italy: milan

My summer holidays started with two weeks in italy...i flew into bergamo airport, near milan, simply because i'd never seen milan before...i found the bus that took me to milano centrale, which was an hour long ride and would've been a lot faster if traffic had been moving...as it was, it was a lot of stop and go, which didnt make me feel very good...

i took the subway to my hostel, and tried to check in...unfortunately, i was too early, and my room wasn't ready...so i dropped my bags, then walked to the nearest supermarket to get lunch...from there i walked into the historical center of the city, ready to explore...

my first side was the duomo of milano...the outside is super impressive, to say the least...really really impressive...apparently i'm not the only one who thinks so, as there were heaps of tourists wandering around the platz in front...i went inside the church, and wasn't nearly as impressed by the interior as i was the exterior...(the inside was still very nice, just not as awesome as the outside)...

the galleria was the same as the one i'd seen in december in napoli, i'm guessing they were each designed by the same person or group...

i shopped that day, a lot more than i usually do...it is something a lot of people do while traveling, but i'm not usually one of those people...i bought three dresses in a single day! I also picked up a lonely planet guide for italy...

from the duomo platz i walked toward the castle...while walking i realized the sun felt really good, but i was sooo tired...so tired that when i walked into the castle i sat on a bench and sortof dozed for about 20 minutes...i could hardly keep my eyes open, eeek...the inside of the castle was made up of several museums...

on the other side of the castle i found a big park...filled with paths to walk, and people...

i enjoyed wandering to the other end of the park where i found an arch modeled after the arc de triomphe in paris...i wanted to sit on another bench, but all of the benches in the shade were taken, and i didn't think i could handle more sun by that point...whoops...

i stopped at a random cafe on the way back to my hostel for dinner...since i was in italy, i figured i should go with a basic italian meal...spaghetti bolognese, bruschetta, and sparkling water...the food revived me a bit, thank goodness...

dessert was from a gelato place near my hotel...YUM...of course i ate too much, but i didn't care, i was starting my holidays :)