Milano - The first taste of Italia!!

---

Milano was a bit of a disaster from the get go! We arrived after a pretty long train ride and after leaving the train station and walking 20 minutes to our hotel, we finally got to where we would be staying at 8pm. We wandered into the hotel to find a deserted reception. After calling out a few times for someone, a man wandered down and said the reception was upstairs! So I carried 2 suitcases up 3 flights of stairs as Sarah wasn't feeling well, only to be told there was a problem with the room. Not exactly something I wanted to hear at that stage. The reception man called his brother who arrived 20 minutes later and informed us that we would be staying at another hotel for the night and that he would bring us back in the morning. So back down the stairs and we all crammed into a car which was about as big as a fridge box on wheels! We arrived at the hotel and by this time had really had enough! We got checked in and headed out to dinner which luckily was pretty good. I had my first Italian pasta which would be the first of many (mainly carbonara!). We got back to the hotel and headed to bed after a ridiculous first day in Milano. Hopefully the next day would be better.

That next morning we woke up and headed downstairs for breakfast which was pretty ordinary but free so we couldn't really complain. The guy from the other hotel arrived at about a quarter to 11 and took us back to the hotel we were supposed to be staying in originally! We then headed out to see the Duomo in the main square. This was fairly easy as we were only a short walk from the train station. Unfortunately we weren't allowed into the Duomo as Sarah was "inappropriately dressed". Obviously these people thought you had to be wearing something that would not only cover all of your skin but cause mass heatstroke to get in! After being denied entry we walked around for a bit and headed to lunch down a little back street. We had possibly the best lunch all month! I had Beef Carpaccio which basically raw strips of beef in a green salad with artichokes. Now settle down all you who know my eating habits, it was really good and even Sarah can vouch for my enjoyment of this particularly healthy meal! Sarah had risotto which, quote, "was amazing".
After this we headed for another wander around with an ice cream and made our way to central station to look at the shops. We had a look through the guess store which surprisingly Sarah was reluctant to look at. Gladly we did anyway she bought me a guess watch for my birthday. We then left the store to find another watch in the bag with mine before racing back in to return it.
We then headed back to the hotel and out to try and find the restaurant from the night before. After about a hour of searching we gave up and ate at a different place which put ridiculous amounts of cheese in their meals. Sarah's calzone looked like it had half a kg of cheese melted inside!

The next morning we headed to "The best pizza in Milano" which was pretty good. This restaurant only serves Margherita style and it is massive. Not very busy too which was good. After this we headed back to the Duomo. After being denied entry the day before for wearing a singlet, Sarah had decided that a T-Shirt would solve this problem. Nope! Apparently shorts are banned as well as common sense and the ability to keep in touch with reality.
After being rejected again by the Duomo, we headed to the shops where Sarah bought a few things. We then headed to the Ferrari shop which was kind of lame as everything was over priced and a little curious that there was a Lamborghini out the front. Although we did see a man test driving a Ferrari Enzo and getting a smack round the ear for revving it too hard. Can you rev a Ferrari too hard!?
We then headed home but only after a stop at the Disney shop which Sarah loved!
That night we headed out for dinner at the restaurant that we first found in Milano, but barely ate anything as we were still full from the ridiculous amount of pizza served to us earlier that day! We then headed back to the hotel to pack and get ready to leave in the morning.

The last day in Milano, frankly couldn't come quick enough for me. It was an OK place but seriously, so many things had gone wrong it was making me bitter staying there! So with that we made out way to the train station where we jumped on a train to Florence to continue the rest of our Italian adventure!

Ciao for now, and we will update from Florence soon!!!
Love Dan & Sarah!

---