Milan is busy, cosmopolitan, industrial, and money fuelled... The main square where the absolutely fantastic Duomo stands is encased by stores... Gucci, Prada, Dolce and Gabbana etc... Every designer you could think of... Oh and a Mcdonalds and a Burger King! There is a shopping centre, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II where it is more floor to ceiling designer stores and restaurants charging a small fortune for not very much!!
After arriving at Milan Central Station, the second largest station in Europe, I grabbed a taxi to my apartment which is in a really nice residential area of Milan, on the 4th floor of an apartment block, right at the top, literally my sloping bedroom ceiling is the roof... Bit of a mission carrying my suitcase up the stairs but the lovely landlady helped me (Phew!). Lovely tiny little flat, perfect for me to get a couple of days R&R, I definitely needed to catch my breath before moving on to Florence and back to Rome!
So after I had settled in, I decided to go into the centre to have a look around. I went to the tobacconists and purchased my tram ticket and went to the tram stop at the end of the road and hopped on! 15 minutes later I was in the centre of the city right at the Duomo... It does take your breath away. Its imposing, grand and beautiful....
I wandered around all the adjoining streets, getting my bearings and it was just a mass of shops and shoppers. Milanese men and women are definitely the most handsome and beautifully dressed people I have ever seen... After wandering around for a couple of hours I made my way back to the apartment and crashed.
The following day I decided to go out of the centre and see what was around so I caught the tram and headed towards the north of the city towards the castle.. I do like a castle! Castle Sforzesco was huge... It was more of a fort than a castle, but it was still absolutely beautiful.
When I came through the other side of the castle, I could see that there was a large park so I took a wander. It was absolutely beautiful and full of people! I slowly wandered through taking in the views of the huge green space that I hadn't even realised was there. I stumbled across a lake that was again full of turtles... I love turtles! They were all basking in the sun, almost posing for their photographs! I continued to wander and in the distance I could see a huge arch which I now know to be Arco de Pace. I sat and pulled my map out and gathered myself and worked out where exactly I was. Nearby was a a huge cemetery that was listed as one of the must see places in Milan so I decided to take a wander up that way.
On the way, I literally turned a corner and that was it, I wasn't in Milan anymore, I was in Chinatown! I had stumbled on Milan's Chinese district. It was full of discount clothes shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, shops selling vegetables I had never seen before - What a wonderful place and I bet on an evening it was bustling! I carried on walking and made my way towards the Cimitero Monumentale.
I made my way to the entrance and walking into the large chapel at the entrance and quite frankly - Wow...The word actually came out of my mouth... I didn't have a clue what to expect as it wasn't somewhere that I had researched before going which is the better way of discovering things but also - wow! As its off the beaten track so to speak I would imagine that a lot of the people that come to Milan wouldn't visit it which is a shame as it is so beautiful . The ceiling was the brightest blue.. It was so bright, as bright as the first time you see the blue sky when you wake on holiday!! I couldn't stop staring and I almost felt like I was going to fall over it staring up at it! I wandered through to the other side towards the main cemetery and it was full of huge family mausoleums... It was such a beautiful place. A place like this really shows that the Italians really are all about family. It was full of family dedications, photographs and outpouring of love. I'm so so pleased that I decided to go...
After this, I knew I had a long wander back, so made my way slowly through Milan centre and hopped on the Tram home to a nice glass of wine and a chilled evening.
The next 2 days were always going to be tricky. Sundays and Mondays in Italy, a lot of places are closed so I knew I would be chilling at home for a while and that was fine and much needed! In Milan the main shops were open in the main square and the churches, but everything else seemed to have shut up shop. I had bought my tram tickets in advance knowing that the shop wouldn't have been open. I made my way into the centre and went inside the Duomo. Now the outside of this building is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen and its one of the biggest I have ever seen.... however the inside, I have to admit, I was disappointed. Where the ceiling was so high, it was just so... dark. The stained glass windows were beautiful and the colours really made them come alive, but for me, the inside was a complete let down. Maybe I had been spoiled by the beautiful cemetery the day before I don't know...
I made my way back just as the heavens opened and it absolutely hammered it down... Time for a vino methinks!!
Now... Time for Bergamo...
No comments:
Post a Comment