Tuesday, 7 September 2010
September 7th - Milan
Well I got up about 8am and decided to see what wonders Milan had to offer today. After, seven days of glorious weather it was raining as I left the hotel. I suppose one day out of eight is not bad!!! Fortunately I came prepared and I had a light waterproof coat.
So, the first order of the day was to have some breakfast, as there was no breakfast in the hotel. I had a little walk around and within no time I found a lovely little cafe. I ordered a couple of croissants and a cup of coffee. Now unfortunately, coffee in Italy means some sort of espresso shot, which comes in a little cup. So when it arrived, I was obliged to drink it, I didn't want to give the impression that I was clueless!!!!! lol
The croissants were lovely, a bit sweeter than the ones in Paris and Switzerland, which was just as well, because you don't get any butter to go with them. As for the espresso shot, lets just say the eyes lit up and I was ready for take-off!!!
Milan, is not renowned for tourism, like places such as Florence or Rome. Milan is more of a business center and a fashion center. Like St Moritz, there were no pound shops here, only big name fashion stores. There was however, some sites worth seeing. Firstly I set-off to see the Cathedral 'Duomo'. It is actually the worlds largest Gothic Cathedral, and took more than 400 years to build. I have been to Barcelona and seen the awesome Gaudi Catherdral, but this was equally impressive. As you walk into the square and look at this stunning creation, you couldn't help but stare in awe, it was fantastic. I also went inside and had a look around. The windows were amazing and so was the shear size and structure of the place. After that I took some photo's of a couple of other impressive buildings, including the famous 'La Scala' theatre. For people who like spending and clothes shopping, there is the amazingly impressive 19th century shopping mail called 'Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. With it's glass roof and beautiful arch entrances, it is also a site to behold. There is a famous cafe inside called 'Zucca' were Verdi and Toscanini have been. I went in and tried a 'Campari', not bad but very bitter!!!!!
I then grabbed a lunch in one of the posh restaurants inside the shopping mail, it was called 'Savini'. I treated myself and had a glass of wine, which cost £14. Very nice indeed.
I then had a further wander around and took some more photos, and to be fair that is about that. There are some museums and you can go and see the famous 'Last supper' painting by Leonardo da Vinci, which I would have loved to go and see, but you have to book weeks in advance otherwise you just get turned away at the door.
As I said, Milan does have things to see and do, but not as much as the likes of Paris, and other famous cities. So I headed back to the train station, as I had to reserve some seats for further travel over the next few days. I must admit when it comes to train stations, Europe, does not mess around. The train station is an amazing building, and at the two front corners of the building they even had fountains coming out of the walls, these Italians certainly don't do things by halves!!!
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, and I am sorry to say, I have no funny stories to tell today. Eventually as the day come to a close I headed back to my room and then had a light tea, as I was still stuffed after my 'posh' lunch.
Tomorrow, it was time to travel to Santa Margherita Ligure and catch up with the gang, and then Thursday it was time for the wedding of the year. lol
So, the first order of the day was to have some breakfast, as there was no breakfast in the hotel. I had a little walk around and within no time I found a lovely little cafe. I ordered a couple of croissants and a cup of coffee. Now unfortunately, coffee in Italy means some sort of espresso shot, which comes in a little cup. So when it arrived, I was obliged to drink it, I didn't want to give the impression that I was clueless!!!!! lol
The croissants were lovely, a bit sweeter than the ones in Paris and Switzerland, which was just as well, because you don't get any butter to go with them. As for the espresso shot, lets just say the eyes lit up and I was ready for take-off!!!
Milan, is not renowned for tourism, like places such as Florence or Rome. Milan is more of a business center and a fashion center. Like St Moritz, there were no pound shops here, only big name fashion stores. There was however, some sites worth seeing. Firstly I set-off to see the Cathedral 'Duomo'. It is actually the worlds largest Gothic Cathedral, and took more than 400 years to build. I have been to Barcelona and seen the awesome Gaudi Catherdral, but this was equally impressive. As you walk into the square and look at this stunning creation, you couldn't help but stare in awe, it was fantastic. I also went inside and had a look around. The windows were amazing and so was the shear size and structure of the place. After that I took some photo's of a couple of other impressive buildings, including the famous 'La Scala' theatre. For people who like spending and clothes shopping, there is the amazingly impressive 19th century shopping mail called 'Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. With it's glass roof and beautiful arch entrances, it is also a site to behold. There is a famous cafe inside called 'Zucca' were Verdi and Toscanini have been. I went in and tried a 'Campari', not bad but very bitter!!!!!
I then grabbed a lunch in one of the posh restaurants inside the shopping mail, it was called 'Savini'. I treated myself and had a glass of wine, which cost £14. Very nice indeed.
I then had a further wander around and took some more photos, and to be fair that is about that. There are some museums and you can go and see the famous 'Last supper' painting by Leonardo da Vinci, which I would have loved to go and see, but you have to book weeks in advance otherwise you just get turned away at the door.
As I said, Milan does have things to see and do, but not as much as the likes of Paris, and other famous cities. So I headed back to the train station, as I had to reserve some seats for further travel over the next few days. I must admit when it comes to train stations, Europe, does not mess around. The train station is an amazing building, and at the two front corners of the building they even had fountains coming out of the walls, these Italians certainly don't do things by halves!!!
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, and I am sorry to say, I have no funny stories to tell today. Eventually as the day come to a close I headed back to my room and then had a light tea, as I was still stuffed after my 'posh' lunch.
