As I mentioned before, I am the kind of travelers who plan everything ahead and optimize the plan for maximum psychological pleasure and minimum capital expense. So when I saw a 50% summer sale on trains from Nice to Milano, I jumped right in. However, it turned out that I got what I paid for: The train on sale was a slow five-hour ride, which would have been less than three hours for a little premium. But I was drunk anyway so it wasn't *that* bad.
My trip schedule had the most setbacks in Milano: I wanted to watch a Series A match, preferably with AC Milan only to find out I couldn't. I wanted to visit Leonardo's "The Last Supper" only to find out it required reservation and by the time I could pin down my schedule, about two month before the trip, it was all booked.
But the real tricky part was the accommodation. Milano was the only place I couldn't find a good hostel. In fact, I couldn't find an available hostel at all because, unfortunately, my stop at Milano coincided with Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend. I tried to reschedule it but other constraints didn't permit. I almost panicked until I found a good deal on Rates To Go, a great place for last "minute" hotel deals. The place was perfectly located within walking distance to the train station, a big plus for me because I knew I would arrive at Milano very late.
As I expected, Milano Train Station wasn't the kind of place you wanted to be at 22:00. I quickly found my way to my hotel, Madison Hotel Milan, and was happy about my room. However, since I wasn't the typical guest to this hotel, I couldn't get one of the most important things I was looking for: a free map. A four-star hotel guest doesn't need a map to get around the city; they take a cab. Yeah, whatever.
Without a map, the only thing I knew about Milano was the world famous cathedral. Instead of taking the metro, or ATM as they call it, right in Centrale FS, I walked a little bit to the next station, Repubblica. I tried to ask the person who was selling the ticket how I could get to the "cathedral". He was nice and tried to help but the word "cathedral" didn't ring a bell. Then I tried "church". No luck, either. Then I tried hand gestures. "Duomo!" he exclaimed. "Yes!" I knew this word, which means "the place of God", usually refers to the biggest church in the city; I just didn't know Italians liked it so much.
The Duomo was magnificent. Words can't describe the feeling of being near it; that's why people travel.
The gate is famous for its sculpture of the life of Jesus Christ on the left and of Virgin Mary on the right. My art history teacher used to brag about it but I thought it was just okay. No offense.
Following the crowd, I walked into the church. It was in the middle of a religious gathering and a transparent fence separated the religious and the touristic crowd. The interior was stunning as well and because it was huge, they needed a big screen to show what was going on in the altar for people who sat in the rear seats.
I stayed for a while to soak up the atmosphere then walked around the cathedral. Accidentally I encountered a cardinal who just walked out. I wasn't sure whether he was the Archbishop of Milan himself or a visiting cardinal from another place.
I walked around the church to see all the interior of the church as usual and caught this rather scary statue of a hermit.
I couldn't keep my eyes off such a wonder so I walked around it again from outside.
Such a wonder required several hundreds of years' work and is still, in some sense, under construction.
On top of the cathedral, there was a gilded statue of Madonna, affectively called "Madunina".
The open space in front of the Duomo was, like any other open space in the world, home of the (annoying) doves.
Besides the Duomo, Milano is famous for two things: football/soccer and fashion. No other building than Galleria Vittorio Emanele II, the shopping mall of all shopping malls, can assure you that you are right in one of the fashion capitals in the world.
The Galleria was an amazing building itself.
This Prada shop occupied one of the most prominent locations in the Galleria.
And you wouldn't be surprised to find its French competitor, Louis Vuitton, on the opposite side, head to head.
I admit that I should have seen this coming: A McDonald's in the Galleria was just as casual as a McDonald's on les Champs-Élysées.
Another picture of the dome and the facet.
Of course there were more luxury brands in the Galleria but after a while, I was a little tired. My eyes needed something less shining and you could easily find it in the century-old city of Milano.
Like I mentioned before, women have their reason to go to Milano; men have theirs, too. Milano is so football-fever that they need two world-class teams to cool themselves down: AC Milan and Inter Milan. A store nearby was selling "cheap" official goods of the two teams. And I quickly spotted this corner with signed jerseys of some of my favorite Italian football players. I was so attempted to buy a €70, which is now around $100, jersey of Kaká's, like one of my friends did in Brazil for Roberto Carlos. But in the end, my sense triumphed my sensibility. Sorry, Kaká!
