Travel2Europe : Milan

Day 3: Milan 

I left the warmth in Cremona to a freezing Milan. It was minus 1 to 0 degree Celsius when I went back to Milan. Milan, luckily, was not yet white as ghost. I had the time, long enough, to enjoy the fashion capital of the world.

I headed straight to the center of Milan called Piazza Duomo, Milan. Lies there the Grand Duomo or Cathedral. It can be reached by Metro M1 or M3, Duomo. I found it breathtaking since the moment I reached the end of the stairs from Duomo station, there stand the Grand Duomo.

To enter Duomo, my bag was searched thoroughly. I was afraid that they would take away my camera but apparently they didn't. I felt like watching concert if they did take my camera away. hehehe.. To enter is free but to take picture, I had to pay  €2. Upon paying the fee at the North Entrance in Duomo, they put the red tag on my wrist. It later serves well since many staff in red wing came to approach me several time asking if I have the tag since I carried large camera along. Taking picture here and there.

The inside of the Duomo is very breathtaking, I must say. Sadly, it was under renovation when I was there. But all in all, the inside was very serene and peaceful.

I went out after spending around 30 minutes there. Heading straight to the surrounding of Duomo. You know what I found? The Grandiose of Fashion by the name of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. The major shopping district in Milan. Welcome to Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and others major fashion brand at the Galleria. This is what you found when you headed around shopping in Milan

So grand, so big. I almost had my self in disbelief on how beautiful shopping could be. All this brand stores with people in and out carrying their shopping bag proudly. Know I understand why all the shopping street in Japan looks like a small town. narrow street in a grand road, just like in Osaka. They maybe tried to mirror the grandiose of Piazza Duomo shopping sphere. But no one beats it, I must say! No one!

Not even my own wallet! hahahahaha... Window shopping is certainly the best for me at that point of time. I am already lucky enough to make my trip to Europe. My shopping sphere I believe, lies somewhere else in Europe. And I know I am right.

Back to Piazza Duomo. The surrounding is also nice. Take a stroll in the neighborhood and I found many uniqueness in the city's architecture. They do really tried to mix the old and new building in fashionable way and there is no failure in doing so. Check the pictures below

(This one is my fave place in Milan, where I sit in freezing winter, munching my lunch peacefully)

After spending quite a few hour circling Piazza Duomo, I headed back to Duomo Metro and I found a another nice surprise. Because it was near Christmas when I went there, there are Christmas market around the Duomo. A lot of stall in red where many selling from cheese and salami, perfume to various Christmas decorations. 

Milan, as cold as it is, definitely lured people to spend many in their boutiques. With this atmosphere, who can resist? I was not the exception my self, since I successfully spent many Euros in Milan Official Store. hahahaahaha.. There you go, my brother! Got the official cloth for you ^^

And now time to travel to another part of Milan. I headed to Castello Sforzesco. Castello Sforzesco is a castle in Milan, Italy, that used to be the seat and residence of the Duchy of Milan and one of the biggest citadels in Europe. It now houses several of the city's museums and art collections.

But I didn't go to the museum, unfortunately. I just went around the Castella and admired the old building. Just like Duomo di Milano, some part of the Castello was still under some renovation. I only managed to recognized one famous part of the castle after reading it on the web. It called The Bell Tower (Torre del Filarete). Then I wandered around and took my exit at the back. The back exit leads to the vast Park named Parco Sempione. A beautiful park to visit as well after visiting the Castle.

Then, it was getting dark and colder. I headed back to the neighborhood looking for metro. But to no avail. I found only an Aquapark, free entrance with Wifi on the reception area. Fuuungg.. there I was, spending half an hour looking at various fishes while warming up my self. I sent my self back on the street when the sky was totally pitch black.

Luckily, I found a trem station near the aquapark. I boarded no 12 and headed back to the central of the city. Then I got this brilliant idea! Since I have 24-hours ticket worth of 4,5 Euros, I must maximize it. So, I boarded into different trem line, wandering around the city. Looking at how Italian spend their cold night in winter. Much to my surprise, many were in coffee shop or in the street wandering the city like me, with warm cloth for sure. The city is lit up beautifully everywhere with Christmas decorations. The one bad thing is that there is no sign of discount that would attract me to go down and do some shopping instead of having the trem hop-on-hop-off .

With that, my adventure in Milan is over.. But not really over. Because the next day, Milan gave me another adventure in the table. To travel in the white snowy Milan. It is serene and beautiful but super cold..