Milan

After a typical week of school, our family decided to take a little day trip to Milan on Sunday. I was once again surprised by how close everything is in Italy, and what a luxury it is to have a host of amazing cities within a two-hour radius of Carpi. We arrived in the outskirts of Milan at around 2 o’clock, parked, and took the metro into the city center. One of the coolest things of the day was walking up the stairs from the metro and being immediately greeted by the Duomo. Though it isn’t as big as Notre Dame, the Duomo brought back similar memories. It has that same intense gothic design with lots of jagged external spires, and high vaulted ceilings.

 

For the rest of the afternoon we enjoyed the good weather and the shops for which Milan is famous. First, we went into the official Inter and Milan soccer shops which were full of official and signed paraphernalia. We then made our way into the Ferrari store where Simo bought a new pair of shoes. Our last shopping stop was at Abercrombie and Fitch. The Italians have a slight obsession with the brand, and Antonella and Cate took the chance to enjoy the fragrance-infused store in all of its odiferous brilliance. We capped off the afternoon with a view of the world famous Teatro alla Scala.

To be honest, I was a little bit surprised with Milan. Unlike other typical Italian cities such as Rome and Florence, Milan isn’t brimming with art and historic things to see (Luigi explained that this is partially due to the fact that it was destroyed during WWII). The Duomo was amazing, and the streets lined with high-end shops and restaurants were pleasing to the eye, but it did have the feel more of a commercial rather than a cultural city.

All in all, it was a really enjoyable trip and great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!