Milano

CHAPTER 6

Leaving Siena on the morning train, we were excited for our next destination, Milano.  It was a place that we initially had no intention of visiting, but found that the route of the iron rails we were tied to not only detoured to the city, but we would be required to change train stations as well to continue our journey north to the tranquil shores of Lago di Como, our ultimate goal.  More often than not, when confronted with an inconvenient road block such as this, we try to flip it round, and show it who’s boss, rather than the other way around.  Thus, we converted what would have been annoying layover into a deliberate 24-hour stay to give us a chance to see what this new and bustling city had to offer…

Milan, it turns out, is the second largest city in Italy.  And though it can’t compete with its big brother Rome when it comes to ancient ruins, grandiose monuments, or shear historical pertinence, it does do a fair job in entertaining the curious traveler with a day to kill- the massive cathedral is quite impressive; Leonardo De Vinci put his stamp on the city, most notably with the Last Supper; and for the consumers among us, the famous Galleria is a must see- shopping and fashion being Milan’s greatest attractions.  Though Jake and I’s better halves do love a good shopping spree, by some miracle we managed to keep them out of the stores, and most of our euros in our wallets- it might have been because the prices were as extravagant as the designer labels, or the fact that we were only three days into a month long vacation, but in the end we were all contented with some casual window shopping followed by a cold gelato to cap off our day.