 |
| Zurich Train Station |
We
were up fairly early to have our breakfast and pack up. Waldemar picked us up and took us to his
house to say goodbye to Roma and Nick. Waldemar
then drove the three of us to Zurich
via the Autobahn. He’d had his GPS fixed
so he wouldn’t get lost. There was a
traffic holdup along the way but didn’t delay us too long. He took us to the Zurich train station. Our train left at 3.09 pm. As arranged, the station staff were ready to
help us on board with a lifting platform for me in my wheelchair. We had very good seats for the journey
through the Swiss Alps. The scenery was
spectacular. There was still some snow
on the top of the high mountain peaks.
There were so many picture postcards scenes. Unfortunately, I was so tired that I slept through some of it.
When
we arrived at Milan
station at 6.50 pm, the railway staff were waiting to help us leave the
train.
They were so very helpful to
us.
As arranged there was a driver
waiting to pick us up and take us to the Hotel Galles where we had a triple
room.
As we were being picked up by Lyn
and Chris early in the morning, this was our only opportunity to have a look at
Milan.
When we’d settled in our room, we caught a
taxi to the Duomo square to see the magnificent
Duomo.
Construction of this cathedral commenced in 1386
and was only fully completed in 1965.
Its magnificence defies description.
It is a truly awesome building and it was beautifully lit up so it
contrasted well with the evening sky.
Of
course, we could not go inside the building but it was wonderful to see its
exterior.
For the first of many times in
Italy,
we noticed the “hawkers” selling their wares.
They looked to be groups of migrants doing their best to make a living
from the tourists.
We were very surprised
about the hordes of mosquitoes that descended on us.
 |
| Duomo, Milan |
We
then went in to the
Galleria Vittoria Emanuele II arcade which is one of the
oldest shopping arcades in the world. Construction
began in 1865 and was completed in 1877.
It was named for the first king of the kingdom of Italy.
This is another beautifully elaborate
building with patterned tiled floors and painted ceilings.
Many “label” shops are there, but weren’t
open then.
However, the restaurants were
open and we had our first Italian dinner at Catto Rosso Ristorante – pizza and
a bottle of Italian red wine.
The waiter
very kindly gave us complimentary squirts of insect repellent to counteract the
mosquitoes.
Our meal was delicious.
We left and had a last look around the
cathedral square before getting a taxi to return to our hotel.
It was a very late night but worth it to
see
the main attractions of Milan.
 |
| Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II |
No comments:
Post a Comment