Romancing Italy 1 - Magical Milan

Here's the first part to my 10 day sidetrack from Hanoi.

M and I went for a trip to Italy recently, covering Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome. Each city has its share of wonderful sights to see and it was definitely an "eye-catching" experience for us (esp for me since this was my first trip to Europe). Even the flight that we took to Milan was a new experience. We took the new SQ aircraft (heavily advertised) that boasted of newly launched Economy Class seats, wider range of inflight entertainment services and longer seat pitch. For long range flights, I must say all these are very important. So we started off our trip on a high note.

After a 12 hour flight, we arrived in Milan at 6am in the morning. The excitement of being in Italy gave me the adrenaline rush which kept me going (I couldn't sleep on the plane), only to be doused by the long wait at the immigration. I don't mean to complain but the wait was simply too long. By the time we cleared, it was close to 8.30am (yes, 2 long hours!). Definitely not a warm welcome. We took an airport shuttle to Milan Central Station (Stazione Centrale) before taking the subway to Repubblica Station. From there, we made our way to Windsor Hotel (recommended by my good friend, C, who stays in Milan). It was a fairly nice and sweet hotel, though a bit small. Immediately, we dropped our bags and started our exploration around the city.

Piazza del Duomo
Our first stop was the most famous cathedral in Milan, Piazza del Duomo. While parts of it was under restoration, the impressive gothic architecture coupled with pinnacle structures on the roof was still an amazing sight.

This is the front view of the Duomo.

On a closer look...

The square in front of Duomo

M, however, aptly reminded me that cathedrals of such scale were by far many in Italy and there would be plenty of chances for me to get awed subsequently (which I realised later was true!). We went into the cathedral to enjoy the interior decor and beautiful stained glass windows. Unfortunately, the pictures I took didn't turn out well. :(

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele
Next to the Duomo is the famous shopping mall in Milan, known as Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. This building was constructed in the 18th century and houses some of the world-famous brand names in Italy, such as Prada, Gucci and even McDonalds! We went for our first fast food meal at Mac (but only M ate because I am anti-fast fooder) and paid an exhorbitant 8 euros for a meal. Ouch!

Taken from the main entrance to the gallery. Impressive dome!

Notice that all the signboards are in black and gold?

It was definitely fun browsing through the shops but buying was a "no-no" for me. The prices were rocket high. We didn't spend too much time here though as there were lots more to see in Milan.

Castello Sforzesco
Our next stop was a famous fortress in Milan that now houses several museums, called Castello Sforzesco.

The horrible wires spoilt my picture!

As we didn't have much time, we decided to give the museums a miss especially since we were heading to Florence and Rome where greater museums can be found. We strolled around for a while and this was when I saw a tram!

I know this sounds funny but it is the first real-live working tram that I have ever seen in my life! I hurriedly fished out my camera to take a snap and I must say that Italian driver was really kind. He actually slowed down and waved to us when he saw me holding the camera. Grazie!

Santa Maria delle Grazie
Now, here is the first lesson learnt from my trip. When the travel guide says that you must reserve any tickets in advance, trust it. M and I thought that the queue to see "The Last Supper" shouldn't be that long in summer but we were wrong. The tickets for the following 2 weeks were sold out! I wasn't that disappointed actually since I already know how the picture looked like but was vaguely irritated by the rude receptionist who "shooed" us away. So we decided to walk around and take some pictures. We also had our first taste of ice cream in Italy, at a gelataria nearby. I chose a fruity flavour and thought it was not too bad...

Front view of the church.

Santa Maria presso San Satiro
Our last item on our "must-see" sight was a church called San Satiro. This church was commissioned from Milan's foremost Renaissance architect, Bramante, in 1476. The uniqueness of this church lies in its Armenian architecture, which made it stand out from the rest of the churches I have seen in Milan.

See, no dome!

Feeling a little tired from the jet lag, we went back to our hotel for a quick shower before meeting C for dinner. It was really great to see her again. :) C brought us to a nice pizza eatery called Pizza Big and we ordered two big pizzas to share. It's amazing how fluent C spoke in Italian. My Vietnamese is not even half as good. In my hunger, I forgot to take pictures of us and the restaurant for keepsake. Well... I always knew my stomach ranked high in my priorty list. We went back to our hotel after dinner and had an early night because the next day, Lake Como beckoned!