Today we traveled to what some call the fashion capital of the world and what we’re calling our last stop.
We boarded the bus for another three-hour journey to Milan after a 6 a.m. wakeup call at our worst hotel so far.
Our room was large enough for the two twin beds in it and the extra cot that they gave us that was pinned between the end wall and the middle bed. There was a desk at the opposite end of the room with a stocked mini fridge (not free, of course) that took up the remaining space.
My cot had a wooden base and essentially nothing but a 2-inch mattress pad on top. I kept my blankets on top for extra padding. I heard multiple people last night actually broke their cots simply by laying down.
A security alarm went off twice just after midnight as we were trying to get situated. I woke up with a sore back and stiff neck, but was able to get a few extra hours of good sleep on the bus.
We arrived in Milan shortly after 11:00 and got off the bus after 11:45.
Milan means “The city in the middle” as in the middle of Europe. It’s home to the former controversial prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi.
It’s a city that stands in stark contrast to Rome and has more similarities to Pittsburgh.
It’s the second-most populous city in the country and last year passed Rome for the most visitors in Italy for the first time.
Milan, Paris, London and New York are the four biggest cities for fashion in the world. Milan is a city that is constantly changing and adapting to the new world. Rome, on the other hand, is kind of stuck with its ancient traditions. It sometimes has a hard time building new structures because of ancient artifacts that are buried under the city.
When I walked around Milan on our guided tour, I could see the past right next to the present and future, much like Pittsburgh. Our city has new buildings that are technologically advanced and modern right next to structures that have been around since the 1800’s.
Milan has beautiful new buildings as well, but also has a rich past right next door. There are several structures built in the Mussolini and fascist architectural style, which is tall, simple, blocky, and imposing. It has buildings that have also been around for centuries.
We saw the old and new stock exchange buildings in Milan, which is the Wall Street of Italy.
We also got a nice tour of the Duomo in Milan, the fourth largest Catholic church in the world (the largest is Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican). It began construction in 1386 and took five centuries just to construct the incredible facade. There are 135 spires atop the masterpiece that includes 52 granite columns inside, symbolizing the weeks in the year. There are no paintings inside like we have seen in other churches, which is typical of the Duomo’s gothic style of architecture.
Continuing my contrast of Milan to Rome and Pittsburgh, Milan is similar to Pittsburgh in that it is clean. They take pride in having a clean city, but Rome was quite the opposite. The ancient city didn’t seem to place a high priority on cleanliness, as I saw very few garbage trucks and an abundance of overflowing garbage cans.
Our tour guide told us that the garbage trucks in Milan empty cans three times per day and once at night. The city is also working to have more electric cars, create more bike lanes, and continue to improve as a city. Those factors reminded me a lot of Pittsburgh, which is doing much of the same.
Oh, and both cities have Segway tours.
We said goodbye to our tour planner and guide for the last week and a half (Mateo) and welcomed his replacement, as he had to leave for another tour in Barcelona. His travel company is the one that organized our cultural visits and dinners. He did a fantastic job of welcoming us to the country and giving us a grand experience.
Our dinner included pasta, fish and french fries at a location not far from our hotel. Tonight, unlike last night, will be a lot smoother. We don’t have to leave until 8:00 and the beds here are actually decent (I took a nap on mine before dinner).
Tomorrow we visit a public relations/advertising firm and the national television station, RAI.
Ciao!