When I got off the train from Turin in and just gazed around the train station, I knew Milan would be something special. The train station was ornate and fancy – Milan Centrale was other worldly.
We had a look around the train station mesmerised, before checking it from the outside too (just as impressive).
After being an architecture nerd for a while, we figured we should drop our bags off at our hotel. Our to-do list for Milan was pretty much just to check out the San Siro Stadium, and the Duomo – and we had planned to spend a day in Verona.
The place where we stayed, Hotel Gambara was quite close to San Siro, so it was our first stop after dropping our bags off. After the recent news that the San Siro is to be destroyed and replaced with a new stadium, I’m very glad I did visit.
After visiting San Siro, we travelled into Milan city centre to wine and dine. A friend of mine who has moved to Italy recommended a restaurant for us to try near the Duomo named Piz.
The Square in front of the Duomo is gorgeous, it’s also filled with people preying on tourists. I kept politely declining the advances from the vultures – and one guy grabbed my wrist and tied a bracelet around it and told me “welcome to Milan – that’s free”. Next he asked if we wanted bird seed (popcorn) to feed the thousands of pigeons nearby. I said no, but he said “gratis – it’s free” and forced a handful of popcorn seed into Amy’s hand – next we were surrounded by a swarm of hungry pigeons, and the vulture was demanding money for the “bird seed”. I said “no – you told me this was free” and he begun to get irate. I could notice a group of other vultures begin to surround me, and dug into my pocket and have the change I had (it probably totalled to about €0.70) and then they started demanding €10. I raised my voice, shouting “no” and was left alone.
TIP: if you’re ever surrounded by vultures whilst away – shout no and they will scatter.
After Amy’s hand was the pigeons meal, we decided we should eat ourselves.
Piz wasn’t opened yet when we arrived so we killed some time in the ‘English Football Pub’ around the corner, and when we got back to the Piz entrance there was a queue outside and the waiter taking orders prior to entry. The restaurant served exclusively vegetarian meals – but my pizza was fantastic. The restaurant was a really lively spot with the staff constantly pouring free limoncellos and other shots for the patrons, and the bill wasn’t too pricey considering we were in a popular city centre restaurant in Milan. An all round delightful spot.
After our meal we explored around the Duomo and entered a designer shopping mall just to the right of the Cathedral. After Geneva you’d think we would have had enough of watching how the other half live – every store in the mall was Prada, Versace, Louis Vuitton etc. I knew Milan was known for fashion, but it was still surprising to see people leaving these shops with bags presumably haven spent thousands inside.
We then took the underground to an Irish bar a few stops out, called Pogue Mahone’s. It was unique in that it featured a mural on the wall to George Best, and had the Irish Proclamation of Independence hung next to it.
The next day we took a train to Verona. Verona was on Amy’s bucket list – so when I booked this multi-city trip, I made sure to book it in a way that Verona was accessible.
We arrived at the train station in Verona, had a drink in the square and proceeded to head to the central part of the city around the Arena. A brief stop for ice cream (something else the Italian’s have mastered to perfection) and we paid into the Arena. The arena was unusual, originally built by the Romans for sports/gladiator battles, it is still operational for different events hosted in Verona, and a stage was being prepared when we were visiting.
After wandering around the arena for a bit we began venture around the Northern Italian City, there are many statues in the image of William Shakespeare and quotes from his famed tale of the doomed romantics of Romeo & Juliet. We eventually stopped at a restaurant near a market – and stopped for a meal, I had what the waiter told me was a local pasta specialty with sauce and donkey mince, and as unappealing as it may sound, it was not.
We next embarked towards a few more Romeo and Juliet themed tourist spots. One included an Asian Romeo & Juliet statue, and another featured the famed balcony.
After our sights, we stopped for a drink before heading back to Milan, where I was rudely refused entry to the toilet. On the 20 minute walk back to the train station, I was bursting at the seams needing to use a toilet – until I deterred from publicly urinating as fines in Italy can be has high as €5000 for doing so (I had to google to assess whether it was worth the risk). No thanks.
When we got back to Milan we stumbled across a niche dance music bar called Straf bar, it had local celebrity Joe T Vanelli playing (I had never heard of him, but another patron in the bar told me Joe is a big deal and was great friends with fellow Italian DJ Robert Miles prior to his death.
The next day in Milan was our last – so we mainly relaxed and we’re going to check out the Last Supper painting – however that wing of the art museum was closed for refurbishment.
I did sadly get stung with a pricey bill for eating out at a spot near the museum. I always check the prices on the menu outside a restaurant before eating to avoid falling victim to such tourist traps – and my lasagne was more than reasonably priced, however when asked what I wanted to drink, I said beer (I did not check the drink prices). The beer I got ended up costing €18 euro, and was more pricey than the meal itself, so I now know to ask how much the drinks will be too if it doesn’t say on the menu.
That night we dined at another restaurant near the Duomo, this time we checked how much the drinks would cost us… the spot that night, Dino’s had a sister restaurant in Manhattan for years which was frequented by Frank Sinatra and his crew – so I knew it must be good. But literally, all Italian food is good.
Prior to heading to Milan, I had heard a lot of negative feedback from others who had been, it was a lovely city and we were blessed with good weather. I would happily return and urge others not to be off put if they’ve heard anything negative. Just be alert at the main square in front of the Duomo and shout to be left alone if need be and you will be fine.
Ciao for now, Italy.
