We arrived at the train station a bit early than scheduled time.
Everything was smooth sailing, so we just waited there for the train to depart to our final destination.
The high speed train arrived at the station around 11 am. I quite like to travel by train in Europe region, cause from my experience, they are punctual and comfortable enough.
The boys were thrilled about the train ride too....after so many days travelling in the car.
The bottle caps that the boys have collected from the lakes side and Venice. They really treated those caps like their treasures.
They talked about the caps like we adults talked about investment and estate property...and they seem to have invented many ways to play with those caps.
I didn't have much interest to discuss their caps with them. Most of the time, I just looked out from the window or read the travelling book regarding the place we were about to go, Milano.
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I felt particularly interested when I read the part about the world famous painting "The Last Supper" that put in Milan. In order to admire this painting, the visitors need to make reservation through the internet at least 1 month before departure. Husband said when he got to know about this, it's too late already. What a pity.
One little thingy...We couldn't get 4 seats together. Weird though, these 2 men had refused to change seats with us, though our seats were nothing inferior than the places they were sitting on.
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For the whole journey that last for 2.5 hours, these 2 men talked none-stop, and they talked very loud as well. Even the boys who are normally noisy couldn't stand them. Anyway, it's good feeling that other passengers stared at them, but not to the boys.
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We arrived at Milano train station at around 1.30 pm The first thing we wanted to do was to find the hotel and off load the luggage. We have no problem to find the hotel since it is just somewhere nearby the train station.
To our surprise, the hotel that we have booked is a very nice one, considering it only cost us €130 (inclusive buffet breakfast for 3, €12 for the additional child).
This room is actually meant for 3 person only because the sofa bed is not big enough for 2 person. Well, the way we see it, it's big enough for my 2 boys lo.
And we were surprised to see this super big wash room.
And this jacuzzi bath tab, we would love to try it later.
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After taking a short rest in the room, we walked to a nearby MD for a simple lunch. Then, we took the metro and headed straight to the city center. Husband said we should pay a visit to cathedral in the city center.
Milan Cathedral (Italian : Duomo di Milano) is located in Lombardy. This Gothic cathedral had taken 5 centuries to be completed, and it's the 4th largest church in the world. Nevertheless, it is the largest Gothic cathedral and the 2nd largest Catholic cathedral in the world.
The roof line dissolves into openwork pinnacles that are punctuated by a grove of spires, topped with statues that overlook the city. The main spire is 109 meters high. So, this is definitely not a place for sky-diving.
Every where of the cathedral was crafted with statues, from top to roof, so no wonder it took 5 centuries to be completed.
Interior view of the Duomo di Milano. The way the paintings were hang instead of mounted on the wall is kind of special.
Also, it's quite bright inside the cathedral, really unlike the other churches which are normally dark or dim inside it. That makes this church less mysterious.
No doubt, this is a very beautiful church.
Altar of the Madonna dell'Albero. 
The choir window.
Detail of the choir window. I think it tells the story of Jesus Christ.
When I first saw this mother-and-son's statues, I just felt that they look very familiar. Then I realized I saw it in the Church of Residence, Germany, just last year.
16th-century statue of St. Bartholomew with his skin thrown over his shoulder like a cloak. According to tradition, he was martyred by being flayed alive.
After 30 minutes, we walked out from the cathedral and looked for the entrance to go to the rooftop.
In order to go up to the roof top, we can choose to walk up the stairs - which are solid, square, and more roomy than many cathedral stairways - or take an elevator for a higher price. We choosed the latter. Luckily, children are free admission.
Within a minute, we were up there.
The views are magnificent and the opportunity to see the pinnacles and sculptures close up is worth a visit to the top.
The huge building is made of brick faced with marble from the quarries that Gian Galeazzo Visconti donated in perpetuity to the cathedral chapter.
The famous "Madonnina" atop the main spire of the cathedral, a baroque gilded bronze artwork.
The platform on the rooftop, where religion ceremony occasionally will be held here.
Lonely at the top.
A view of the Piazza del Duomo, the city's main and most central square, flocked by several palaces and important buildings, such as Milan Cathedral, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and the Royal Palace of Milan.
Just when I was about to tell the boys to look down for the magnificent view, I saw this. Sigh, the irritating cycle has just started again. To save my breathe, I just pretended I didn't see all this. Normally, they will back to normal 5 or 10 min later.
The sun was extremely hot in that afternoon time, so we didn't stay too long up there.
After we get down from the roof top, we walked to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II triumphal arch, located just next to the cathedral.
Anyway, this place has nothing too special to me, since I did't come here for shopping. Instead, I wanted to go to the fashion district at night time. After all, Milan is one of the famous fashion city in the world. It would be nice to take a look of the place.
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A choir in front of the cathedral. *
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After some discussion, husband and I would like to try our luck with 'The Last Supper' though we knew the chances to get to see this famous painting was approximately zero, without prior booking.
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1 comments:
Very nice views, thank you. RS / Finland
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