Milano

Here we are in Milano - Neil's first ever time in Italy! 

After getting the train in from the airport, we walked about 5km to our little pensione

 (fortified by a well-located sangria on the way).

We are staying near the porta Romana on the southern edge of the old/inner city.

 

Dinner at a local pizza place - who looks tired??

A decent night's sleep and we are starting to explore the city. It's hot - around 36 degrees today - but we've enjoyed a leisurely morning wandering towards the Duomo di Milano (the Cathedral) in the central city piazza but focused largely around sampling as many Italian delicacies as we can find.

The Duomo was started in 1386 and only fully completed in 1965. It's Gothic-Renaissance architecture, with a distinct wedding cake feel in the intricate filagreed external decorations in marble.Wikipedia calls it a 'minor basilica' but it is 158.6 metres long, 92 metres wide, 108 metres high, and has a capacity of 40, 000! It might be a while before Benedictus needs it as a venue! 

Across the piazza from the Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is an astonishing arcade (Italy's oldest active shopping arcade and a major landmark of Milan). It is full of exclusive designer shops, complete with uniformed butlers opening the doors for well-heeled customers (needless to say, we were looking from the outside in, but it is truly a beautiful space),

Speaking of wedding cakes ...

We headed off towards the Brera district, formerly home to artists and artisan shops, and now full of pavement cafes.