Milan
At the beginning of April, we traveled to Italy. We started in Milan, where we met up with friends from the US, and continued on to the Lake Como area and then on to Tuscany. This trip was so special because we got to spend time with our friends, and it was Pat’s first time in Italy! I studied abroad in Rome for 3 months in college while Pat and I were dating. Ever since, I have always dreamed of going back someday with him. On this trip, we actually went to parts of Italy that I had never been to before so it was fun to experience those together. We have a trip planned this summer for Rome.
Our flight to Milan was just an hour! We still can’t get over the fact that Italy is right in our backyard. We plan to take full advantage of that during our time here.
The Duomo
We flew in to Milan on the Saturday before Easter, and we weren’t quite sure what to expect in terms of shops and restaurants being open. On Saturday, all of the shops were open and most restaurants were open. We arrived in the early afternoon and immediately went to the city’s jewel: the Duomo.
The Duomo is so gorgeous, but as you can see it was PACKED. We walked around the square and found a quiet place to sit while we listened to a podcast about the history of the Duomo and the surrounding area.
Shopping in Milan
Milan is known for it’s fashion, and since we knew all the shops would be closed on Easter Sunday, we spent some time on Saturday looking around. The shopping is really high fashion, so we only looked but we also had fun people watching!
Canals in Milan
On Sunday we headed toward the city center and the Duomo again, which was even more packed then the day before, probably because it was Easter Sunday. We kept walking towards the Navigli neighborhood. The Navigli neighborhood is home to Milan’s canals. The neighborhood dates all the way back to 1179, when the waterways were constructed to connect Milan to the nearby lakes. This area was also teeming with people, but much more relaxed than the Duomo area. There were a few shops open for pizza and gelato, so of course we stopped for our first gelato of the trip! Pat found his favorite combination here: pistachio and hazelnut.
All in all, we had a great time in Milan but we were ready to head out of the crowded city to our next destination…the relaxing Lake Como!
