I woke up Sunday in Venice and headed for a quick run before it was time for Alex and I to pack up, grab sandwiches and take the train to Milan. Our first realization upon reaching Milan was that we were going to need to repeat our Roman afternoon siesta behavior - it was sweltering and very humid outside. Once we checked into our hotel it was almost 4pm so we walked into Milano Centro and checked out the famous Duomo - and surrounding tourists.
Not so different from St. Mark's in Venice, unfortunately!
Given the crowds of people (and pigeons!) we didn't stay long and decided to return for sunrise before our Tuesday morning flight. Having already broken a sweat from the intense heat, I suggested a drink so we headed toward a quieter neighborhood and stumbled upon Bar Quadronno. We enjoyed a couple glasses of local wine and appreciated the Italian custom of free appetizers (cicchetti) with every drink order - so much so that we only needed a small takeaway pizza to tide us over for dinner!
Alex and I didn't sleep well because the air conditioning wasn't working very well in our hotel room so we woke up cranky and hot. We took cold showers and took the tram toward Parco Sempione to have a much needed non-Italian lunch at Salad Me. We spent the afternoon walking through the park and exploring the city, popping into air-conditioned shops to cool down when we got too hot.
Walking toward the Porta Sempione.
Looking up at the Arch of Peace, a historic roman gateway.
Milan's Castello Sforzesco, which dates back to the 15th century and now houses a number of museums.
Loved this charming street near the Brera neighborhood, one of the best areas for outdoor drinks and boutique stores.
We ended the night with dinner at San Mauri, a cute Italian bistro (our last night in Italy calls for one final carb-heavy meal!) with incredible octopus and Bolognese.
We woke up early this morning to watch the sunrise at the Duomo and catch the train to the airport. As hoped, there were nearly no other people in Milan's central square and we were treated to solitary views of the most famous sights.
Inside Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, one of the most beautiful malls we've seen!
Looking up at the Duomo; the people were gone but the pigeons were not!
One last look.
We are now off to New Jersey / New York for a few days before heading to Japan - the last official stop on our adventure! - with Alex's mom, Janet. Ciao!