Some noise were made from the piazza so I took a look. A group of football fans were cheering in the piazza where cautious police stayed close just in case. They knew what they were doing.
Appeared in many postcards, this lion is more famous than the bronze statue it is guarding. And they were joined by the ubiquitous doves.
Without a map, I couldn't tell you too much about this tower I saw.
Luxury goes on. This Ferrari Store was literally full of people when I spotted it.
A Ferrari F1 race car was on display on the first floor and this engine, on the second.
I was particularly fond of these Lego Ferrari models. Once again, I didn't end up buying anything in the store, not even an overpriced keychain.
Some modern statues in front of an old government building made it very interesting to watch.
Now the real deal. Milano is one of the few cities in the world which have a statue of Leonardo da Vinci. Surrounded by four young men, the master was contemplating.
A closer look of this great man.
I wondered more. This time not just by walking but also by metro. I thought I could be spontaneous for a while.
I wanted to see the famous San Siro stadium but wasn't sure how to get there. I tried one of the metro stations but after I got there, I couldn't see anything. It seemed that after getting out of the metro station, you still had to walk a long way. I quickly gave up the idea and back to the metro. Then I arrived at the Castello Sforzesco. Sounds like a good place, huh?
My touristic intuition was right. I immediately realized that "castello" must have been the Italian word for "castle".
I was happy to find my fellow tourists there. It was totally worth the visit.
Behind the castle, there was a park. This bridge was interesting.
I felt so relaxed that I even lied down on the grass for a while.
This was what you would see on the far end of the park, on top of a monumental arc. My limited knowledge couldn't tell me which Roman goddess she was.
Having no clear plan, I spent the rest of the afternoon in the park. When I got out of it, it was about time for me to leave.
But Milano had so much to offer. I liked this row of buildings very much.
Particularly this one, unmistakably Italian Renaissance.
I could have seen more in Milano had I had a touristic map of the city or more online research beforehand. But it was also the most spontaneous day of my whole trip. "Relax," I said to my meticulous self, "It's a vacation anyway."
By the way, did you know that the current Milano Centrale railway station was modeled after the Union Station in Washington, DC? An European architecture after an American one. Mmm...interesting...
My trip schedule had the most setbacks in Milano: I wanted to watch a Series A match, preferably with AC Milan only to find out I couldn't. I wanted to visit Leonardo's "The Last Supper" only to find out it required reservation and by the time I could pin down my schedule, about two month before the trip, it was all booked.
But the real tricky part was the accommodation. Milano was the only place I couldn't find a good hostel. In fact, I couldn't find an available hostel at all because, unfortunately, my stop at Milano coincided with Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend. I tried to reschedule it but other constraints didn't permit. I almost panicked until I found a good deal on Rates To Go, a great place for last "minute" hotel deals. The place was perfectly located within walking distance to the train station, a big plus for me because I knew I would arrive at Milano very late.
As I expected, Milano Train Station wasn't the kind of place you wanted to be at 22:00. I quickly found my way to my hotel, Madison Hotel Milan, and was happy about my room. However, since I wasn't the typical guest to this hotel, I couldn't get one of the most important things I was looking for: a free map. A four-star hotel guest doesn't need a map to get around the city; they take a cab. Yeah, whatever.
Without a map, the only thing I knew about Milano was the world famous cathedral. Instead of taking the metro, or ATM as they call it, right in Centrale FS, I walked a little bit to the next station, Repubblica. I tried to ask the person who was selling the ticket how I could get to the "cathedral". He was nice and tried to help but the word "cathedral" didn't ring a bell. Then I tried "church". No luck, either. Then I tried hand gestures. "Duomo!" he exclaimed. "Yes!" I knew this word, which means "the place of God", usually refers to the biggest church in the city; I just didn't know Italians liked it so much.
The Duomo was magnificent. Words can't describe the feeling of being near it; that's why people travel.
The gate is famous for its sculpture of the life of Jesus Christ on the left and of Virgin Mary on the right. My art history teacher used to brag about it but I thought it was just okay. No offense.
