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  • Day 2

    Explore Milan

    June 20, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Day of Milan started early based on our family standards. We were out by 9am. We started with a breakfast at Panarello,we had absolutely loved it, Ordered coffee, and croissants and ate it on the counter as others.

    We decided to use Uber or taxi for our internal commutes. I understand the metro, trams and buses make the city very accessible. It is $1.50 for each trip each person, but a day pass is about $8.50. Given the heat and seeing how crowdy some of the trams were, we decided to avoid it. Uber is about 1.5 times the regular taxi. Later in the day we found out at about the MyTaxi app that is like Uber but for local taxis that are cheaper.

    We started our day at Milano Di Duomo. After some initial pictures went to the tickets of office. Bought Duomo Pass A which allowed us to go up to the Terraces via an elevator instead of the stairs. $16 for adults and $8 for kids (6-12). After getting the tickets we headed straight to the Terrace as I had read in one of the blogs that the Terraces tend to get really crowded. In case you want an Audio Guide which I would recommend then you need to go to the Cathedral first as the Audio Guides available only in the Cathedral. To return the Audio Guides you have to come back inside the Cathedral but can avoid the lines if you tell them you are going to return the guide. Both the Terrace and the Cathedral were grand and absolutely awesome and definitely worth the visit. The cathedral especially, the high ceilings, beautiful walls of stained glass, and the large gothic columns were utterly breathtaking. We truly enjoyed learning about the history; thanks to the Audio Guides.

    After the Duomo we passed through the Galleria. It is truly remarkable; the high arches, shopping and restaurants. But it was all high end brands and amazingly expensive. Although we didn’t buy anything only strolled through the mall the unique architecture was enchanting and the place was a mustsee.

    After the Galleria we headed for lunch. Adi and I both were looking forward to this place for a while. It was recommended by a friend and had some amazing reviews online. We headed to Luini (http://www.luini.it/). You HAVE TO try the panzerotti. We got a bunch of different ones to share. Pesto and Mozzarella was the best. GREAT LUNCH. No place to sit here....we had to take our food, we sat on stairs near by where bunch of others were eating the same stuff. But I would suggest to go to the nearby Piazza della Scala...very close by where there are benches and tree shade. We saw it later when we were headed to get Gellato from a place suggested by our Taxi driver. Grom on Via Santa Margherita. After a little difficulty when we found the shop, we were disappointed to see that this place was closed for renovations. Instead we got Gellato from the neighboring shop which looked very fancy but were not too impressed with what we ate.

    With our Gellato in our hands we walked towards Castello Sforzesco. It was hot and walk made us tired. It was about 1pm. We considered going back to the apartment and coming back in the evening. But decided to take a break in Spizzico. Bought some waters and drinks and relaxed in the back of this fast food restaurant where they had a lot of seating the back. We spent nearly in an hour here relaxing playing video games etc. And Shailaja took some time to check out the nearby shops.

    After an hour we headed to the Castle. I think we all were dealing with jet lag in addition to the heat. Even though the castle and the museums inside are nice, we were a bit like zombies walking around. After the Castle, we skipped the Sempoine Park as originally planned and came back to the apartment to relax / sleep. We were back by around 5pm.

    After sleeping for a couple of hours, showers, etc. we headed to Navigli for dinner. What an amazing place by a canal. People kayaking in the canal. Open restaurants and bars lined up all along the Canal. We decided to get greek food at Greek Fusion. This place had great reviews and it lived up to it. After dinner we walked along the Canal, stopped to get some Gelato and coffee. Even at 11:00 pm on Wednesday night there was a lot of activity. We soon headed back and were back in the apartments a little before midnight.
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