Ciao Milano!

FLYING OUT

It's Thursday, it's 10am and we're sat in Barkers having our traditional Bon Vouyage breakfast. 

Head on over to train station where we board our train to Gatwick and First Class all the way with our secret upgrades, NUDGE NUDGE, WINK WINK, SAY NO MORE!

Decided to have a night at Gatwick Travelodge so we are all fresh for traveling the next day and fingers crossed no delays or cancellations being as lots of flights to Malpensa, Milan had been cancelled over the past couple of days as there are between 4-6 flights a day to Malpensa also return flights were being cancelled so i was a little worried, Sian had no doubts at all we'd be ok, I hope so.

Bed picnic of a huge KFC feast with a cup of tea then settle down to try to get a few hours before 5am alarm. Nigh Nigh now!

DAY ONE

Over to the airport and our flight is on time, YYYYEEEEESSSSSSSS! and it took off on time, I LOVE EASYJET!

Land in Milan 90 mins later with a ground temperature of 34deg at 1pm, JEBUS CHRIST! (Forgive for my blasphemy).

Was not expecting this heat at this time of year. On to our coach to head to CityLife, Milan.

This is the Sheraton Hotel outside arrivals , what a great looking building.

Next stop our apartment in Lotto, CityLife, Milan.......or so we thought.

As we approached Lotto we started to get ready, the coach stopped, one guy got off, we started to move down the coach, the coach pulled off. Next stop Milan Central Train Station its next and last stop, BUGGER!

Get to the final stop, have a slight argument, talk very loudly, do some Italian hand gestures and get a free ride back to our original stop 10 mins later so not to bad but our original driver was an idiot, the new driver was extremely helpful and we didn't even book with his company but he told us he would drop us back. 

How kind is that?

We arrive back in Lotto 45 mins after original arrival time and wander around looking for our apartment, DON'T TRUST GOOGLE WALK MAP! It made us walk double the distance in 34deg heat, good job we both travel light.

Get to our apartment and it's just what you need for a relaxing stay, safe, clean, quiet, spacious and has everything you need for a comfortable holiday.

Entrance to or home for 4 days.

We have both agreed we would never stay in a hotel again unless it really did suit our needs, so much better staying in apartments.

Bags down, quick shower, change and out, no time to lose, we need a beer.

Now then, the next 2 pics i had to download as i didn't take a pic myself but this was the only bar open at 4.30pm and it had seats outside. Lets get some Italian beer.

Weird little place. Chinese owned, not that strange. Inside it has a bar, BRILLIANT!, also a buffet restauarnt, also a corner shop, OK and it has a gambling area, that is odd.

So you can go in to buy your morning bread and milk, while you wait for the shop keeper to get that for you you can have a beer , while your waiting for your beer to be poured collect your buffet lunch and you can have a little flutter on the way out.

What beer delights do they have for us.......Fosters.......not very Italian.

Not sure who the women is, is it Marilyn, is it Grace Kelly, is it just a generic actress from the 40's-50's or is it an Italian woman who liked her shopping, drinking, take away and gambling all under one roof, who knows!

Australian beer drunk and off to the shopping district to get some every day items, you know, fruit, milk, biscuits, bread etc.

The shopping district is just 10 mins walk away, perfect.

As we walk along we seem to think we are in the banking/business district of Milan as it is quiet all day but then busy at 6pm and all the buildings are mainly business buildings.

Fiera Milano City is a huge amazing looking structure with multiple gates to enter which is a shopping and exhibition center but it was all completely shut up, no doors open, all stairwells and lifts closed down and i mean it is huge, i would say 3-4 football stadiums long, all under roof, what a waste.

It's beer o'clock now the shopping's done, lets go to the bar just up from our apartment and grab an Italian beer!

Selz Bar, we loved it here, great beers and free food with every round, could become alcoholics at this rate as we love free food 😂

A pint of Menabrea Blonde and a Menabrea Amber, best tasting beer we've ever had abroad and free food to boot!

