Day 4
The Last Supper viewing.

Have to be downtown at 9.15m, that means an early b'fast and a trip on the Metro in the rush hour. Managed it with time to spare and we people watched in the Duomo square. Being a Tuesday the crowds were down and only the commuters were rushing. This part of Milan is the centre and contains much of the  white collar industry. Even in this heat suits and ties were the dress of the day.
Getting on the bus at the appointed hour started the tour, two tours in one - English and Italian. This was achieved by the issuing to all an individual wireless receiver, tied to the mic around the tour guides neck and listening to a bilingual commentary. As usual many of the receivers did not work properly so some of the group were definitely left out. First stop a walk across to the Duomo, we were going inside. Remeber the Toronto pol who got into trouble for tweating that he had met "hot chicks"? Well there is actually a guy at the door of the church whose job it is to check out the chicks for modest dress - no bare shoulders and definitely no skirts or shorts above the knee. What a let down for those of us who have seen many italian churches this one is not lavish. It seems that all of the effort over the last five hundred years has been to construct the outside, not much pomp inside.

Over to the Galleria Vittoria Imannuelle an impressive indoor shopping mall built in the early 1900s. This structure is cross shaped and the main part leads into the Piazza La Scala - the home of the famous La Scala Opera house. We went in to see the inside but no pics were allowed but we slipped one in. Impressive: semi circular in design there are six tiers of private boxes, each seating six on normal chairs, and theatre seating on the floor. One can imagine the acoustics as the hall looks as though it would rebound sound - no corners for it to hide in. On the bus to visit the Castello, and to kill time for the main event - the Last Supper viewing.

When visiting Milan the main touristy thingy is to see the fresco that Leonardo painted depicting the last supper. However as the authorities limit the number of visitors in each session of fifteen minutes in the climate-controlled facility, the tickets are hard to get, if you are an average tourist. Booking online or phoning for a reservation are two ways of getting tickets but they can be tricky to get the dates you want. Secret number one - do not screw around with these methods there is a guaranteed foolproof method of getting last minute tickets. Buy a city tour that includes the visitation. You can pick these toursa up usually when you want to go, at least within the next two days.

So we go in, get a ticket and then access the area by means of two humidity controlled airlocks and then the room itself. After LdV painted the fresco and the room, it was vandalised and neglected pretty consistently over the next 400 years. But in the late 90s complete restoration took the fresco down to the original first layer by peeling away many othe top layers put on by ealy 'restorationists'. The room is bigger than one would imagine and was originally used as a refectory in a monestory. First impressions are 'is that all' bvut as you have to sit there for fifteen minutes the seriousness and sense of history is overpowering and one should leave thinking that have really seen history.

Now we're on our own and decide to wander back through the shopping area, which is pretty much everywhere in Milan. But we did get back to the hotel pretty quickly as the heat - 40 degs was hard to take.

Day 5
Ben's day - the museum tour.

Starting at the Museum of Science and Technology. Purchasing a "Milan Card" because it provided two days of transit as well as discounts for some museums - 30% off the one we visited first. The Museo of S&T housed a LdV exhibit which was realistic and working. as well as housing the Italian planes and trains. a real Brigantine was parked in the main exhibit hall of the maritime section. Two hours well spent. Walking back to the hotel and hitting all the museums on the way was going to be the plan but as we deliberately set off late, to miss the rush hour, the next museo on the list - Pottery and Ceramics, was closed as we arrived - long lunch hours are the norm in Milan. But seeing the Martinitte and Stelline Museo on the map we decided to hit that one. No idea of what it was but it was open and on the way home. M&S turned out to be an orphanage. The museum tracked its history and described the conditions of the 19th Century working life. Interesting. Next stop the museum of Archaeology. Three stories of old stones and exhibits were looked at and we finished the tours in yet another church, this one being differnt in that it really was two churches split by an altar wall. The reason for this was that the nuns had to worship free from the male influence.; not seen before by us. Quick beer and wine stop and then the subway back to the hotel. Tomorrow is Doreen's day - shopping.

The first three days

Day 1

Travel, travel and more travel. Plane, train and foot but we made it after missing a night's sleep. We are getting too old for all-nighters and Doreen made up for it the next day by sleeping the sleep of the dead.

