Milan

The closer we get the end of our trip the faster the days seem to fly by. We’ve crammed Venice into less than 48 hours and are on our way to do the same with Milan. We are smarter now that we were two days ago though, as just behind our hotel there is a vaporetto stop that will drop us off right in front of the train station. Not as good of a workout as rolling luggage over bridges and cobblestones for the better part of a kilometer, but it’s not like we’ve been eating bad and need the exercise, right?

The fast train back across the country takes a little over 2 hours, followed by a sketchy subway ride to our hotel. We’re only staying for one night (tomorrow night we’ve booked a room at the airport hotel so we aren’t in such a rush to make our early morning flight) so picked a place tight in the center of town that should be convenient to everything that we want to see. Sure enough coming out of the subway we are face to face with the Duomo.

Most of the tourist stops are closing down for the day so we’ll have to wait until out tour tomorrow to see inside, but with an evening to kill, we figure we can at least get a feel for the city and where things are. Along the way we check out the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, an open-air (but covered), four story shopping mall where I can finally add to my Giorgio Armani and Versace collection. And if you focus in at the very end you can find the ultimate accessory for any outfit – a six pack of nuggs!

We also check out Sforzesco Castle, the former digs of the Duke of Milan and now home to several museums.

Most important though, we manage to find the shop we have been told has the best gelato in all of Milan. It does not disappoint.