Tag Archives: #Milan

Giorno de Vacanza 20

Posted by mishafesto on

Sunday.

Our last day in Milan arrived too early. Just like the blister that had arrived on my foot the day before. I was sore, but I wasn’t sunburned, so it’s the little things that I count as victories. After another filling breakfast, we packed our backpacks (that’s all we took) and walked the few blocks to the train station. Our friends met us there, and we decided a city tour by bus was a comfortable way to spend the morning before we caught our train and they caught their plane.

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The tour was nice, they give you cheap little ear buds that you plug into the bus seat, and then you can choose your language to here the audio guide. It is also a hop on/hop off tour, so at any of the 13 stops, you can get explore then catch the next bus. We only hopped off at one stop, Sforza Castle. You can read all about it here.

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Ignore that tourist in my photo. He wasn’t with us. I have to admit, I was suffering from tourism overload and didn’t take as many pictures as I should have. But they did have a cat colony living in the (former) moat! It was a great game of ‘find the kitties’ as we walked around the grounds.

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Following a fairly quick look around, we had to catch the next tour bus back to the train station. Paul and I were scheduled on the 2:45pm high speed rail back to Bassano del Grappa. Our friends didn’t have to catch their flight until later, but they did have to catch a bus at the station (it doubles as a bus terminal) and go back to the airport. We enjoyed one last beer (and a soda for me) at the station before saying ‘arrivederci’ to our British pals. The ride back home was uneventful, we napped mostly, but what else do you do when your train is cruising along at 300kmph? #SoooSmooth You’d never know you were even moving, it’s that nice a ride.

It’s taken a few days for the blister and the soreness to subside, but of course it was worth it. The freedom of grabbing your backpack, hopping a train to a new place, and just wandering around, is beyond priceless. And while Paul and I would go explore anyway, like we did this time last year in Rome, it was so much better with friends. The people I have met through Diesel Bear have all been amazing, both online and in person. I wouldn’t trade any of them for the world.

Arrivederci!

Giorno de Vacanza 19

Posted by mishafesto on

Buongiorno!

Saturday dawned warm and sunny. We enjoyed a very nice breakfast buffet at our hotel, then walked over to meet our friends and continue back to the Duomo.

Like I said. Ginormous! I forget the exact height, over 300 feet, so that’s over 30 stories tall! You’ll notice the line to get in…we found it very worth the few extra Euros to skip that and buy a Fast Track Pass. We also paid the few extra bucks for the elevator ride. That’s right, you can go walk around the roof!!! I was a bit worried, as open spaces tend to give me vertigo lately, but I wanted to try it. And I did okay! So, yay me! It was crazy to see the backs of the stained-glass windows, and the minute intricacies of the carvings. Despite it being the 1300’s and nobody being up that high, the details on this church are ridiculous! The view was spectacular, and they only let so many up at a time, so it wasn’t stupid-packed, either.

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After our wander around the heights, which included nearly 200 spires and several M.C. Escher-esque stairways, we went down 166 stairs (3, turn, 3, turn, all the way down a tower) and into the actual cathedral.

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It is a working church, and there was a service in session, so we were treated to some classic hymns. The church has three enormous stained glass windows, at least 100 feet tall. My photo skills fall somewhere under “meh”, so you’ll just have to look online for good pictures. Also, there’s this YouTube video!

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Along with the three cernterpiece windows though, were dozens more. The entire cathedral is supported by redwood-sized pillars, all out of marble. In fact, everything everywhere is made of marble.

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The floor included. The different color marbles are different hardnesses. The black marble is much tougher than the other colors, and has worn down more slowly. So as you walk, the floor is all wavy and bumpy, because the ‘outlines’ stick up a bit.

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After a good look around, it was back outside to the piazza. The square in front of the Duomo also borders a huge, covered shopping center. It was the first place in Milan (all of Italy?) to have electric lights, or something like that.

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Anyway, we wandered back to that delicious pizza place for lunch (and beers) then visited a museum on the piazza. Everything is so conveniently close! The Museum of the Twentieth Century focuses on art from, yes! the Twentieth Century! You can read about the museum here.

After the museum it was late afternoon, hot and sunny, and our feet were tired. Except the bears, lucky chauffeured guys. We began the two mile trek back towards the hotels, to yet another pizza place that had been recommended. It pays to know people. That have bears. On Twitter. Following the best, and biggest, calzone I have ever had, we limped back to the hotel bar for consolation drinks. Paul and I limped on to our hotel around 11pm.

You can learn all about the Duomo in Milan here!

Giorno de Vacanza 18

Posted by mishafesto on

Ciao!

Today is Friday, June 1st and that means it is time to go to Milano! You may or may not know about Diesel Bear, my constant travel companion. He was the first gift Paul ever gave me, before we were even dating, and has become our mascot/pet/child. He goes on all our trips, near and far, and has a life of his own. No, really! His Twitter has 1400 followers, he has Instagram and Facebook, as well as his own blog (which is woefully behind). And of those 1400 Twitter followers, he likes to meet them when we travel. We met several of his furiends last summer when we were in Europe, and this summer was no exception! Two of his closest furiends had reason to be in Milan over the weekend, and with it only being a 2 hour train ride away, how could we not go see them?! So first thing Friday, we set off for the Bassano train station, made a connection through Venice, and arrived in Milan about 2pm.

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Our hotel was just a short, two block walk from the train station (the second biggest in Italy, behind Rome) and we were checked in and ready to meet Ted and Reddy by 3pm!

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Their hotel was also a few blocks away, and within about 10 minutes, we were greeting each other over beers in the hotel bar. Twitter bears love beer. #ItsFact

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After a few more beers, it was a warm day after all, we set out to explore a bit of Milan. Just a two mile walk from us was the Duomo, Milan’s iconic cathedral. The word huge doesn’t even begin to describe it.

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It was dinnertime on a Friday night, on a national holiday weekend, so we took a quick look around then found a pizza place for dinner. And more beers. It was delicious, which we knew it would be, as it had been recommended by yet another Twitter bear furiend. And it was on the Duomo piazza! #Convenient We made our way back to our friends’ hotel for a few more drinks, then said goodnight and walked the two blocks to our hotel. We were in a room on the 9th (top) floor, of this round hotel tower, and we had a balcony! The view wasn’t the most amazing, but we still felt special!