Milano, Italy: An Intro

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So, recently I went to Milano, Italy (Milan, for us Americans) with a friend of mine. Pictures seen here are courtesy of her (Shameka), since I, not having packed the night before our 4am departure, forgot to bring my camera. The two-night, three day trip (March 26-28) was highly entertaining, primarily because of transportation issues (we'll leave that for another post). I was so impressed with Italy that I will be returning to tour Rome and Naples later in May.


Though the trip was short in length, there is much to discuss about it. For now, I will focus on some major points. Later, I will provide a more detail review of our night in Naviglio, a major party district for youngsters of the city. Pictured above is an Italian sign pointing to Milano taken from Domodossola (below), a town in north Italy where we made a connection to Milano from Switzerland (Basel).



Upon arriving in Milano, my friend and I were astonished by the heavy police and militiary presence. Below I show you some select picture. One shows the police writing a guy a ticket for something (left). The other shows a cop in full uniform, with gun in tote, on his mortorcycle (right). He is sitting at one of the main intersections of the city. He is not there to give tickets (the intersection was way too crowded for speeding); he, and other police, were just there. Frankly, they seemed to be doing nothing. But...someone has to protect all those expensive stores for which Milan is so infamous. So...I don't know. The first picture was taken the last day we were there, and the second picture was taken the first day we were there. Trust me, there were a lot of police.















Aside from the police/militiary presence, the most memorable thing about Milano was architechture. The signifying image of Milano, the Piazza Duomo, has to be one of the most exquisite buildings I have ever seen. The photo on the left below shows it at dusk, while the photo on the right below shows it at high noon. Piazza Duomo is a cathedral that for a long time was the highest building in Milano. Tours are given hourly. We didn't go on one, but isn't it beautiful?















The second most memorable thing about Milano was the transportation in the city. Wow. The first day I set in my mind to walk the city because...everything seemed really close. And it was. But walking is not the best way to really get a feel of the city. And my dear friend just refused to do so the next day.

Luckily, there are many ways to get around the city -- subway, bus, and street car (and taxi, of course). My favorite was the streetcars, which were laid with wooden floors. We were able to buy a ticket for 2 euros and some change that was good for 24 hours! Wow! I was kind of mad that we'd walked the diameter of the outer ring after finding out that public transportation was so affordable.


The third most memorable thing about Milano was the food! The picture below provides a good summation of how I felt about it. While my friend was eating her salad at a proper pace, my lasagna was already digesting!

The lasagna was actually the last meal I had in Milano. Others included lamb chops, turkey panini sandwich, these really interestingly cut fries from the panini place, various appetizers in a Naviglio bar, creme' brulee, and pistachio gelattio. A mushroom/tomato pizza I had in Domodossola was also scruptuous!

Overall, Milano was a great experience. It was crowded, noisy, and a needed break from work. Unfortunately, I spent most of my time hobbling around the city due to feet/ankle pain. I almost signed up for the city bike system, but you had to have a membership...not for tourists. Milano takes bicycling back to its roots.

(In the background is Milano Centrale, the main station that we came into by train.)


Well, that's all for now. Look for more from me later.


Deuces!
AAS

Note: This is a retroactive post.

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