Milan, Italy
Milan was on our itinerary only as an easy connection between Italy and Switzerland. Little did we know! However great it might be for fashion, for travellers with two pairs of jeans (each) for a month, our fashion quotient was negative. With Italy almost coming to the end, we had very little expectations from the city and had almost made up our mind to ditch a city tour. But then there is always that itch to explore when you set out with your pocket diary with all the notes.
We had already visited almost a dozen cathedrals on this trip and were telling each other “not again!” But then we saw the Duomo, and it was…wait for it…legendary! Duomo di Milano was hands down the best work of architecture we had seen so far. The towering marble-carved facade of the cathedral took us by surprise as we climbed the stairs out of the metro station. It kept getting bigger and more majestic with every step we took.
Inside the Duomo: Massive stone columns to support the entire structure
Statue of St. Bartholomew Flayed, one of the many interesting statues in the Duomo's shadowy interiors
The sheer size of the pillars is amazing
One of the many vibrantly coloured stained glass windows in the cathedral
By now you know how mesmerised we were by the Duomo. Moving on!
Most shops and restaurants in Milan are closed on Sundays, except some at the city centre near the Duomo. We found that out the hard way as we were there only for a Sunday before taking a morning train to Zurich the next day. But thanks to our Airbnb host, we had snacks and yogurt as backup.
The flip side of restaurants around famous sites is they’re awfully expensive and mostly tourist traps. It’s best to avoid them unless you have no choice. But as long as you have good ol’ McD or Burger King, you won’t go hungry! We resorted to a Burger King dinner and supermarket drinks and dessert. This was one of the meal hacks we used when we overshot on our daily budget.
Some more snapshots from our Milan diaries:
