First Impressions of Milan

Every ending is a beginning. Our trip to Florence ended, and our trip to Milan began.

After checking into our hotel, we decided to walk to the site of the Last Supper just to see if it was walkable or if we should consider taking the metro the next day. It was drizzling so I left my Panasonic camera in our room and used my cell phone to take pictures. I still find it more satisfying taking picture with my "real" camera, but the cell phone often takes better pictures and is so handy.

We took a different route on the way back so we could see different sites. As we didn't know what we were seeing at the time, this post is mostly a photo dump. It looked beautiful in the rain. Fortunately, it did not rain much so we were able to enjoy the walk.

Initial observations: the streets are much wider than in any other place we visited in Italy. We later learned much of Milan was bombed during WWII, which explains the wider, more modern feel. Buildings are much taller here than in Florence, Siena, or Cinque Terre. Our tour guide the next day said Milan's beauty sneaks up on you. I would agree with that assessment. I would welcome the opportunity to return to Milan and use it as our hub to spoke out to Rome and other cities. 

More trees were in bloom here than in Florence. We also saw more parks. Ashley commented there is very little green space in the center of Florence. Milan is a newer city, one filled with cars and traffic.

By the end of the day, I had nearly 37,000 steps on the pedometer. A feat I would nearly repeat the next day, too.

Street cars!

Flowers in bloom

This went by way too quickly, but we googled it. It is a streetcar that serves meals. You must book at least two days in advance in pairs, it fills up quickly, and it is not cheap, but it looked like so much fun. If we ever go back to Milan, I am booking this experience!

We found the site of the Last Supper. See you tomorrow at 11:30 for our tour!

Dinner was a basic burger. Just the burger. It was our biggest dinner fail of the trip, but since we didn't get sick and it was tasty, it wasn't that big of a fail.

Looking forward to tomorrow's tours. We have two booked: the Last Supper and a free walking tour of Milan.