Well it finally came time to leave our beach oasis and head west to a country very close to my heart. We had a 4am flight out of Cyprus so with our 2am pick up and a 3 hour transit in Athens, we arrived in Milan late morning to rain, cold and fog. A bit of a shock to the system. Having not packed a rain jacket from home, our 35 Euro jackets from Ireland were getting a work out. We took the train from the airport while trying not to fall alseep and found our hotel which was conveniently located across the road from Milan's central station. This station was just gorgeous. One of the best I've seen in Europe so far. With a few photos and marveling like the tourists we are we headed across the road and checked into our hotel.
We had 6 days in Milan and had planned on day trips up to the Lake District and over to Venice. Sadly both got canceled. When we checked the news and saw that Venice was flooded and literally under water we were kinda glad. So we decided to just stay in the city and explore all that Milan has to offer. Unfortunately the weather got worse so a couple of days were spent in doors away from the rain & storms. Venturing around our area seemed to transport us back in time. As we walked down the cobble stone streets, passing the shops with prosciutto hanging in the windows, 100 year old tram carriages would go past us. The doom and gloom of the weather could not take away the feeling of simply being there and seeing this beautiful city.
We took a bus around the city and stopped of at some interesting places. The most intriguing being the Duomo di Milano. The 2nd largest cathedral in Italy, after St Peters Cathedral in the Vatican, stands tall in the centre of Milan and draws your eye from every direction. The sheer size of this structure is breathe taking and it's no wonder it took over 6 centuries to complete. Sadly the entry line was hours long and the ticket line for the express passes was even longer. It didn't matter because we just spent time in the square and soaked up all her beauty.
Our next stop was the Castello di Milano. A 15th century castle built by the Duke of Milan is located on an impressive ground complete with massive fountains and a mote. Having been rebuilt in the 1800 it is now home to 5 museums and about 15,000 pigeons. We passed armed police at the entry, marveled at the architecture and paintings located at the entrance of the grounds. As we walked around we saw statue after statue impeccably looked after before exiting to the back gardens.
We wondered through the grounds and as we neared the end we came across the Porta Sempione. Originally a Roman wall guarding the city, when Napoleon controlled Milan he built the Arco della Pace (the Arch of Peach) on the main road through the Alps between Milan and Paris, which is still used today. During our time in Milan we took advantage of the local restaurants and got our fill of authentic pizza and pasta while we could! Honestly one of the best, if not the best, cuisines in the world.All too soon it came time to leave. We headed back to the rail station and boarded a train to Genoa, on Italy's west coast. The 1.5hr journey was unsurprisingly breathe taking as we got to see the Italian countryside for the first time. We railed through the mountainside and small towns as we made our way to the Mediterranean where the sun was finally waiting for us. It was here we saw our next adventure lined up at the port - the MSC Opera who was docked and ready for us to board her to take us to Cuba!
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Travelers tip - Milan is a great base for seeing parts of northern Italy. Try and stay near a central rail station so moving around is easy.
Travelers tip - Duomo di Milano is very busy so either get there early and be prepared to wait in line for hours or prebook a fast track pass if possible. Keep in mind the fast track line was just as long, if not longer, than the normal line so either way you're up for a couple of hours of waiting time during peak.
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