Italy – Milan 28/8/16 – 2/9/16

So another train journey, this time from Bologna to Milan which took around 2 ½ hours. We bought our tickets from the self service ticket machines and found the train leaving at 9.52am only cost €27 pp for first class, as apposed to the one leaving at 9.38am which would have cost €54 pp 2nd class. It really does pay to use the self service machines.
The journey headed north-west into Italy, through some amazing countryside, little villages and small hamlets. Again being made more impressive with the glorious mid morning sunshine. Some places we passed were derelict with its buildings in ruin, whilst others looked rather modern eg Parma. As we were in the 1st class carriage we had slightly more room in our seats, sharing the carriage with only a couple of other people, so a very peaceful journey it was.
Getting into Milan, there were 3 other “Milan” stations prior to Milan Central, so be careful if you take this journey. Once arrived we were in awe of Milan’s train stations architecture, sculpted stone, carved wood and chandeliers galore. What a beauty, people all around us snapping away with their cameras, making walking through to the many exit doors even more difficult with the crowds. However people here in Italy are very friendly, calm and polite so meandering along the streets is a breeze compared to other countries we’ve been to.
We’re staying courtesy of Airbnb in the centre of Milan, about 1km from its train station. A great 1 bedroomed apartment with all mod cons including a washing machine (such a luxury).
Our first day we decided to get the “hop on hop off” city tour bus. Milan has 3 routes within its city centre and for €25 pp you get a 48 hour pass for all 3 routes, great value. So we joined the blue line and got to the Duomo Cathedral. This gothic monstrosity took 6 centuries to build and when you get up close to it you can see why. It is beautiful in every way, from the stone carvings to its impressive colossal size reaching high up into the sky. It is the most ornate piece of architecture I have ever come across. Next we walked to the “Galleria Vitorio Emanuele II” an impressive vast walk through series of arches, all with extravagant carvings, windows and elaborate arches, very beautiful. After choosing one of the many cafes in this area, (we paid €26 for 2 hot chocolates – so it’s particularly expensive in this neighbourhood), we caught the red line bus. Which took us into the new area of the city – with modern sky scrapers etc, a very unique alternative to what we have discovered in the past few months.
It was now lunchtime so we got back onto the blue line and headed for our original starting point, the famous Via Buenos Aires, which is apparently the longest road of shops in europe, it’s 3km long. So when in the world’s capital of high fashion what do you do, you shop to you drop. Wow there’s so many shops and so many clothes to choose from. When we next looked at the time it had gone 6pm, but we did have a great time even if the plastic was steaming by the end of the day.
Tomorrow were off on the green bus followed by a shopping trip to Switzerland.
So for €20 pp we bought a day trip to a shopping mall in Switzerland via the Milan Information Centre. There are 2 trips each day, we opted for the afternoon one leaving at 1pm. It took just over an hour to reach our destination, and the bus went via Como. A great journey, however we were informed to take passports as we were crossing the boarder. We had these but we’re not asked for them once, in either direction.
Our destination was the Fox Town Outlet in the town of Mendrisio. What we found was 160 shops over 3 floors covering 3k, with top end designer retail outlets – Armani, Guess, Fendi, Burberry, Prada, YSL the list goes on, each with 30% to 70% off normal prices. However 50% off €3000 still leaves a huge hole on the plastic cards, so a little out of our price range. We returned only spending in 1 shop, that being the Lindt Chocolate shop. Well what else was we going to buy, but the best chocolate in the world made in Switzerland. If we’d have know what was at the mall, I suppose we would not have gone, however the chocolate was lush! And a day trip to Switzerland was rather comic, even if we didnt get our passports stamped. We returned on the earlier bus (5pm), instead of our arranged bus (7pm), so was back in our flat by 7pm. A novel way to spend the day.
The following day we had a day trip to Como, it’s lake and Bellagio, (see separate post for this day trip).
Our week in Milano is almost over so we headed to the Central Train station to purchase our tickets to Genova, our next destination. Even if your not travelling Italy by train, but you are staying in Milano, I fully recommend a visit to its train station. As I stated earlier it’s huge, with the best stone carvings we have ever seen. It is also full of shops to ponder around as your waiting for your train, (if it’s delayed etc).