Milan, with guests

A few weeks ago, my friend and her boyfriend swung through Milan on their way back from Alba's trufflefest. While it was just a short trip for them, we were lucky to catch up with them as they hosted us in London a week afterwards. During their brief few hours in Milan, we actually managed to cram in quite a few activities.



For the first time, Mark and I headed to the roof of the Duomo. Yes, you can actually get to the top of Milan's massive cathedral - about 150 feet! We got a little twisted around and missed one of the coolest views but what we did see was pretty neat.


In the photo above, you can make out a small gold statue high atop all of the other spires. This is the Madoninna, the Madonna, and it serves as a point of pride for many Milanese.

After the Duomo, we took advantage of the beautiful warm weather and headed to our favorite gelateria, Bianco Latte, so that our London-living friends could taste what they were missing up north! In honor of fall, the marrons glace flavor made it's appearance on my cone. Nothing says 'fall in Europe' like chestnuts - warm or cold.


And yes, there were warm chestnuts as our group moseyed over to the Castello Sforzesco. Had it been a bit colder (and had we not just indulged in gelato), I might've been tempted to grab a handful to nibble on/warm my hands. I'm sure that by Christmas, I'll have my chance!

The sun started to set as we hung out around Milan's castle. This building, originally dating from the 14th century, now houses several of the city's museums and art galleries. Walking through the courtyard will deposit you in the Parco Sempione, another of Milan's largest parks.

We had fun with our friends but can't really claim to have shown them around. We're trying to save some of Milan's tourism activities to do with our guests...so we hope to have more soon!