Sunwing and a full plane but we did get the outside pair of seats on the right side. Worth the extra payment for the pre-booking. This plane was on loan from TransEuropean Airways and the crew was Italian. Couldn't see the movie but the meals were timely and adequate. Arrival at Rome, was on the cheap side - down the aircraft stairs and into buses took us into the passport control, one look at the passport and no stamp lead us into baggage claim and a long wait. Walking through the customs hall we declared nothing and hit the outside. Walking for miles we found the train station and the place to buy the tickets. One ticket took us to Milan via Rome. We had been to the Rome station before and knew the drill. Find the departures board and see which platform the train is at. This time the Milan train was a little late in getting on the board so a quick transfer was need but we did find seats 21 and 22 in car 9. being Italy one of the seats was already occupied by a person who just shrugged when hints were given out that she was in my seat, I sat in hers - no big deal. Arriving in Milan the hotel was found and we checked in, unpacked and then looked for food. Finding it across the square we ate a most expensive meal - the first meal is always the most expensive - the usual tourist mistake.

Day 2

Sleeping in on Sunday meant a late breakfast - good all the same. Buffet and the same stuff every day means that we will get the same for five days. Out of the hotel and off to explore. Back to the main station and a slow explore (we are here for a leisurely trip not a fast rush). A nice man at the bookstore told us how to navigate the transit system and we set off to find an automatic ticket machine for the subway. BUT this is where one learns. do not listen to anybody who tries to help you. One guy came up as we were navigating the automatic ticket machine. Proceeded to show us what we had figured out ansd said "money here" and ppointed to the coin slot, as soon as the money was in he rushed in and grabed the tickets out of the slot, gave them to us. He then had his hand in for the change and slipped a two euro piece of the two coin change into his hand and gave us the remaining one euro and said "change". Fast but efficient and an easy ripoff.

Downtown at the main square the tourist office was our destination. Signing up for a trip on Tuesday for the usual sights that included the impossible - a visit to the "Last Supper". This sight, the fresco painted by Leonardo DeVinci, has to be booked many weeks in advance as the authorities only allow a limited number of visitors in the room at any one time, "Can we see the Last Supper?" "Guaranteed" was the answer. We shall see, we still remain sceptical. Receiving advice that the Grand Canal was a good start for a days touristing we were told how to get there. "Take a #3 tram to Porrta Genova."

The number 3 tram took us to the place we wanted to go - a boat ride on the Grand Naviglia, one of the two remaining canals left in Milan. Walking to the boat place wenoticed a huge Flea market, one KM each side of the canal. It was the last Sunday of the month and that's when the vendors come out to sell antiques - interesting. The boat turned up after we had waited in the sun for 20 minutes, it was crammed when we all got on. Up and down the canal and then back to the start and another turn into the smaller canal. Reaching the lock Leonardo had designed we came back - 45 minutes in all and a hot and sweaty 40 minutes it was. Entering the first Cafe we saw a white wine and cold beer were in order. One cookie to go with it and no change from a 20 euro bill ($30.00).  Walking back to the tram stop Doreen mentioned that she was hungry, we had only eaten b'fast, so we looked around, came across a bar selling 'happy hour" - aperitivo and first drink 8 euro - a bloody bargain at the price. Friendly owner and a good time was had by all. With Dire Straits serenading us, and with cheap food and drink what could be better to finish off the day.

Day 3

After the same breakfast yesterday and the same as tomorrow, we set out for the "hopon hopoff" bus stops. These tours, and they have them in every major tourist town, are the best ways to get the lay of the land and identify what you may want to go back and see - at your leisure. In Milan ther are two loops -red and blue. The first one was blue so we got on. Ninety minutes later we had half the town scoped out. As the two lines intersected at the main square - the Duomo, we left the bus one side of theduomo and set off to meet the other bus. But there were major sights to be seen between the buses. Firstlly a coffee stop. Two Cafe Lattes and a sit down did the trick and perked us up. On the way back to the bus we stopped at the Cathedral, bought a couple of tickets, entered the lift and whizzed to the top of the building where we were allowed to walk on the roof: impressive. back down, some 30 minutes later we had to wait for the bus and a McDonalds sundae was the snack. Entered the bus and finished the red loop. This time there was a breeze blowing across the bus and it was not so uncomfortable, did we tell you Milan is having a heat-wave! Back to another McDonalds for a burger supper and then home for a shower. Tomorrow is the walking tour.

Friday - we're off to the airport

1430 - in the car and drive the big four nothing one to the GTAA. Boarding passes in hand - printed then off at 0930 and changed our seat location from over the wing to nearer the emergency exit - we are fully prepared!

See you on the other side

We're off again

With airfares so cheap who wouldn't turn down the opportunity to travel abroad. This time it's back to Italy but this time it's Milan. Follow us with this travel diary