to celebrate his big empire. Then I went around to the Opera Center and found that closed on the Xmas day(obv.). Then as I was walking from the Caslte towards the Duomo I was treated with a set of pictures of Italy taken from above. These splendid photographs taken from above the different places showed how wonderful each and place is how much historic importance is attached to it. Then I just had a look at Duomo in day light and then walked to a Museum called Cenacolo Vinciano which has the Fresco of the Famous painting by Leonardo Da Vinci 'the Last Supper'. It was also closed and I couldn't get a glance of it. That was about my time in Milano and I had to catch my train to Firenze to continue my adventure.

Click here for full set of Photos in Milan

TIPS:

• Whenever you go to any city always look out for a 24 hour or 48hr/72hr/week pass whichever applies to your duration of stay in that city. Works out cheaper than individual tickets most of the times. Ask for Metro Train passes at the counter just before the Metro Trains one level below the Milan Central Station or you can even try the automatic machines.
• You can book Trenitalia train tickets using Credit card with reservation on their website and pick up the tickets at any Automated Ticket Machine by entering the PNR number.
• Hostel I stayed: Hotel Durante. It was more or less a hotel offering shared rooms for a cheaper price. You can also look at http://www.hihostels.com/ for Hostel booking in Milan.
• Make a small list of all different food vareities and names of different pizzas, pastas in italian as not all restraunts will offer English Menu. Might be easier for you to choose.

** Contd... Look at my next post for my trip to Pisa and Florence.