Buon Giorno!!!
1:12 p.m... time of arrival at Tirano. The next train to Milan would depart at 3:10 p.m. We had plenty of time, so we walked to a nearby restaurant to have lunch. The weather was perfect! 
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| Santuario della Madonna di Tirano |
After lunch, we just walked around the plaza next to Tirano station, had a gelato and took a few photos of the surroundings.
The lady at the Information Office showed me the way to the platform going to Milan. I ran after Mon who was already on his way towards the wrong platform. A man showed us where to get our ticket validated.
We still have time, so we went to the toilet first.. "Wehhhh! Squat. :(". The train arrived... and we suddenly missed the comfort of Switzerland trains. "Well, c'mon, don't be so fussy!"
The view was awesome but I guess, riding a train, for 2 consecutive days, made us 'feeling bored' at some stage. We thought, we'd still prefer driving.
The view was awesome but I guess, riding a train, for 2 consecutive days, made us 'feeling bored' at some stage. We thought, we'd still prefer driving.
We hopped off at Milano Centrale... We had around 5 hours to see Milan before our next train trip to Rome
I sent a message to Joy (a relative) previous night... just thought would be a good idea to catch up even just for a coffee. Mon tried to look for places with WIFI to check if Joy sent a reply to my message; while I walked outside the station and had a look for a map of Milan. There were rude, nasty guys on the street, harassing me while I was walking... I was a bit scared but I just ignored them and proceeded to the nearest newspaper stand where I managed to buy a map.
Meantime, Mon was unsuccessful in finding a spot with WIFI. Back to the station, we asked a lady on how to get to Duomo showing her the map. The said lady happened to be a Filipina and she helped us buying a retun METRO train ticket going to Duomo and back to Milano Centrale station.
Duomo di Milano is the cathedral church of Milan in Lombardy, dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente. It is an extra-ordinary example of Italian Gothic art and it took nearly six centuries to complete. The construction of the Duomo, started in 1386, was the work of various Italian, French and German artists. Not sure what is the ranking now but it is considered as one of those largest cathedrals in the world, the second church by size after St Peter's in Rome (at the time of writing). Outside were heaps of tourists taking photos and some locals offering pellets to tourists to feed the doves.
I sent a message to Joy (a relative) previous night... just thought would be a good idea to catch up even just for a coffee. Mon tried to look for places with WIFI to check if Joy sent a reply to my message; while I walked outside the station and had a look for a map of Milan. There were rude, nasty guys on the street, harassing me while I was walking... I was a bit scared but I just ignored them and proceeded to the nearest newspaper stand where I managed to buy a map.
Meantime, Mon was unsuccessful in finding a spot with WIFI. Back to the station, we asked a lady on how to get to Duomo showing her the map. The said lady happened to be a Filipina and she helped us buying a retun METRO train ticket going to Duomo and back to Milano Centrale station.
Duomo di Milano is the cathedral church of Milan in Lombardy, dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente. It is an extra-ordinary example of Italian Gothic art and it took nearly six centuries to complete. The construction of the Duomo, started in 1386, was the work of various Italian, French and German artists. Not sure what is the ranking now but it is considered as one of those largest cathedrals in the world, the second church by size after St Peter's in Rome (at the time of writing). Outside were heaps of tourists taking photos and some locals offering pellets to tourists to feed the doves. 
Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle II is a glass-domed arcade and is in the form of a cross... very elegant. One of the entrance is from the plaza in front of the Duomo. The construction started in 1865 and completed in 1877. It's said that its builder Giuseppe Mengoni died when the work was almost finished, falling from a scaffolding...too bad!!! They should dedicate a section of the building in memory of him, I thought. We just walked around and went out through another exit and kept on strolling, stopping over at one time to buy a souvenir.
We walked all the way down to La Fontana di Piazza Castello (Castle Square fountain), took a photo with Il Castello Sforzesco (the castle in Milan) as the background.It was a good walk.. It's getting dark.. the street was so busy with cozy restaurants with waiters outside, inviting tourists to dine... Still heaps of people at the Duomo with street sellers offering flying-glow-in-the-dark-kids toys.
We took the train back to Milano Centrale. We still had 2 to 3 hours before the next trip, so just decided to have pizza for dinner at the station. Mon encountered a funny experience. In Australia, we normally walked in a cafe. If you order latte, they'll give you a coffe made with espesso and milk. Well, Mon did order 'latte' at Milan. He was asked twice in Italian... if he really wanted just 'latte'. And with confidence, he said 'yes'. When he got his order, he told me.. 'How come 'latte' in Italy was white.. It tasted like milk!'... (well, this incident didn't finish here.. just wait for my next blog...)
"Oh, Mum! This is really cool... Just like in Harry Potter movie!", Justin uttered.
'Would recommend for travellers. 'Just paid Eur169 and we'd say that we definitely saved time and was cheaper as well, rather than staying a night at Milan and travel the whole day, the following day to Rome.
We booked a 3-bed compartment at Trenitalia... Inside were triple deck beds, power points, cup board with small basin for brushing your teeth, washing your face or whatever, 3 bottled water, 3 croissants and 3 face/hand towels. Better than spending a night on the plane. On the train, with bed, we're able to get a good sleep. Wake up call at 7 a.m.
At 11:20pm, we boarded the night train from Milano Centrale to Roma Termini... Our expected arrival was 7:27 am.
"Oh, Mum! This is really cool... Just like in Harry Potter movie!", Justin uttered. 
'Would recommend for travellers. 'Just paid Eur169 and we'd say that we definitely saved time and was cheaper as well, rather than staying a night at Milan and travel the whole day, the following day to Rome.
We booked a 3-bed compartment at Trenitalia... Inside were triple deck beds, power points, cup board with small basin for brushing your teeth, washing your face or whatever, 3 bottled water, 3 croissants and 3 face/hand towels. Better than spending a night on the plane. On the train, with bed, we're able to get a good sleep. Wake up call at 7 a.m. More photos:
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