Following the crowd, I walked into the church. It was in the middle of a religious gathering and a transparent fence separated the religious and the touristic crowd. The interior was stunning as well and because it was huge, they needed a big screen to show what was going on in the altar for people who sat in the rear seats.
I stayed for a while to soak up the atmosphere then walked around the cathedral. Accidentally I encountered a cardinal who just walked out. I wasn't sure whether he was the Archbishop of Milan himself or a visiting cardinal from another place.
I walked around the church to see all the interior of the church as usual and caught this rather scary statue of a hermit.
I couldn't keep my eyes off such a wonder so I walked around it again from outside.
Such a wonder required several hundreds of years' work and is still, in some sense, under construction.
On top of the cathedral, there was a gilded statue of Madonna, affectively called "Madunina".
The open space in front of the Duomo was, like any other open space in the world, home of the (annoying) doves.
Besides the Duomo, Milano is famous for two things: football/soccer and fashion. No other building than Galleria Vittorio Emanele II, the shopping mall of all shopping malls, can assure you that you are right in one of the fashion capitals in the world.
The Galleria was an amazing building itself.
This Prada shop occupied one of the most prominent locations in the Galleria.
And you wouldn't be surprised to find its French competitor, Louis Vuitton, on the opposite side, head to head.
I admit that I should have seen this coming: A McDonald's in the Galleria was just as casual as a McDonald's on les Champs-Élysées.
Another picture of the dome and the facet.
Of course there were more luxury brands in the Galleria but after a while, I was a little tired. My eyes needed something less shining and you could easily find it in the century-old city of Milano.
Like I mentioned before, women have their reason to go to Milano; men have theirs, too. Milano is so football-fever that they need two world-class teams to cool themselves down: AC Milan and Inter Milan. A store nearby was selling "cheap" official goods of the two teams. And I quickly spotted this corner with signed jerseys of some of my favorite Italian football players. I was so attempted to buy a €70, which is now around $100, jersey of Kaká's, like one of my friends did in Brazil for Roberto Carlos. But in the end, my sense triumphed my sensibility. Sorry, Kaká!
Some noise were made from the piazza so I took a look. A group of football fans were cheering in the piazza where cautious police stayed close just in case. They knew what they were doing.
Appeared in many postcards, this lion is more famous than the bronze statue it is guarding. And they were joined by the ubiquitous doves.
Without a map, I couldn't tell you too much about this tower I saw.
Luxury goes on. This Ferrari Store was literally full of people when I spotted it.
A Ferrari F1 race car was on display on the first floor and this engine, on the second.
I was particularly fond of these Lego Ferrari models. Once again, I didn't end up buying anything in the store, not even an overpriced keychain.
Some modern statues in front of an old government building made it very interesting to watch.
Now the real deal. Milano is one of the few cities in the world which have a statue of Leonardo da Vinci. Surrounded by four young men, the master was contemplating.
A closer look of this great man.
I wondered more. This time not just by walking but also by metro. I thought I could be spontaneous for a while.
I wanted to see the famous San Siro stadium but wasn't sure how to get there. I tried one of the metro stations but after I got there, I couldn't see anything. It seemed that after getting out of the metro station, you still had to walk a long way. I quickly gave up the idea and back to the metro. Then I arrived at the Castello Sforzesco. Sounds like a good place, huh?
My touristic intuition was right. I immediately realized that "castello" must have been the Italian word for "castle".
I was happy to find my fellow tourists there. It was totally worth the visit.
Behind the castle, there was a park. This bridge was interesting.
I felt so relaxed that I even lied down on the grass for a while.
This was what you would see on the far end of the park, on top of a monumental arc. My limited knowledge couldn't tell me which Roman goddess she was.
Having no clear plan, I spent the rest of the afternoon in the park. When I got out of it, it was about time for me to leave.
But Milano had so much to offer. I liked this row of buildings very much.
Particularly this one, unmistakably Italian Renaissance.
I could have seen more in Milano had I had a touristic map of the city or more online research beforehand. But it was also the most spontaneous day of my whole trip. "Relax," I said to my meticulous self, "It's a vacation anyway."
By the way, did you know that the current Milano Centrale railway station was modeled after the Union Station in Washington, DC? An European architecture after an American one. Mmm...interesting...
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