Destination #42 - Milan, Italy

After spending a day on a ferry and back in Athens, I was making my way to my final country and the one I have been looking forward to the most in the last 2 years, Italy.

I caught an earlyish flight out and stepping off the plane in shorts and flip flops, I think I forgot that rain existed. My guess is that Zeus was punishing me for leaving Greece. After checking into my hostel, I got a free glass of wine so that was a bonus. When I had left to go explore the city, it wasn't raining anymore so I decided to walk towards the city centre rather than take the metro. This was a big mistake. It was torrential downpour and it went on for what seemed like eternity. The odd thunder boomed here and there as well. A 40 minute walk turned into probably a lot longer as I stood under cover for some time waiting and waiting for it to let up. All I could think was "Take me back to Greece".

Once I finally reached the Milan Cathedral, it did ease up a little bit. I took a few quick photos and then quickly walked over to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of the world's oldest shopping malls. Around the square in which the cathedral is situated, they had a bunch of things set up for the Champions League final that took place the day before. I had just missed it. I took a stroll around and eventually stumbled upon a joint that did pizza by the slice. It. Was. Amazing. The slice was huge, it was thick, it was fresh out the oven, the bottom had just a slight crunch, and the amount of mozzarella was generous. It immediately made up for the rain. And then what do you know, the skies parted and the sun made it's appearance at last.

I then made my way over to Milan's sculpture of a middle finger that sends a message to the world of bankers.

I also went and saw the Sforzesco Castle and strolled around in the Sempione Park before making my way back to the hostel (as it started to rain again) to enjoy the free dinner they had on and relax. Not a huge day out, I know, but it legit poured buckets for the rest of evening so I was pretty much confined to the hostel.

Next:
Venice
Cinque Terre
Rome
Sorrento
Assisi
Florence