Just got back from an amazing vacation Dan planned and I’m on such a high! I just can’t believe he planned the whole thing! He got mad at me because I did not help at all and only told him of 2 places I really wanted to go to and then didn’t put any effort. In hindsight, I feel terrible about my lack of help but mentally I just haven’t been me these past months. He understood and took it upon himself to make this trip magical for us and he did not disappoint!
We flew directly to Milan from Chicago and the airport was pretty easy to navigate, but imagine my surprise when we get there and hear about the Taxi strike across the country! Blah, but thankfully I’m pretty familiar with public transportation so we headed to the train station and for 13 Euros each we made it to our hotel.
Since last year Dan had been nagging me to stay closer to the sites, we compromised this trip for Milan we stayed right by the Duomo and for Venice we stayed a little away from things but still close enough. He found a decent hotel in Milan and an amazing one for Venice. It was very nice and convenient where we stayed in Milan but I wouldn’t stay there again.
Here are some of the things we did in Milan. We also took a couple of day trips which I really enjoyed going to and exploring.
Excited and on the planeI am one of the few of my friends that loves airplane and hospital food, but this United dinner was gross. This is coming from someone who will eat anything that is not spicy I was grossed out by it. I still ate it but did not like it.Getting close to Milan and our snack, yogurt was fine, biscotti was blahOnce we got to hotel, we changed and ran out to see the DuomoThe shopping district, I am well aware I take terrible photos lolol. I really just like taking pictures of the architecture and the stone work on buildings. Here I loved the arches and the glass ceilingThe murals were neat tooI love seeing things like this on the floor and it reminded me of Sullivan’s work in Chicago so I had to take a picture of it. I love how you can find art looking up or down.Our first meal in Milan! This spaghetti with clams is my very favorite and anytime I see it on a menu I order it. This cheesecake was so light and fluffy I ordered another one after finishing this oneWe got tickets to see Da Vinci’s Last Supper. Apparently it was an experiment that he did with tempura paint on dry plaster and I love art so I had to see it with my own eyes.It did not disappoint and it was beautiful!This was across from it We then walked over to the castle-Castello SforzescoIt was hot this day but I enjoyed walking around and of course had my handy fanI think Dan hated me at this point because I wanted to see the Egyptian Museum they had there, but it was super late and hot. He caved after this snack but my phone died and I didn’t want to push anymore buttons asking to use his phone to take pictures so I can only say you must go to the museum if you are in Milan. They have pages from the actual Book of the Dead ahhhhhhWe had a food tour scheduled this night and this was the first stop. This bar was really cool because every 6 months they change countries and we happened to be there when it was the US’s turn. They played oldies music and had lots of American decorations around the bar. I love food tours because I get to go to places I otherwise would never imagine going My cherry bomb drink was so good and Dan really liked his Lemon drinkOur next stop was a wine bar and omg it was so good! We had a cheese board here and it was one of my favorite stopsNext was this potato place that had the most interesting toppings. I love baked potatoes so I was so excited to be here, mine had burrata and some tomato topping that was sooo good. Dan got a Greek potato and he really liked his tooOMG, I so wish this was not the last stop because this sandwich was the most amazing thing I have ever eaten! We got an eggplant parmesan sandwich and it was literally the best sandwich I have ever had in my life, pictures of course do no justice and just seeing this picture my mouth drools from the delicious memory. Last stop was of course gelato Our last stop was by this canal and it was so pretty and serene I loved how they had so many bars along the canalThey even had love locks so of course we got one doneIt was so hot out but we were so happy lololPS every time I see the lock I giggle at how Dan wrote his own name looking like Don lolololol After our food tour we were stuffed but I had to have a drink along the river. Thank God Dan goes along with so many of my shenanigans and we enjoyed a very tasty drink and really liked the ambiance of the night life Milan had to offer.The Duomo of course so beautiful We had a day trip in the morning and since the Duomo was literally next door to us it was easy to get great pictures I love coffee art Our day trip was to Lake Como and Bellagio Love how unique these buildings were in Lake ComoA light lunch in Lake ComoHiOn the boat to Bellagio Little stairways all over Bellagio Duh, we had to drink again lololAnd of course eatWe were lucky to get a nice shady spot. Another hot day but I packed our fans so we were fineLoveHow pretty! On the boat Later at night back in Milan and of course eating againThe arch to the Fashion Shopping area right next to the DuomoWe ended up at a rooftop that night with a great view of the Duomo and fun dancing music. Trust me I felt so old but happy that I was able to experience thisThe next day was our tour for the Duomo, it started inside the beautiful church I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan and walking in immediately reminded me of the mines in The Hobbit when the dwarves and Bilbo go to the Lonely Mountain. Just so beautiful and breathtaking! Oh hi beautiful big stained glass windows They say 1 of Jesus’s 3 nails from the cross is up there were that dot is on the cross Just amazing views from the rooftop People were so nice and always offering to take our pictures They are doing an amazing restoration to the Duomo and I look forward to visiting it again and be in awe of all of its glory Love the stone work The little details are incredible This section hasn’t been cleaned/restored yet but still you can see the beauty I was awestruck when I saw this PeekabooAgain with the amazing details I feel like every church has these marble steps and I always feel like one step and I am going to tumble down so of course I had to take a picture and tempt fate This salad was just so fresh and good I love bubble tea and I base them all on how good they cook the tapioca balls. These were hard and not chewy at all. The pineapple drink itself was ok but I was sad the boba was not good and it was a paper straw which I get to be more eco friendly but it got so soggy so fast and almost impossible to suck up the bobaThe start of another day trip to the Swiss Alps and a very scenic train ride through the Alps STOP!!! This was taken by me on the bus and why is the Swiss Alps so beautiful? I am by far the least nature girl you will ever meet and I was already talking to Dan about visiting here in the winter some year because it was just so beautiful and I want the kids to experience skiing here.A famous chocolate shop in St Moritz . It was really ritzy here and everything was expensive but ugh I must come back with the kids because they would love skiing here and the outdoors. They love that in MN but the Swiss Alps just hits different Of course a snack Again just beautiful and I won’t stop saying it I loved sitting by the rocks and eating our chocolate. I love dessert so much so eating sweets and having comfortable silence which is so rare is my most favorite thing A Swiss Kiss ❤ It is like you can’t take a bad picture of the scenery here See what I mean?!!! Our train ride was amazing and I got a great seat next to the window.
I thoroughly enjoyed our time in Milan and all the amazing people I met on our day trips will live forever in memory. It is funny because I used to hate those big bus tours and never understood how come people just didn’t go out an explore the country themselves but I get it now. Now, that I am older I love just sitting, being taken around, and everything explained to me. But my most favorite part is meeting all the amazing people on these tours. People from all over the world and I even became friends and exchanged addresses to stay pen pals with people from Sweden, Malta, and California. We made a great friend Mark and Dan is IG friends with him and he shares so many amazing photography tips and he was so much fun! He also has 3 kids and he was just a riot on the Swiss Alps tour and will live in a happy memory of ours forever.
Milan was an amazing city and my only regret is I wished I visited it when I was a tad younger. Don’t get me wrong we still stayed out super late and enjoyed the nightlife but my body could not always keep up. This city is up there with London and New York and I will tell my kids to visit it in their 20s so they can really enjoy it and I can live vicariously through their stories one day.
Adventures of Janet 
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