Another beer? Don't mind if we do, oh and more free food, oh go on then!

A long day one under our belt but our travels are never boring, think we'll sleep well tonight as another long day tomorrow, Imagine Dragons in concert, WOOHOO!

DAY TWO

Day two and up bright a breezy as it's IMAGINE DRAGONS DAY! We decided to take a pre walk over to concert area, The Ippodromo San Siro. We wanted to know where we had to go later in the evening and what it would be like walking back late at night as it finished at 11.30pm.

As we walked over we were walking along side a mini version of the Berlin Wall which ran around the Ippodromo San Siro, this place is huge. They must like their horse racing over here as there are 3 race courses within a few minutes of each other with the San Siro being the largest.

As we walked towards the entrance of the Ippodromo we walked next to the San Siro Stadium, home of A C Milan and Inter Milan. Now you would think i would have liked a picture in front of it, to be honest it's a bit of a dump and an ugly looking stadium at that. It was nice to see it though but what a horrible looking structure.

We get to the entrance of the Ippodromo and it's an amazing looking place with a huge Bronze statue of Davinci horse at the entrance, this picture doesn't do the size of it justice. We saw a workman inside walking past it and he didn't even come to the height of the plinth the horse is set upon.

Now you would have just read "Workman" that rang alarm bells. The gates were closed, lots of red and white tape around and workmen with hard hats on.....IT'S CLOSED!

OK, check the tickets again. Oh, right, the Foo Fighters on the Sunday that was meant to be was going to be in the Ippodromo San Siro, Imagine Dragons is in the Ippodromo La Maura. BUGGER! 

No panic, it's just around the corner, PHEW!

We find the entrance and make our way back to apartment until later that evening. The gates open at 1pm with first act on at 5pm, Imagine Dragons 9pm. There is no way we are standing in an open horse race track arena with no shade and 34 Deg for  8 hrs until Imagine Dragons come on. Bar, beer, rest and go later is better idea.

That pre walk was over 4 1/2 miles just to and from the Ippodromo and we have to do it all again.

Leonardo's Bronze Horse.

Our first litres of beer of the day that famous Italian beer San Miguel.

Our Italian beer experience hasn't been great so far. We've drank in 3 bars and 2 of them sold only non Italian beers, madness.

A little bit of a rest and we start our way back to the concert to arrive there for 8.30pm.

As we arrived at the Ippodromo the sun was just beginning to set and before you arrive at the center of the racecourse there is a small hill but once your at the top of the hill we got an amazing view.

View from the hill.

We're not in to being amongst lots of sweaty people, spilling drink and bouncing off you with their phones raised above their heads to film a concert in total that they will never watch again on their phones. Never understand that, your at the gig, your seeing the band live yet these idiot brainless people watch the whole of the concert through a 5 inch screen. Get a grip and just enjoy the moment.

Imaging Dragons were awesome, sounded amazing, stage show was brilliant and everyone had a blast.

One thing I've found, I've been to festivals in UK, Athens and now Milan and the UK is the only place where you'll find people staggering around drunk, collapsing on the floor throwing up and urinating wherever they stand. We British put ourselves to shame with our behaviour compared to our European cousins.

We made our way towards the back for a quick exit.

The view from the hill as 10's of thousands leave the Ippodromo, what a great night, shame it had to end.

And now for a 2 mile walk back to our apartment but it was worth it. It's been a long day so it's straight home to bed to rest our worn out little legs. 

DAY THREE

Today is a sad day. It was meant to be Foo Fighters concert day but due to Taylor Hawkins passing it is not to be, we're still both saddened by his death, wish it was still concert day.

Up and out early as it's Milano Central day. We decided to take the electric bus in to Central Station, Milan hoping the station was central....WAS IT HELL, IT'S BLOODY WAY OUT!

All the same it was great to see it, it makes UK city train stations look like a local village platform.

