Day 1 - Arriving in Milan

Il Duomo - Milan's Massive Cathedral

We are in Milan - Nancy was asleep at 7:30 pm and I should have been. Our travel connections went smoothly on all flights with the exception of either of us being able to sleep en route. A trip highlight: flying over the still snow-capped Alps, a beautiful sight.

Our airport bus dropped us off at Milan's central train station and then came the first real glitch ~ we couldn't find the hotel which was 50 meters from the station. We misunderstood a map from the web site and took off in the wrong direction. We walked at least 500 meters, maybe twice that in the heat and humidity; and talked to numerous locals who gave either bad advice or no advice at all. Those travelers who have been in some of the world's old cities understand that many streets go several blocks, then change directions and names. That was the case here.

Moving on to the fun part, we checked in, then took the metro to the site of Milan's majestic Duomo (Cathedral). We did go to the top of the church for a spectacular view of the city.

On the rooftop of Il Duomo

An another side of the Duomo's Piazza (plaza or public square) is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, sort of a 19th century covered mall which appeals to Milan's well-known fashionistas. We explored the mall, Nancy spun around on the bull's testicles for good luck (and I have video to prove it), watched the pigeons, kids and old-timers around the statue of Leonardo da Vinci, had a light pasta supper, then savored some cool, flavorful gelato on the piazza before coming to the hotel for the night to retire verrry early.

In the Galleria Victor Emanuele

Heavy rains expected tomorrow; hope that doesn't curtail our plans. First on our itinerary is our scheduled time to visit Leonardo's "Last Supper."