MILAN

I've decided to write 3 separate blog posts about my recent trip to Italy with Sophie, 

as each day was so very different. 

We arrived into Bergamo airport late Wednesday afternoon, caught the bus to Milan Central Station, found our accommodation and set about finding somewhere to eat.

B&B Hotel Milano Centrale Station

il Mercato Centrale Milano

We ate at the il Mercato Centrale Milano, basically a food hall with lots of separate food stands, where you buy from individually then find your seat. Perfect for the first evening.

The Duamo

Milano Duamo 

We bought tickets before coming which gave us access to the Cathedral and the rooftops. We got the Metro from our hotel to the Piazza Duamo. Decided to climb the 250 steps rather than pay extra for the lift. A foggy, damp morning and I'm sure the views could have been better but well worth going x

We had a look around the inside of the Cathedral first.....

.......before climbing up onto the rooftops. 

It was grey and murky, the views could have been better I'm sure

 but there was still plenty to see and well worth the climb up to the top.

Next up the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, an elegant arcade of designer shops. 

Stunning architecture 

We wanted to have coffee at Pasticceria Marchesi 1824 - the oldest coffee shop but it was full....

......still had a look around and excellent views. 

The Arcade was far too expensive for us but we found a posh H&M, Zara and Uniqlo instead, 

more our price range

We headed in the Brera district in the afternoon.

shared a pizza for lunch....

.....then got the Metro to Bosco Verticale - a pair of residential towers

 situated in the heart of the Porta Nuova district of Milan - home to over 21,000 trees. 

The transport around the city is great - metro, bus or tram.

We headed to the Navigli District, via the tram.

We didn't really wander, as it started to rain but.....

 

......found a fab little restaurant for tea. 

Spaghetti carbonara for Sophie and mushroom risotto for me, with a tiramisu to share for pud!. 

And a cocktail, of course!!

Sadly the rain followed us from the UK, so we got the Metro back to our hotel, 

an early night, as we decided to go adventuring further afield the following day.

We were surprised really, how little there was to do in Milan. It is really geared to museums, which isn't really our thing and shopping! I'm sure in Summer the Brera and Navigali districts would have had more about them but it seemed lacking any real character or atmosphere.