We arrived in Milan just after lunch, grabbed some pizza at the train station, then headed to our hotel to get checked in for the night. We planned this stop-over in Milan as a way to make sure we made it to the airport without any problems the next day, so there was really only one thing on our list of things to see – the Duomo. Milans’s Duomo is the fourth largest church in Europe (we've seen the other three also) and is constructed entirely of marble.
We walked through the interior of the cathedral admiring the soaring ceilings, stained glass windows, and beautiful inlaid marble floors.
However, the highlight of the tour was our trip to the roof of the Duomo. Unlike most cathedrals where you walk up a scary little stair-case only to be crammed into a crowded dome at the top, the entire room of the Duomo is open for exploration. It was quite a treat to walk among the spires while admiring sweeping views of downtown Milan. One thing we learned for certain on this trip – Italy sure knows how to build beautiful cathedrals.
Located on the square next to the Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.
This glass-domed shopping center is home to high end designers like Louis Vuitton and Prada and, up until very recently, a nice, affordable coffee shop known as McDonald's (I guess Louis didn't like having his store next to McDonald's, so they were kicked out not long after our visit). We grabbed a couple of cappuccinos and sat on the patio to enjoy some people watching.
Refueled by our caffeine stop, we went on a walking tour of downtown Milan. Along the way we stopped at a statue of Leonardo da Vinci, the La Scala Opera House (the most prestigious in the world), lots of pretty fountains, more high-end stores, and, most importantly, several gelato stands. As night fell, we worked our way back the our hotel, stopping for a nice pasta dinner along the way.
The next morning, we got up early, packed our bags, and headed out for some breakfast at a nearby bakery. I’m convinced that nothing beats a chocolate croissant and a cappuccino for breakfast.
Our hotel was located just a few short blocks from the Sforza Castle, so we decided to spend our last few hours in Milan touring the 14th century castle and surrounding park.
By noon, we were on our way to the airport for our flight back to the island.
Don't forget to check out all the pictures from Milan in the Pictures tab.
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