To be honest with you, I didn't know much about Milan before visiting. Venice has canals. Florence has art. Rome has the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Vatican, the... well, everything. Even though Milan is Italy's second-largest city, all I knew about it prior to our trip was that it was considered a "fashion capital" and was a business centre of the country. However, in 2015 it was ranked #1 on the New York Times' "52 places to go in 2015" and was the host of the World Expo last year as well. While trip planning, I also found out that Milan is home to Leonardo da Vinci's famous Last Supper painting. I was excited to learn more about this city which was new to all of us.
When we arrived, we were greeted by my cousin Michele who is studying in Milan. Michele was our tour guide for the day. Our first bit of sightseeing came after we checked into our apartment and walked down the road to the Piazza del Duomo, a large square with a massive cathedral... the Duomo! The Milan Cathedral is the second-largest church in Italy (after St. Peter's Basilica) and one of the largest churches in the world. You can't miss this place if you're walking by! Its facade is quite imposing. The inside is also impressive with its huge stained glass windows and heavy columns. The sheer size of the Duomo caught us all by surprise!
The Duomo is next to the famous shopping mall - Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. If you're looking for high end fashion brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada, or Gucci this is the place for you. The Galleria is beautiful to walk through, with its high vaulted glass ceilings. Even the floors are nice, with colourful mosaics of the city's coat of arms and an interesting tourist attraction - a mosaic bull which is worn down from tourists spinning around it on their heels in the hopes that it will bring them good luck. I have no idea how this began, but we did it anyway... who doesn't want good luck?!
We had pre-ordered tickets to view The Last Supper painting (yes, you need to pre-order online) so from the Galleria we made a quick stop for lunch to eat a delicious panino (in a place with a little old nonna fussing over us), and then walked over to the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie church where we would find Leonardo's masterpiece. When visiting this famous work of art, you need to pre-arrange for a specific time and show up with your printed ticket receipt. You wait for a short period of time and then are let into an air tight room with a limited amount of people. You view the painting in silence and are free to move about the space. The painting covers one side of the room while another huge painting which I had never heard of (Crucifixion by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano) covers the other side. Visitors only have 15 minutes to view the paintings before the glass doors open and you are ushered out into the obligatory gift shop. Overall, the experience of seeing The Last Supper in person is worth it, but you must plan your visit in advance.
After viewing the painting and making a trip back to the Duomo Square, we walked around the city a bit more. I was surprised to see Roman ruins in the middle of a modern street, but that's how Italy is... the old mixed in with the new. It's amazing how much history exists in this country.
Michele took us to a popular area of the city called Navigli, which is a district named after the canals passing through it. I had been searching for the true Italian "aperitivo" experience since I arrived in Italy, and this was it. We went to a place named after my new favourite Italian drink, Spritz. Many Italians like going out for an aperitivo (pre-dinner drink)... plus food, before they eat their real dinner. For the price of one drink (less than 10 Euro), you have access to an incredible spread of pre-dinner "snacks." Let it be known that "snacks" in Italy consist of lasagna, meatballs, pizza, pasta, and a whole bunch of other delicious foods that you would normally eat for dinner. The buffet also had a dessert section, complete with a huge tub of Nutella which you could spread freely on anything. Winning!
After spending a few hours eating and drinking, we said goodbye and "grazie" to Michele who was an amazing tour guide for us. Milan is a cool place which seems to offer more than what is expected if you look below the surface. I was grateful to get the "local" experience by spending time with Michele and seeing his side of Milan!
When we arrived, we were greeted by my cousin Michele who is studying in Milan. Michele was our tour guide for the day. Our first bit of sightseeing came after we checked into our apartment and walked down the road to the Piazza del Duomo, a large square with a massive cathedral... the Duomo! The Milan Cathedral is the second-largest church in Italy (after St. Peter's Basilica) and one of the largest churches in the world. You can't miss this place if you're walking by! Its facade is quite imposing. The inside is also impressive with its huge stained glass windows and heavy columns. The sheer size of the Duomo caught us all by surprise!
The Duomo is next to the famous shopping mall - Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. If you're looking for high end fashion brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada, or Gucci this is the place for you. The Galleria is beautiful to walk through, with its high vaulted glass ceilings. Even the floors are nice, with colourful mosaics of the city's coat of arms and an interesting tourist attraction - a mosaic bull which is worn down from tourists spinning around it on their heels in the hopes that it will bring them good luck. I have no idea how this began, but we did it anyway... who doesn't want good luck?!
We had pre-ordered tickets to view The Last Supper painting (yes, you need to pre-order online) so from the Galleria we made a quick stop for lunch to eat a delicious panino (in a place with a little old nonna fussing over us), and then walked over to the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie church where we would find Leonardo's masterpiece. When visiting this famous work of art, you need to pre-arrange for a specific time and show up with your printed ticket receipt. You wait for a short period of time and then are let into an air tight room with a limited amount of people. You view the painting in silence and are free to move about the space. The painting covers one side of the room while another huge painting which I had never heard of (Crucifixion by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano) covers the other side. Visitors only have 15 minutes to view the paintings before the glass doors open and you are ushered out into the obligatory gift shop. Overall, the experience of seeing The Last Supper in person is worth it, but you must plan your visit in advance.
After viewing the painting and making a trip back to the Duomo Square, we walked around the city a bit more. I was surprised to see Roman ruins in the middle of a modern street, but that's how Italy is... the old mixed in with the new. It's amazing how much history exists in this country.
Michele took us to a popular area of the city called Navigli, which is a district named after the canals passing through it. I had been searching for the true Italian "aperitivo" experience since I arrived in Italy, and this was it. We went to a place named after my new favourite Italian drink, Spritz. Many Italians like going out for an aperitivo (pre-dinner drink)... plus food, before they eat their real dinner. For the price of one drink (less than 10 Euro), you have access to an incredible spread of pre-dinner "snacks." Let it be known that "snacks" in Italy consist of lasagna, meatballs, pizza, pasta, and a whole bunch of other delicious foods that you would normally eat for dinner. The buffet also had a dessert section, complete with a huge tub of Nutella which you could spread freely on anything. Winning!
After spending a few hours eating and drinking, we said goodbye and "grazie" to Michele who was an amazing tour guide for us. Milan is a cool place which seems to offer more than what is expected if you look below the surface. I was grateful to get the "local" experience by spending time with Michele and seeing his side of Milan!
For sure you had the best tour guide possible in our cousin, Michele! He is intelligent, knowledgeable and affectionate! GRAZIE MILLE MICHELE!!! As for the blog...all one can say is MAGNIFICO!!!!!
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