I've seen Paddington, St. Pancreas, Manchester Birmingham and Cardiff and this place is on another level completely, it's architecture and design is stunning.

As we walked outside we felt the heat hit us, 12.30pm and 35 Deg, oh dear, better get some water.

The square outside the Central Station.

Along the way from the station we walked down long main roads, little side streets and walkway alleys.

After about 2 miles we hit the shopping street to beat all shopping streets.Via Monte Napoleone. This street had every designer you could imaging side by side, Gucci, Giada, Versace, Chanel, Rolex, Dior and so many others. This street isn't our scene at all as neither believe in the designer bullshit, as i say "Clothes don't make the person, beneath the silks and gold there's still an asshole",

Sian bought a pair of Kurt Gieger (I have no idea) trainers,  they are very nice and she deserves them as after our long walk the day before the soles on her Vans were wearing thin.

Did you know that within the Gucci company there are no longer any members of the Gucci family associated with the brand, so in saying that it means all Gucci's are fake, think about it, it makes sense.

The most interesting shop frontage was the Dior shop.

As we got closer and closer to the center more branded shops appeared. 

One that caught my eye was the Apple store only because of the water feature and we could cool our wrists off in it.

The even more tiny little fellow in the middle of the pic is me. As you can see i am below street level, the Apple store is underground another level from this level.

Question: What's the point in having a mobile phone shop underground where you can't get a signal?

Not that bright now are they?

WE'VE MADE IT! 3 miles later from the station that is supposedly central we actually hit the center.

What a sight the center is, it's immaculate and breath taking. 

The first thing that catches your eye is the Duomo di Milano, what a building.

This is situated in a central square that is surrounded by shops and arcades but again not your ordinary shops or ordinary arcades.

Tiffany's is at the entrance to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuale II,

And here is Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and another beautiful bit of architecture with all the designer shops you need and plush eateries. 

Off we go from the center on the hunt for Hard Rock Cafe Milan that has just opened.

And we found it not far off the main square.

Only problem was the shop was open but the cafe itself was still under construction, bang goes our cocktail afternoon.

At the end of the road Hard Rock was on we found Sforzesco Castle where Leonardo's original mural of the Last Supper is located.

The mural is in a pretty bad state as the materials used in the original mural weren't good to stand up to modern day pollution and some restorations have been botched but worst of all is where Jesus legs were under the table was used as a door.

Time for a beer and at last, we've found a bar outside the castle that sells Moretti, CHEERS!

Beyond the castle is a huge park which gave us a bit of shade from now a staggering 36 Deg. 

We love the sun, we love the heat and we're pretty much used to it after Zakynthos but in a city, with lots of buildings and narrow streets there is no breeze and the heat is so much more intense. The park was a nice break as it had shade and drinking water taps to fill up our bottles.

At one point in the park there is a pond area with ducks and small turtles, never seen turtles in a park before.

Turtles all sunning themselves on the edge of pond.

On through the park and we end up at the Arco della Pace.

Very similar to L'arc de Triumph and Marble Arch just on a smaller scale.

I'ts been a hot day, been in central Milan for 5 hours, walked 5 miles in 36 deg heat and only had one beer, it's time to head home for the day and finish of with a beer at Selz Bar.

We use the metro service to go back which was packed but we always use our masks even now in the UK and when we go away.

Selz Bar is closed, BUGGER, it's Sunday.

Luckily for us on the corner of our building is a Gilato shop that thankfully also sells beer, RACK EM UP!

Don't fancy eating outside or inside a restaurant so i go and get some fresh dough homemade proper Italian pizzas to take back and eat in our air conditioned room, best pizzas ever, these will be hard to beat. What a great day we've had.......8pm i feel i have a sore throat coming on.

DAY FOUR

Wake up feeling like crap, everything come on at once within hours, sore throat, eyes streaming, full on head cold and aches. Take a covid test, Negative. That's good as i didn't want that again but feel real bad.

