Our most recent blind booking trip sent us to Milan. We loved our two weeks in Italy exactly two years ago and were really excited to go back.
{We still love German Wings. We’ve flown with them several times before and it is by far one of the best budget airlines. What happened last month is absolutely tragic and my heart goes out to the families of those affected. We will continue to support the airline and hope that others do too.}
Milan is an industrious city with a lot of sight-seeing to offer, but we realized when the trip was over that all we really cared about was the wine and food, which we absolutely indulged (over-indulged) in. It’s a beautiful city, but very touristy and I guess big cities in western Europe are all starting to look the same to us. Don’t get me wrong, we appreciate the history and the beauty, but we also see right through all the tourist traps and it’s starting to get annoying. Like for instance, if I had a penny for every time someone tried to hand me a rose, shoved a selfie stick in my face to sell it to me, or asked me if I wanted to eat at their restaurant by pushing and shoving me toward the door, I’d be filthy rich.
Read: We loved Milan, but it was exceptionally bad for tourist traps.
Once we got our grip on the metro system (which we agreed is the worst system we’ve seen yet) and got settled into our hotel, we had just enough time to go for a stroll and enjoy the nice weather. We set out to find Leonardo’s Horse, a gargantuan statue built according to Leonardo da Vinci’s design.
Old buildings fascinate me. I don’t know what happened to this one, but there were curtains hanging in one of the windows. COOL. |
A little GWN humor. RRF! |
We took the subway back to the hotel instead of walking back. Owen has been on enough public transportation that he’s got it figured out. He also has to hold on for the ride. Monkey see, monkey do. His brain is such a sponge.
Once back at the hotel, we ordered room service after putting Owen to bed. Whoever said your life is over when you have kids was wrong. We still live the good life when we travel, sometimes it is from the comfort of our hotel room.
That’s a margarita pizza for me, and penne ragu for Alex. There are not words to describe how good it all was. |
The next morning we ventured to the city center. The Duomo was very high on my list of things to see in Milan. It’s a beautiful showpiece of a cathedral.
The breathtaking Duomo is the fourth-largest church in Europe (after the Vatican, London, and Seville). On target with the Gothic feel, the church is loaded with pointed arches and spires. For good measure, the entire cathedral was built from marble from top to bottom.
At the far end of the park is the monumental Arco della Pace, a triumphal arch. They built the arch facing Paris to welcome Napoleon’s rule.
We spent the next day at the Leonardo da Vinci National Science and Technology Museum. The place was HUGE and we spent hours in there. It covers everything from Leonardo’s designs illustrated in wooden models…
…to a vast collection of historical, scientific, and technological odds and ends and machines.
Owen LOVES anything that flies. He’s currently fascinated by helicopters.
But don’t worry, the F-16 is still his favorite. I promise. When he hears one flying over he does his best impression of the roar of the jet and then says, “dad.” Alex is so proud that he loves airplanes. They spent quite a while discussing the various aircraft on display in the museum.
This is a replica of the da Vinci’s Last Supper. The original Last Supper masterpiece is on display in Milan, but unfortunately, you have to buy tickets months in advance to see it. We planned this trip a couple of weeks in advance so we weren’t able to view it. This replica was initiated during the same time in 1498 and completed in 1626 by Giovanni Mauro della Rovere. It comes from the destroyed Disciplini monastery in Milan. It was absolutely beautiful.
We found a tiny pizzeria near our hotel and ordered a couple to go. The owner of the little shop adored Owen (as most of the Italians did – maybe it is his blonde hair or the fact that the entire culture loves children) and gave him a capri sonne and a Coca-cola on the house. He slurped up the juice in one gulp. We drank the Coke. 🙂 The pizza was delicious.
Janelle Vannice says
Wow, what a gorgeous city!! And I have never heard of Blind Booking – that sounds really awesome! Are you ever worried they'll send you to a place you've already been?
Emily says
It was gorgeous! You can eliminate cities (for a small fee) so you don't end up in the same place twice. But honestly, if I haaad to go back to Barcelona, I wouldn't complain. 😉