Milano - Fashion and Design!

Our trip is about to end, only a few more days and we are heading to Milano.

We took the train from Venezia for a two hour trip to Milano. I love the European train system, so comfortable and fast, better than flying. We arrived at the Milano Stazione Centrale, the largest rail hub in Italy. Also the most impressive train station aside from Grand Central in NY that I know of. It has four or five levels with shops and restaurants and 2 levels below for the subway. See building below, just beautiful!!!

Our apartment was located about two blocks from the train station. We had very clear instructions from Tomaso, the owner,  to reach the apartment and we walked there. Neri, his manager, was waiting to welcome us into the apartment. It was on the 7th Floor, top floor of the building, and yes the building had a tiny elevator, that  the two of us with our suitcases barely fit into. It was one of those old fashion elevators that you need to close the outer door first by hand and then close the elevator door. But, it worked and happy we had one.

                

    

The bedroom was a decent size and the bed was very comfortable with a nice down comforter. The kitchen was super tiny as well as the bathroom....but we enjoyed it. The convenience to be so close to the train station is always welcome for travelers; no taxis anywhere and easy transportation in and out the city.

Close to the apartment we found a nice caffe where we went to have our expresso and capuchino in the morning. This caffe roasted their own coffee and it had a very nice atmosphere. At the same place they prepared smoothies, a sign of more non-traditional food in a very hip city. 

Milano is a big city, and like any other big city heavy traffic. Lots of people everywhere, lines, nice shops, but a little frenzied for our taste. I guess we were impressed with small towns with charm!

We did our touring, starting with a must to see the impressive Duomo. We learned this cathedral is the fourth largest in the world after the Vatican in Rome, Westmister Abby in London and The Giralda in Sevilla. The place is huge! It has two thousand statues inside and many more outside. We stood in line to get in and Italian soldiers were handling the check-in but the line moved in fast.

I found the church a little too dark inside but remarkably beautiful. We went Sunday afternoon and attended mass in Italian, same liturgy and songs, but we wish we could have understood the sermon. From the little I could pick up, the priest was talking about the chaos going on in the world. It was packed for mass with people of all ages. The church was built to hold 40,000 people.

                               

In front of the Duomo, there is a huge piazza named "Piazza del Duomo" a place to gather and it was crowded day and night. The statue is Vittorio Emmanuel II, the first king of italy, is in the middle of the piazza.

Surrounding the piazza, there is the famous and elegant shopping area named Galleria Vittorio Emmanuel II where all famous designers have their fancy shops like Gucci, Prada, Luis Vitton, etc. The galleria has four entrances and it shapped like a square cross. It's not than big, and besides the fancy shops there are some elegant and expensive caffes and restaurants.

            

The floors of this gallery are a work of art. The ceiling is glass and iron and it has several hanging chandeliers.

Here is one of the four entrances....all have the same architecture 

                       

This is the middle of the galleria....

We are standing at the middle looking down to pick up the dome ceiling on the picture....

 We had a very nice dinner there after mass.

Crossing the gallery from side to side we found ourselves at the other end where there is Piazza Della Scala and crossing the street is the famous opera house and museum La Scala. 

If it wasn't for the language, Milan looks and feels like any other big city where people are rushing to work, buses are crowded, subways super busy and people walk fast.  It's a very cosmopolitan city, where there is a lot of wealth in banking and design and many young successful business people are attracted to the city. We found restaurants with a more eclectic menus offering big healthy salads besides the typical pizza and pasta, very hip and fast moving. No exception here as the cold weather doesn't keep Italians inside to eat, people gravitate to the tables outside and even thought outdoor prices are higher than indoors, outdoor tables have a very high demand. A few times we found ourselves being the only ones sitting inside.

Another desirable place for high fashion shopping is at the Quadrilateral, many high end stores. We visited many shops and intended to do some shopping in Milan of Italian clothes at moderate prices and Italian shoes but we remain cautious of where the items are made. Well, not to be surprised but disappointed we found many of the clothing and shoes we could afford were made in China. Needless to say no need to carry things made in China that you can find in the states. 

Milan was interesting, I heard it is a frenzy during the international design week where people from all over the world in the design industry meet. Hotels could reach $1000 per day or more and apartments advertise very high prices during this season. It's not a city a have a desire to return, glad we are able to visit it. After two days in Milan we decided to take a day trip to the Lakes, stay tuned!!!!