Last night was rough to say the least. Living arrangements were less than ideal and the security alarm went off twice.
Everyone was tired and cranky at breakfast so we all slept on the three and a half hour bus ride to Milan.
When we arrived in Milan, we went directly to the Duomo. The exterior of the building was just as gorgeous as the inside of the church. 
There is a gold Mary on the top of the Duomo. At one point in time, it had to be the tallest point in Milan. However, now that buildings are expanding, they can build higher than the statue. The only exception is that they also had to build the same statue on top of their building to protect the city.
I could have observed the paintings on the glass windows for hours. They were each so colorful and detailed.
The altar was so intricate and complex. There was an enormous organ located to the right of the large columns that surrounded the altar.
Fun fact: There is only one other church organ bigger than this one, and it is located in Germany.
After the Duomo, we went on a walking tour of Milan. We saw a statue of a middle finger, and I loved it.
For lunch, Laura and I had the most amazing pizza! It was thick & cheesy just like all pizza should be.
Once we ate, we watched tourists pay to have pigeons flock them so that they could take artsy pictures. I guess they have never heard of New York City.
We walked to the Castle, and hearing about the moat was my favorite part. I did not realize that cannonballs were not only used for destruction but to also contaminate the people on the inside.
After the tour, we headed to our hotel. We have normal European rooms again- yayyy!
While there we had to say goodbye to Matteo. His sense of humor will be missed dearly. We have a new female tour guide that will be escorting us around Milan for the remainder of the trip.
At dinner, we were served a delicious pasta, a fried mystery meat and fries. We think the meat was chicken, but it was served with lemon so I’m still not sure.
After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and prepared for our media visits the following day.