Friday
After checking in to our B&B we headed to the center of town. From the San Babila metro stop we walked through the store-lined pedestrian street. Leandra had no luck on clothes deals, so we continued on to the famous Duomo Piazza.
Not pictured- the dozens of string bracelet scam artists in the square. No, we don’t want a badly woven red bracelet, go away.
Inside the Duomo they charge 2€ for ‘photo rights’, and 7€ if you want to climb to the roof. The cathedral interior was large, but not as impressive as expected.
On the other hand, the exterior was beautiful and well worth the stair climb to see the intricate carvings along the roof.
what the ???
Nice views of city from the top too.
After we finished our tour of the Duomo we took a quick walk through the Galleria, a covered mall, then back to our room for a nap.
After our siesta Leandra went down the street for wine at Perbacco Vino Sfuso, and came back with 1 L of rose for 4€ straight out of the barrel. Leandra’s note: I had to buy the glass container, but it’s attractive and we’ll be using it for infused lemonades this summer!
Sunday
We started our day at Sforzesco Castle, with the obligatory bracelet scammers out front (why Milan?). After a few New York stares they left me alone and I was able to get a few photos of the front.
Several police officers milled around the archway which seemed to dissuade the bracelet folks, making it more pleasant on the other side of the castle.
It was a lovely morning so the park behind the castle featured the antics of quite a few kids and dogs. We meandered through the park past several ponds and grassy areas to the Arco della Pace (Peace Gate) on the far end.
From the park we walked to Santa Maria delle Grazie, the home of DaVinci’s The Last Supper. We struck out trying to get tickets in advance to view the painting without inflated prices and an elaborate tour, so we just enjoyed the exterior of the building.
Next stop was the Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio which had a lot of construction around. Since it was Sunday, church was still in session, but the courtyard was fun to explore with parts dating to the 300s.
More walking led us past San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore but it was covered in scaffolding and closed so we continued on to the Brera district in search of lunch.
The winding streets of Brera were definitely amongst the more charming parts of Milan.
After lunch we went back to the B&B terrace for an afternoon of reading and relaxing.
Later that evening we took the Metro to the Navigli district. Visually, we were disappointed as the canals have been reduced to large puddles choked with litter.
We’re not sure what has happened with the canals, but it definitely doesn’t look like photos in the brochures. However, the district was still filled with restaurants and pedestrians (plus the occasional motor vehicle), so people watching was a lot of fun.