Italy 3 – England 0 - Italy in spring 2018! – Part 3 - Milan

[BONZO]

So, here we are with the final instalment and this time it’s a day trip to Milan.

The background to this one was that it was Alison’s sister Caroline’s 50th birthday and we thought we’d give her a treat. She lives in a small village in Lincolnshire and the sum total of her birthday celebrations was a quiet family meal out.

We thought about what we could do so armed with a shedload of Avios from our previous trips we worked out that we would have a day trip with her as a treat. We searched for reward availability and for suitable flight timings and decided on Milan, Italy.

We told her that we were taking her out for the day and got one of her daughters to get her passport without her knowledge and get it to us before the day.

So, we were all set. On the Friday evening she travelled to us by train and we all went out for a meal at the local Indian restaurant (me, Alison, our DDs and their boyfriends and also Alison and Caroline’s mum). At the meal we told her where we were off to – she was astonished (and very excited!)

The following morning, we had a very early start and headed off to Heathrow Terminal 5. We parked in POD parking to start the experience of the day off right. We made our way to the BA First Wing at T5 and into the lounge for Champagne and breakfast. She’d never been in a lounge before so really enjoyed it all!

After drinking and eating we headed down to the gate for boarding and were soon on our way to Milan. It was a smooth flight and we landed on time.

We left the airport and headed outside to pick up the bus as there’s no train service here. We’d investigated beforehand and the Linate Express Bus Service or Air Bus was going to be the cheapest option at just 1.50 each.

As we approached the bus stand there were several bus touts and being a sucker for such things we took the nearest one and settled down in the air-conditioned comfort of the coach and took in the sights as we entered the city.

Typical European rules of the road applied, much honking of horns, hand gestures and very little discipline but it all seemed to work ok. We hopped off and walked to the impressive Central Station just to get our bearings before settling down for a coffee and pastry and planned the rest of the day between us.

We walked to the Piazzo del Duomo, dominated by the Milan Cathedral which we had planned to visit as I knew there was access to the roof area also known as Duomo's terraces. Well, the whole area was rammed full of tourists trying to get in and the ticket booths were firmly closed showing that all pre-booked tickets had gone. No big deal, would have been nice to do but not a must-do for any of us.

We moved into the very ornate Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Italy’s oldest active Shopping Mall, which connects Duomo Square with Piazza della Scala, the square in front of the famous La Scala Opera House. The shopping area is well known for high end brands such as Prada and Louis Vuitton and people watching.

On the ground of the central octagonal, there are four mosaics portraying the coat of arms of the three capitals of the Kingdom of Italy (Turin, Florence and Rome) plus Milan's. Tradition says that if a person spins around three times with a heel on the testicles of the bull from Turin coat of arms this will bring good luck.

Well, when in Rome, or rather Milan, it seemed a shame not to keep up with local traditions!

I had looked at the cost of visiting Leonardo's Last Supper fresco but again the price was quite high and none of the ladies were particularly interested in visiting anyway so we gave it a miss.

So that’s two items for my bucket list if we ever travel back here again.

We wandered around a bit and thought that Castello Sforzesco would be a good idea, see, we are actually going to do some culture things after all!

Well, almost - as just outside the castle there was a farmer’s market selling all sorts of delicious food and drink. I decided to get a drink and sit in the shade whilst the girls took a look around the stalls.
After they had returned we wandered inside the castle but didn’t stop to look at any of the exhibitions, after all, the entrance was free but the rest was at additional cost.

Out the back of the castle was the Parco Sempione, one of the biggest parks in Milan. A wonderful open space with lots of grass and trees, all very English and lots of people out for a stroll.

After stopping for the obligatory toilet break we headed back along the Via Dante and stopped for a dinner and a couple of drinks. It was lovely sitting down in the pedestrianised area, under the sun eating and drinking Italian and soaking up the atmosphere.

We walked back into town to pick up one of the local buses back to the airport but at the bus stop it said we had to purchase tickets before we boarded, but from where? We asked a local stall holder who just about figured out what we were trying to say and he pointed us towards the nearest tobacconist.

Ok, problem solved and tickets purchased we just waited a short while before a bus came along which was equipped with some form of self -validation ticket machine, I’m sure that most people just hopped on and off without a ticket though!

Back at the airport we pulled into the lounge and disappointingly it was one of the worst we’ve ever been in. Just a few spirits, a couple of beers and the odd bag of snacks and mini rolls for food. Once on board our mood lightened as the CSM came over to greet myself and Alison and asked if we’d had a good trip and whether we’d like a complimentary drink.

Caroline and I accepted a champagne whilst Alison had coke as she was driving. We explained that it was Caroline’s 50th Birthday treat and he came back later with a whole bottle of Champagne from the crew of BA589!

Its little things like this that make all the difference and Caroline promptly burst into tears!

We wrapped up the day by travelling back via POD parking, talking about the day and crashing out for the night.

[Melbatb]

What a fab May you had on the one hand but sorry to hear about your dog. They are such a part of the family.

Looking forward to reading about your next adventure down under!

[BONZO]

Well,

It wasn’t a complete surprise about Rusty, towards the end he was living on borrowed time although I was optimistic and thought that there was a number of years left in him. On the other hand, he was nearly 13 and his later years may not have been very high quality. Having been in and out of the vets over his last few weeks made it easier for us to come to terms with the loss.

As we now both work full time and I don’t spend much time working from home anymore we won’t be getting another dog anytime soon but maybe in the future.

Anyway, some quick final thoughts on the destinations: -

Catania

For a start, I didn’t realise just how big Sicily was, especially as it has 3 international airports so there’s lots to see and do. I’d probably use Catania as a stopping off point to travel around and I have some “unfished business” with Mount Etna, I really must go back another time to get to the top. Taormina along the coast looked extremely pretty and as a big Inspector Montelbano fan I need to get down to the South West of the island.

Venice – Lido

Having experienced the hustle and bustle of the main Venice island this place was a real treat, so laid back and a lovely vibe about the place and a reasonable beach as well. Definitely a place I’d like to go back to in the future and explore further.


Milan

I feel we only really scratched the surface here, if it was just Alison and I we’d probably have blitzed things a bit more or travelled further afield. I did look at taking the train out to Lake Como and visit Varenna, Bellagio or visit the Como–Brunate funicular. Again, I’d just use Milan as a stopping off point but not as a destination.