Last stop Milan

Milan was our last stop in Europe before we departed for home. Having read that Milan is Italy fashion capital, we thought it would be appropriate to end the trip in Milan where the girls can shop without worrying about carrying their stuff all the places we visited. But luckily they bought some in Paris, Florence and Venice. No doubt Milan is the place for fashion conscious people, but it's not really for budget conscious people! The bags and clothes are rather pricey here but we managed to find one outlet which sells designer labels at 50% discount or less, supposedly last season's fashion. We were not going for LV Gucci or Prada. I noticed that mostly Asian tourists would go for these items, especially Hongkong and Japanese people. There were many fashionable Italians especially in the shopping streets but I didn't see any of the standard evergreen LV or Gucci bags like those Singaporean and HK people like to show off. I suggest going for the value-for-money good quality leather Italian bags of other lesser known brands which cost a small faction of the so-called branded ones. But maybe other people think otherwise.
Anyway, a visit to Milan would not be complete without a visit to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, the oldest shopping mall in the world.

Right beside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele is the Duomo, the main square in Milan which houses the cathedral which is famous for the hundreds of spires and thousands of statues on the roof and exterior of the building.
Once there, don't miss the chance to climb up the stairs for 5 euros (or pay 7 euros to take the lift) to see up close the magnificent statues and also the view of Milan.



Another place is the Castello Sforzesco , a 15th century castle, which we passed but didn't go in because the girls were more keen on using the time to shop.

We wanted to see Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" at the Santa Maria delle Grazie Church but couldn't get the tickets. To protect the painting only 25 persons can view each time and only for 15 mins. We didn't mind paying 6.50 euros for the tickets but they were all sold out for the day!

We stayed 2 nights in Milan at Hotel Bernina which is just a few mins from the train station. I like this hotel location...opposite the hotel there is a self service Italian restaurant..reasonable price and tasty food. The bus to the airport is also at the railway station. We even managed to get a special offer for the bus tickets...buy 2 get one free ! Getting to the airport was quite convenient from the hotel. The airport staff was surprisingly very friendly and helpful.

Venice

There's a saying "there's no place like Venice". When you set foot in Venice, you'd totally agree.

Venice is indeed unique. There are no cars or buses on the island. There is water everywhere!


To get from one place to another, you either walk, take the water bus, the water taxi or the larghetto.
We took the train from Florence and on arrival boarded the water bus from the railway station to the hotel.
Good thing I remembered to buy the return ticket as well; some jetties do not sell tickets. The buildings look old and in ruins but when you go inside, its totally different. The fare is 6.50 euro one way.
In Venice, everyone is either a tourist or involved in some kind of business earning tourist money. As we walked around we could see many people holding maps. If you just follow the natural flow of people, you would get to your destination. However, I heard some friends said they got lost. I can understand why...the buildings look the same, the lanes are narrow, its difficult to look for landmarks or road signs. There are some arrows which point to the direction of Piazza San Marco or St Marks Square, or to Rialto bridge, or to the Railway Station.


Basically you have to have a rough idea where you're heading. A compass would be very handy!
St Marks Square floods easily every time it pours, but the other lanes are quite ok.

I booked online tickets to enter the Basillica (free of charge) but due to the floods only one entrance was open so everybody had to queue the same line. What a waste, otherwise I would be able to jump queue using the pre-booked tickets. But luckily the queue wasn't long. Once in, we stayed until the flood receded..no point getting our feet wet! It didn't take very long. The rain stopped and after a while the ground was dry again.

Not taking any chances, we headed to the area near the Doge's Palace to check out the gondolas before the weather changes again.


On travel websites we are usually advised to go to the less popular spots to take the gondola rides for discounted rates but we didn't.



One operator asked for 120 euros! Its definitely a fleece because the standard rate is 80 euros without discount. We settled for someone who offered a 10 euro discount to 70 euros. As a bonus, this gondolier is quite good looking so our photos would look nicer ! It is actually a guided tour...the gondolier would introduce the place as we moved along the canals. A singing one would cost more, I think.


Besides gondolas and St Mark's Basillica, just walking and shopping in Venice would be fun. Lots of souvenir shops, like the ones selling Venetian masks. There are other shops selling other things like bags and clothing. The prices are cheaper than in Milan but I think Florence is a better place to shop. We stayed only one night. We had a lot of time to browse the night scenery. On the next day, we visited the markets and then took a train to Milan , our last stop.

Florence

From Pisa we took a train to Florence. You don't have to book your tickets in advance. Just get the tickets at the counter. It's only 5.70 euros. There are trains every 30 mins and its only an hours ride.

On arrival, we checked in at Hotel Joli, which again is only 3 mins walk away. From there we walked to the Mercato Centrale, or Central Market 5 mins away. We had lunch here, trying out the local cuisine.

The famous cow's tripe dish (I forgot what they call it) was so delicious we ordered another one.

And the prices inside the market are , well, market standards compared to restaurant prices. There are lots of uncooked pasta, cheese and meats sold here, but we're not here to do our grocery shopping

.

Outside the market there are a lot of roadside stalls. Here you can buy scarfs, leather bags and jackets, as well as ties. If you want to get leather stuff, you should get it here. At first, we were hesitant to buy because we have 2 more destinations, Venice and Milan, to go. We bought some and later ended up regretting not buying more because the prices here are much cheaper than elsewhere. Apparently the leather factories are near Florence. Moreover, Florence is a smaller town than Milan so things ought to be cheaper here.

From the Central Market, the lanes lead to San Lorenzo area where there is a basillica. Just continue walking and you can find the famed Duomo, or Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral.

The Cathedral is very impressive. If you are fit enough, you should try climbing up the stairs to the top of the Dome. The view is breathtaking

and you can see up close the painting on the ceiling.

But a word of caution: the climb is really killing. We had to make a few stops to rest. Even able-bodied young tourists had to stop and rest.

The museums here are very popular. We queued up for an hour and paid 10 euros each, just to get in the Galleries Accademia to see Michelangelo's most famous sculpture "David".

They don't allow photography inside, but with so many people inside, you can get away with one or two shots, silently of course!

There were also many other famous works inside. It was worth the waiting. On the next day we wanted to get in the Galleria degli Uffizi but the queue was even worse and we had to give up to spend the time on other places.

If you're on a budget and also running short of time, you should settle for the many freebies. Go to the Piazza del Signoria (near the Galleria degli Uffizi), a square in front of the Palazzo Vechio, Old Palace. Here you can see many famous sculptures, like Perseus with the head of Medusaby Cellini,

Hercules and Cacus , the Lion by Donatella, and the Fountain of Neptune. There is also a copy of "David" in the square.

This is Dante's house, now a museum.

There's another copy at Piazzale Michelangelo, a square up on a small hill where you can see a bird's eye view of Florence.

You should take a bus to this square from the town centre rather than walk. After this, we took a bus back to the hotel.

Everywhere in Florence we see David! We see him on the souvenir magnets, small plaster replicas and posters. We also see his naked body on aprons and shorts.

Vandalism is very common here as well as other places we visited in Europe.

Near the Piazza Signoria and Galleria degli Uffizi is the Ponte Vecchio.

The view from the famous Ponte Vecchio is very beautiful.