Tomorrow, it was time to travel to Santa Margherita Ligure and catch up with the gang, and then Thursday it was time for the wedding of the year. lol
September 6th - Trains, Trains and more Trains
Well today was a day of travelling. I got up and had breakfast in my hotel in St Moritz. The breakfast room overlooked the lake. It was a lovely morning and the lake looked stunning as I sat eating a croissant. After breakfast I checked out and headed down the hill to the train station. As the title of today's blog indicates, it was a day of train travel. I was heading to Milan for two nights, as my friends wedding was fast approaching. Unfortunately, I could not get a direct train to Milan, so I had to go via Zurich. I left St Moritz at about 11am, and relaxed as the train slowly wound it's way across the beautiful Switzerland to Zurich. I lost count of the amount of mountains, rivers and villages we passed. This was such a beautiful country, I am seriously considering for my next holiday going backpacking across Switzerland as there is so much to see.
As the train ambled across Switzerland I was thinking that it is the little things that make you smile. As I was saying above there are lots of little villages, some with very small train stations, some are just huts (seriously!!). Now most of the trains don't stop at every station. However, you can request the train to stop at whatever station you want and just get off and go for a walk, climb a mountain/hill or walk along one of the many beautiful rivers, criss crossing the country.
Anyway, I finally arrived in Zurich at 2:30pm and had a quick bite to eat before getting the train to Milan, I would be coming back to Zurich later in my Journey for a couple of nights. The train journey from Zurich to Milan took approximately 4 hours. I must admit trains really are so much better in Europe, but that is no surprise. A train tends to arrive 20 minutes before departure, but you can get on straight away and just relax, I wish that could be said of the UK. Anyway, the highlight of the journey from Zurich to Milan was when the train travelled along the shore of lake Lugano. It was beautiful.
Finally arrived in Milan and got a taxi to my hotel. The hotel was fairly basic, but I guess I had been spoilt in Zermatt and St Moritz. I checked in and got changed and asked the receptionist if there were any good restaurants nearby. He recommended a couple, so I set off to find them. The first one had a queue outside the door, so I moved on to the next one, which had a table free so in I went. Now a proper Italian meal consists of several courses, so I thought, as I was starving, I would give it a go. I ordered a bottle of red wine and had a Caprese salad for starter, or anti-pasta as it is called. Then I had penne pasta with a fresh spicy tomato sauce for my first course. Then you have a meat course which was, pounded and grilled chicken breast with olive oil.
Now I must confess to finding this a bit bizarre as for the meat course, you just get the grilled chicken breast with nothing else, it is seasoned and drizzled with olive oil, but that is it. Now I don't know about you, but I think the chef could have saved himself so much time by just chopping it into small pieces and putting in my penne pasta spicy tomato sauce dish. He could have saved himself so much time and killed two birds with one stone. Only joking, I know it's tradition!!!!
The next course is then desert, which I decided not to have, because I could not fit anymore in, and finally the last course is coffee, oh and I think you can have cheese's and fruits, but I can't remember were they fit. Anyway, I had none of them, I just had the three courses and then paid up and rolled out the restaurant. I must admit it was very nice though. I then headed back to my hotel, had a couple of beers in the bar and went to bed. Tomorrow it was time for the sites of Milan.
As the train ambled across Switzerland I was thinking that it is the little things that make you smile. As I was saying above there are lots of little villages, some with very small train stations, some are just huts (seriously!!). Now most of the trains don't stop at every station. However, you can request the train to stop at whatever station you want and just get off and go for a walk, climb a mountain/hill or walk along one of the many beautiful rivers, criss crossing the country.
Anyway, I finally arrived in Zurich at 2:30pm and had a quick bite to eat before getting the train to Milan, I would be coming back to Zurich later in my Journey for a couple of nights. The train journey from Zurich to Milan took approximately 4 hours. I must admit trains really are so much better in Europe, but that is no surprise. A train tends to arrive 20 minutes before departure, but you can get on straight away and just relax, I wish that could be said of the UK. Anyway, the highlight of the journey from Zurich to Milan was when the train travelled along the shore of lake Lugano. It was beautiful.
Finally arrived in Milan and got a taxi to my hotel. The hotel was fairly basic, but I guess I had been spoilt in Zermatt and St Moritz. I checked in and got changed and asked the receptionist if there were any good restaurants nearby. He recommended a couple, so I set off to find them. The first one had a queue outside the door, so I moved on to the next one, which had a table free so in I went. Now a proper Italian meal consists of several courses, so I thought, as I was starving, I would give it a go. I ordered a bottle of red wine and had a Caprese salad for starter, or anti-pasta as it is called. Then I had penne pasta with a fresh spicy tomato sauce for my first course. Then you have a meat course which was, pounded and grilled chicken breast with olive oil.
Now I must confess to finding this a bit bizarre as for the meat course, you just get the grilled chicken breast with nothing else, it is seasoned and drizzled with olive oil, but that is it. Now I don't know about you, but I think the chef could have saved himself so much time by just chopping it into small pieces and putting in my penne pasta spicy tomato sauce dish. He could have saved himself so much time and killed two birds with one stone. Only joking, I know it's tradition!!!!
The next course is then desert, which I decided not to have, because I could not fit anymore in, and finally the last course is coffee, oh and I think you can have cheese's and fruits, but I can't remember were they fit. Anyway, I had none of them, I just had the three courses and then paid up and rolled out the restaurant. I must admit it was very nice though. I then headed back to my hotel, had a couple of beers in the bar and went to bed. Tomorrow it was time for the sites of Milan.
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