This morning was a very early one, as we met up in the lobby at 6 am for our trek to Milan.
We were on the bus for three and a half hours, but took a brief stop to use the bathroom and get snacks.
When we finally got to Milan, we met up with our tour guide, Simone, for a walking tour of the (rather small) city.
We started by walking through a covered shopping space that had art to depict the stories of all four continents, which was all the Italians knew when it was built, and the cities that had been Italy’s capital up until that point.
We were able to get a reservation to tour the Duomo in Milan at noon, so we headed there next.
Upon a stricter-than-usual security check, we entered the fourth-largest church in the world, right behind St. Peter’s Basilica, which we saw earlier in our trip, a copy of St. Peter’s in Africa, and a basilica in Spain.
It was gorgeous inside – very gothic-styled, but with some baroque aspects when you got closer to the alter.
The stained-glass windows were my favorite part, with the oldest one being made in the 1400’s and the newest one being completed in 1930.
We also saw St. Charles’s tomb, located under the alter.
After we left, we had time to walk around and visit the stores we didn’t have enough money to buy anything from, and a bunch of us went to an Italian fast food place called Luini, where they sell fried calzones?!?! I had one stuffed with mozzarella and tomato – it was so good.
We met back up with Simone after we ate for the conclusion of our walking tour to the financial district, where we saw a statue of a giant middle finger, then to a castle located on the opposite side of the city to the Duomo.
It was a pretty relaxing day, with not much walking for the most part. Overall, I’m pretty underwhelmed by Milan so far. I was picturing something completely different, but maybe I’ll change my mind before our time here is up.
When our tour was over, it was time for Matteo’s goodbye. He was off to Barcelona to start another tour with a different group of students. We now have a woman named Serena for the remaining few days.
Tomorrow, we have two of our three last media visits to Burston-Marsteller and RAI Milan, so I am looking forward to that.
Josh and I are now off to find gelato before turning in for tonight. Wish us luck!
Ciao!