ASC IN ITALY TRAVEL GUIDE PART 4: MILAN
Happy Thursday, world travelers!If you're reading this, most likely you're interested in traveling. Well you're in the right place!This is the last travel guide segment on my trip to Italy last year with my hubby.And what better place to end than in one of the international fashion capitals of the world?!"Milano" was one of my favorite places in Italy (second to Venice of course)! It was a stark contrast to the countryside living we enjoyed in Positano, and seemed to remind me a lot of San Francisco. There were businesses, high-rises, and impeccably dressed individuals everywhere.
Although busy and affluent, Milan is a relatively smaller city. When traveling from Venice, we took the Trenitalia high-speed train all the way across Northeast Italy to the West.This was a relatively short trip (approx 2 hours) and we arrived in this elaborate train station!
Bigger than some airports, the "Milano Céntrale" train station features exquisite shopping, food, and events.
If you have a while to wait, feel free to stop into ZARA, Mango, Swarovski, or Bershka just to name a few. Our AirBnB was in a different part of town, so rather than navigating the local train system we opted to take an Uber (Uber Black specifically, which is the only option available in Italia).
A consistent consideration for exquisite architecture is one of my favorite things about Europe, and this train station in Italia was no exception.
Our Uber driver was a very kind man who spoke very little English. I often love these opportunities because it encourages me to learn the language and make new friends. With the help of Google Translate we had a wonderful conversation about Milan, his family, how he wanted to come to California, and gave him some tips on the best way to navigate the work/travel/Visa system.
If you do visit Italy, I encourage you to interact with the locals in the area as much as possible. It can be such a fantastic experience!Our AirBnb was a small, but comfy studio, fully furnished courtesy of IKEA.
We were only there for a night, so it was more than convenient, as it was nestled right across from several pubs and restaurants.
After settling in, we walked to the local bus stop to visit downtown Milan.
Because it was late in the day, we didn't make it in time to go inside the Duomo, and so resolved to visit the next morning.
Nevertheless, the building itself was magnificent. The largest church in all of Italy, it sits in the heart of Milan in the Piazza del Duomo. It took approximately six centuries to complete (1386-1965) and can hold up to 40,000 patrons.
To the left of the structure is the famous Vittorio Emanuele Galleria, the home of many fashion shows, exhibits and luxury shopping options.
Another architectural masterpiece, it features a large four story arcade, and is Italy's oldest active shopping mall. It is named after the first King of Italy.
An iconic bull mosaic is located on the floor of the middle of the building. Ancient folklore says spinning on the bull is good luck. I don't believe in luck, but just for fun I took a little spin![wpvideo gI6P96Xh ]After walking to our heart's content, we had a light dinner downtown and returned to our flat for the night, with an early visit to the Duomo scheduled the next day.
At approx 7 am the next morning, we headed out to buy our tickets and stand in line for the tour.
The earlier the better, as the Piazza fills quickly with tourists as the sun rises higher. Note that if you're wanting to go inside, since it is a Catholic Cathedral there is a strict dress code (covered shoulders and knees, with no shorts or low-cut shirts).
After going through security, you enter into this vast, open cathedral area decorated with mosaics, inscriptions, and statues of saints.
Specifically created to inspire awe, this church was definitely a sight to behold. My pictures do not do it justice by any means.
My first time inside a Catholic Cathedral of this magnitude, I took a moment to ponder what it was like to construct this monument.
My favorite part of any church architecture has always been the stained-glass windows and the intricate attention to detail they require.
After observing the inside, we exited the building and walked around the side to join the line to take the lift up to the rooftop.
This was my favorite part of the tour. I always imagine the amount of detail and work it took to be something so particular and precise, to where even the rooftop is an intricate attraction. It was amazing.
If you're brave, you can climb yet another flight of stairs to an even higher part of the rooftop.
The cathedral has a total of 135 spires, all constructed differently (notice each individual at the top is unique).
Finally descending back down to the bottom in order to catch our train back to Rome, we took one last look at the rooftop.
Due to our time constraints, we weren't able to see too much more of Milan, but headed back to Rome for a final few days before our journey back to the US. Want to read about what we did in Rome? Click here!Milan was a modern, bustling and promising city. I enjoyed its contrast from the country we had experienced earlier, and it definitely is a place for business advancement. If you are a lover of all things fashion, I definitely recommend visiting!I hope you've enjoyed this reminiscent journey through Italy with me! If you have any questions about anything we did/visited/saw I will be happy to oblige!Stay tuned for my post on where to eat as a vegetarian in Italy!Ciao, Bellas!!!-ASCOUTFIT 1 DEETS:Shirt: Purchased in PositanoPants: TargetOUTFIT 2 DEETS:Tank: Banana RepublicDuster: Forever 21Pants: H&MSandals: Steve Madden