A city rich in history, fashion and wealth

We left the amazing island of Venice and arrived in Milan by train. The train system here is really easy to use. What a luxury to just hop on a train and enjoy the scenery. The City of Milan is "The Fashion Capitol of the World" and also the richest city in Italy. We walked out of the grand train station, turned left and proceeded 300 meters to arrive at our city apartment. We were greeted by the owner, Thomaso who was friendly, informative and not overbearing. We had a brief friendly chat, asked a few questions about the area and then he quickly went on his way. It was refreshing, especially for Kyle who was bugged with the apartment owner in Venice. I was happy because I knew I'd finally be sleeping in a comfortable bed.

The first night we took a stroll down a nearby street to arrive at a quaint restaurant decorated in lavender and white. I fell in love with the place immediately. We were greeted with a genuine smile by a sofly round older Italian woman who we presume was the owner. She spoke little English which made the whole experience feel like we were in a real Italian restaurant, not a tourist trap. Our waiter was equally as nice and we enjoyed a really nice meal.

The next day we strapped on out tennis shoes and proceeded to tack on another 11 mile day. We figured out the subway system which was a slow start but it didn't take long and we were pros at riding the metro. Here's what we did:

First stop: "Duomo" Italy's largest cathedral and the 4th largest in the world. Construction began in the late 1300's and took 500 years to complete. It was spectacular! We arrived a 8:45 in the morning so there were no lines and practically had the place to ourselves. Not long after entering the cathedral an organist struck up a few notes, what sounded to me like the beginning of a dracula tune. It filled the cathedral with the most amazing sound. The acoustics were incredible and we felt fortunate to get a taste of it.

Next, we strolled through the high end shopping area of Milan. The area was lined with every high end shop you could imagine. It was interesting to see all of the well dressed people everywhere, riding bikes, scooters, driving their Ferraris. Even the lady police officer in the indoor shopping center was dressed in heels!

Second stop: The Castle, built in the early 1400's was a stereotypical castle built of brick, surrounded by a large moat. It is now a museum with different exhibits on display. Despite our aching backs, we pushed through, resting from bench to bench. We visited the musical instruments display, the art display with displays ranging from wood carvings to paintings and furniture beginning in the 1200's through the late 1800's. Unfortunately, the Da Vinci display was closed due to restoration. Time to grab a well deserved gelato and go home for a rest. We had a 3.5 hour city bike tour to attend.

City Bike Tour: We met up with our bike tour guide and a small group of other foriegners. We had a wonderful sunset tour of the city weaving in and out of traffic and pedestrians. Kyle's a pro on a bike but my bike handling skills are a little weak when you put me on a heavy bike with what felt like wide handlebars. Once we got going I became accustomed to the new feel but it still felt a little sketchy weaving in and out of a few tight areas. We visited a park, saw an apartment complex that was filled with trees and vegetation from top to bottom. I think I saw this same apartment in a magazine a few years back. We rode back over to the castle that we visited hours before and it was much quieter and the lighting at that time of night was magnificent. By the way, it gets light in Milan at 5 am and doesn't get dark until 9:30 so we had plenty of light for the ride. We rode over to the Duomo cathedral and viewed the outside of it once again in the same magnificent light. After the tour was over we stopped in at "Pizza Big" for a late night bite and headed home for a good nights sleep.

When we first arrived in Milan, I have to admit that I wondered why we had decided to come to this big city. I knew there were some landmarks here but I wasn't sure it was the right place for a tourist. Once we exited the subway station and saw the grandness of the Duomo cathedral, I knew our trip to Milan was not a waste. It was one of the most amazing thing's I've ever seen. Our city bike tour took us to places we wouldn't of discovered on our own and we are now leaving Milan with fond memories and a little more rich in experience.

Milan Photos