Never mind, we got places to go as we are going back to central Milan for lunch.

Milans housing is made up 95% by apartments, never seen any city with so many apartments and hardly any houses.

We stop off before heading in to town for our first proper Italian coffee, i know, it's only taken us four days but it was worth the wait, so smooth and tasty.

We had decided to walk in to the center today and guess what, it took us 20 minutes less by walking instead of public transport, i didn't realize how close we were to the center, i just thought public transport would have been quicker. Note to self, check google maps before heading out every time.

Along the way we walked was the tram route and there are some really cool looking trams.

We ended up back at Arco as we had noticed some nice looking outdoor bars there that we wanted to sit outside and watch the world go by.

Along side the Arco there has been a statue placed that has come all the way from Tuscany by the artist Emanuele Gianelli. The statue is meant to symbolize either clinging to history or trying to break free from it, this depends on how each person sees it.

I myself just wanted to replicate it like a typical British tourist and didn't even think what it's meaning was.

From this view from the side of the Arco across the road from it is where our beer stop is.

Here's our beer stop.

Here's our beers. These are Poretti. Now in the UK you can only get the one style, Poretti 4 but in this bar they had 10 different Poretti beers. We both had Poretti 9 Amber beer, it tasted so good, again especially in 34 deg heat and after a long walk.

There were quite a few apartment blocks all over Milan that were covered in creepers and plants as there is so much concrete everywhere.

It's time. It's time for me to have my freshly made Ravioli and Sian wanted a sea food linguini.

Sians meal looked and smelt amazing and the taste matched, all fresh pasta and seafood, wow.

And here it is, mine. Lobster, spinach and ricotta Ravioli with a lobster wine cream sauce, oh my god, i could have swam it it was that good. It was well worth the 4 day wait and miles of walking to find the right place to eat.

As i've always said when on the island, always eat where it's empty, just because a place is full doesn't mean its great, look at Yamas restaurant on the main road of Kalamaki, always busy but the food and service is the worst.

MMMmmmmmmm Lobster Ravioli

As we walk back to our apartment full to the brim on pasta and beer my virus whatever is taking hold and making me feel pretty lousy. Due to me our last night was spent in our apartment with me shivering and needing to be wrapped up in bed.

Even though the last night was my fault for us staying in we had a fun packed, non stop 4 days like we always do.

5 days on from returning as i write this i am still ill and took another covid test today and again negative, so i guess its just another virus.

The saving grace for us is that we go to Canada 3 weeks after getting back from Milan.

I can only apologies to Sian for our last night but we did have a great time as always.

FLYING HOME

After a night of tossing, turning, coughing, shivering and blowing my nose it's time to head home. Please no delays, not while feeling like this.

We go over to our bus stop, coach is on time and off we go. Why does the travel time back to an airport always seem longer than the arrival journey?

Everything is on time, thank the lord, not a single minute delay, we've been lucky again with travel and weather. As we made our way to our gate there were pictures by an artists that were made up of thousands of recycled straws, here is one of Freddie himself.

As we were just about to board up the steps to our plane a Star Wars plane came alongside us, SO COOL!

Up, up and away we go.

LOOK, LOOK, LOOK, It's Lake Geneva, bye Lake Geneva, see you in September.

And Gatwick, boooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Back to shithole Britain.

And that's it my dear friends and blog followers, i think i've rambled on quite a bit and didn't want it just to be holiday pics, i hate looking at peoples holiday pics. Whenever i do my travel blogs i try to add a little bit of knowledge that we pick up along the way as both us just don't go for a break we want to see, taste and smell the culture of the countries we visit and want to pass on our experiences to you.

We're not British people who want to go away to have British things, what's the point in going away, may as well stay in the UK and save the hours of travel.

So until Canada in 2 1/2 weeks time..........

Serve All, Love All, Peace All, Kevlar Out!