miserable morning, mediocre midday, amazing afternoon, enchanting evening.

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Early starts are not really our thing, especially Harriet, but Milan was her idea. We left at about 5.30am for a 4 1/2 hour drive. The sun wasn't even up and there was hardly any traffic.

Harriet wanted to go to Milan for the shopping. Toby and Fiona agreed because they wanted to see the cathedral and Leonardo Da Vincis painting ofthe Last Supper. We decided to combine it with a trip to Venice and to stay overnight in Milan coming back to Montone tomorrow evening.

Finding the hotel was a little challenging, but we eventually got there. We were lucky that they let us check in at 10 in the morning and we had somewhere to leave the car. The hotel was on the outskirts of Milan so that we didn't have to drive in the city. We didn't want to be fined for going in the limited access zones. Next door to the hotel was a metro stop and it was simple to get into the centre which is the piazza dal duomo.

I'm not sure why we make plans because they never seem to work. The plan was to go to the tourist office and get a map ofthe designer outlet stores. We would then wander the streets and nip into stores as we found them. Toby had some suggested venues for lunch and of course gelato and in the afternoon we were booked on a tour.The Lonely Planet and the map the hotel gave us both indicated the tourist information was in the piazza. All we could find was street sellers trying to give you horrible friendship bracelets. We didn't quite work out why they give them to you, but they were persistent and annoying. The place that the maps actually in the piazza pointed to for the tourist office also drew a blank. There was just a load of hoardings.

By this time we were hot and tired and getting on each others nerves. Eventually we asked a security guard at the cathedral where we could find the tourist information. We went by subway as he made it sound like a 20 minute walk and then wandered around still unsure where the office was. The day was beginning to feel like a disaster. We found the office but as Toby pointed out was as useful as a hole in the head. The lady was too busy on Facebook or solitaire to help us even though we were the only customers. When we asked for the map of the outlets she refused to give it to us. She reckoned that they were all closed for the summer holidays and she wasn't ringing each one to see if they were open. Even more hot and tired and still getting on each others nerves, we found a cafe with wifi to try and figure stuff out for ourselves. The wifi was free but we needed a new mortgage to pay for the three drinks - €20!

Sort of knowing where we were going calmed us down and we headed back towards the cathedral to the shops. We spent quite a while in Prada looking at a handbag for Fiona, but didn't splash out and also in Burberry where Toby nearly got a jacket. Harriet didn't really see anything that caught her eye but we did look at her favourite - Louis Vuitton.

Now we were hungry, but typical for the way things were going, the shop we wanted was shut. We aren't sure if the Italians ever work. They stop for a couple of hours very day, don't open on Sundays and seem to take the whole summer off. We eneded up in a cafe on top of a department store, but nowhere near as nice as the one in Florence.

At this point only one thing was going to make things better - gelato. And it did. We found the number one gelato so far, well joint top with Augustus in Perugia. This was called Shokolat and the textures and flavours were amazing. We licked away as we headed for the bus stop.

For the first time in many years, if not ever, we had booked a guided tour. If you want to see the Last Supper you can book tickets directly, but it is complicated and has to be done quite far in advance. Going on a guided tour makes it a lot easier and we got to see other things too. Unfortunately we had to be shepherded around and listen to the guide talk through radio sets. First we went to La Scala. This is where all the famous Italian operas were first performed, especially those by Verdi. As we were on a tour we got to go in the boxes and look in the theatre. Usually you just get to go in the museum. It was beautiful. There are no balconies, only boxes and the stalls below. Originally the downstairs was where the guests danced and played cards etc. before the show when they went up to their boxes. The servants would pull benches onto the dancefloor and watch the shows as well. The theatre was very red and opulent and the chandeliers were enormous.

We walked over to the duomo, where we were glad Fiona is a little OCD over rules and reading tickets. If you weren't dressed correctly you couldn't get in. We had changed after lunch, but several of the tour group had to wait outside. We had been looking forward to the duomo. It holds 40000 people which was the population of Milan at the time it was built and is massive. There is art everywhere and some beautiful stained glass windows, along with the obligatory un-decomposed saints. Above the altar there is even a nail that is supposed to be from Christ's cross. This seems highly dubious not only because of the story of how it got to Italy, but also as it is too high to see. We were bitterly disappointed however that the climb onto the roof was not included in the tour. We checked the times with the information staff inside and planned to come back after the tour.

The next stop on the tour was actually a trip around Milan on the bus to the castle. None of us know what it was we got to see as it was hot and the bus was rocking gently and we were tired and we all fell asleep. We hope none of us were snoring!

We wandered around the castle, which was quite interesting. The family didn't have a crest so they made one up with a dragon eating a Muslim baby - nice family! When we got back to the bus we were reminded, as if we needed it, why we didn't like tours. There was someone missing. A guy let the guide know it was his wife. He seemed totally relaxed abut us leaving without her and only went to find her when he was encouraged to do so. There's nowt as strange as folk.

Finally we were on our way to the gold at the end of the rainbow- the Last Supper. This is actually a mural in the wall of the refectory at a church. We looked around the church first which was in itself very beautiful and interesting and then went though high security and climate control measures to the refectory. This is when the guide came into her own. She was so passionate about the painting, very knowledgable and incredibly insightful. We weren't sure if we would have got so much out of just looking at it on our own. It ranked as high as seeing David in Florence on our art appreciation moments list. The main aspects that left an impression were the expressions on the disciples faces, the little details that had been included like iron creases in the table cloth and the perspective that would have made eating in the refectory seems if Jesus and the disciples were there with you. The fifteen allotted minutes were over very quickly.

Most people know Milan for its fashion industry or art, but it is also famous for its aperitivi. Paying slightly extra for a drink here is supposed to entitle you to a buffet of snacks, that many find adequate as a meal. Maybe it was summer, maybe it was us, but we couldn't find anything like what we were expecting. We walked past loads of bars offering aperitivi, but it was just a few nuts or chips. Sadly disappointed once more today, we decided to just be tourists again and chose a bar overlooking the piazza. We did get some snacks and homemade crisps which was a bonus, but it definitely wasn't a meal.

We found the normal high street type shops for Harriet. She loves the brands she has found in London and was excited to see H$M. She had expected more of these sorts of shops in Milan, but now realises how good the shopping in London and Melbourne actually is. She still managed to buy herself stuff and then we went back to the duomo.

We were too late to use the stairs and had to go up in the lift, much to Toby's disgust. Harriet and Fiona were more than happy with the arrangement though. Once we were out of the lift, we were straight on the roof of the cathedral. It was amazing; the architecture was fabulous, the views were stunning, the detailing was so intricate especially when you consider it was not really designed to be viewed. As we had come so late it was getting down to a bearable temperature and there were hardly any visitors. This was one of our top experiences so far.We caught the metro back to the hotel where we had the worst pizza you could get in Italy. It wasn't awful, our hunger was satisfied and we had no further to go to get to bed.

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Photos

Even the bottled water is designer
And the price is too!

La Scala
Shame it all came out red - its really very beautiful