Milano
From what we had seen of Italy so far, we were excited to visit Milan. It was very different to Florence, with over 1.3 million population compared with Florence 380,000. It's got a really good public transport system - buses, trams and metro all linked up and easy to follow (according to Jeff) although we had a bit of trauma getting our 3-day pass.
Jeff looked on line on the evening we arrived and paid for two passes which cover all public transport - BUT, after booking the passes and paying, it then told us we had to go to the metro station and collect the card!! Just didn't make sense when it's supposed to be digital. We set off first thing to the nearest metro to inquire and were told 'non, non, non!' the guard said he'd 'never heard of such a pass and there was nowhere to get it in his station!' He told us to go to the Cadorna station (different line as well) and kindly let us on the metro free. Zoomed over there - non! we were told, 'you have to go to Genova station and ask at the drinks kiosk outside the station'.
By this time steam coming out of Jeff's ears.....
Zoomed over to Genova ran outside and yes sure enough there was a kiosk. The man serving (who looked suspiciously like Baldric from Blackadder) agreed yes he sold us this ticket on-line and yes after seeing our ID and examining Jeff's phone agreed he would now print the tickets !! Hoorah - whole morning gone, but hey!
The city centre is dominated by the massive Duomo Cathedral a gothic masterpiece dating back to the 14th C. Enjoyed a visit to the roof top terraces and inside the cathedral. Plan to come back later to see the archeological site and museum. Also prominent in the Piazza del Duemo is the magnificent shopping centre Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Plenty buskers and pigeons to add to the scene. Had a little shop and coffee in gorgeous vintage cafe.
Wandered over to La Scala the world famous opera house built around 1770, in the hope of getting seats for The Tempest tonight but no seats to suit our budget. Opted for a self-tour which was really good and loved seeing many theatrical relics and images from bygone days as well as into the boxes and watched some scene setting on stage. Later a lovely Italian dinner in one of the 000's of restaurants on offer.
Temp today warm and a bit overcast - just right.
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