MILANO

Destination: Milan | Italy | Europe

Traveled: May 2013

Strategy: The purpose of this trip abroad was to visit the Cinque Terre. Since our best flight option brought us to Malpensa Airport, we spent a few days in Milan to explore the city and see the famous sights.

Accommodation: Hotel Felice Casati

Adventures: Santa Maria delle Grazie [Leonardo DaVinci's The Last Supper], Duomo di Milano, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Luini, Castello Sforzesco [Michelangelo's last sculpture, Rondanini Pietà], Arco della Pace, Metropolitana di Milano

Memorable Moment: Spending 15 minutes with The Last Supper painting. Wow.

Takeaways: 1) Milan is reminiscent of New York City without the skyscrapers and with the signage in Italian. 2) Metro systems operate similarly across the world.

Foodstuff: We discovered the panzerotto, a pocket of pizza dough stuffed with tomatoes and mozzarella and then deep fried. Delicious!

Restaurant Picks:
Dinner::
Perle e pirati (try the lasagne)
Via Felice Casati, 5

Takeaway::
Luini (panzerotti!)
Via Santa Radegonda, 16

Recommendations: 1) Make reservations for The Last Supper far in advance of your trip. 2) Avoid the people offering "free" strings at the Piazza del Duomo and Castello Sforzesco or expect to contribute a "donation" towards their cause. They can be aggressive. 3) You can visit all the main tourist attractions within one day, unless you're a fan of the opera or designer labels. Shopping lovers will need more than one day here.

Next Time: We had our fill of Milan. Next time we'll head straight to Lake Como or another city in northern Italy.