Spending an afternoon and evening in Milan before heading home from a great 10-day trip to Europe with some friends was something I couldn’t pass up.
Instead of taking a train to the city and heading straight to the airport on our last day in Italy, my friend, Amy, and I made the decision to train into Milan in the morning and spend an afternoon and evening walking around and enjoying one last amazing experience before flying home the next morning.
Taking the train from Cinque Terre to Milan was awesome. The scenery out the window was filled with lush fields, wine vineyards, and quaint villages. After arriving at the train station, we grabbed our bags and walked a couple of blocks to our hotel to check-in.
We now had the rest of the day to explore Milan and made our way towards the Duomo. Along the way, we saw some amazing buildings, did a little shopping, and just were in awe of how different Milan was from the small villages and towns we had been in for the past 6 days.
This was a city and it was evident as the Duomo di Milano came into view. This church was massive and absolutely stunning. Even with the restoration being done on some of the buildings, it was still just magical.
After taking a ton of pictures, I just stood and stared at it. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a building so beautiful in my life. And honestly, I probably never will.
Amy and I tried to walk around it and even take a tour, but due to some type of music festival nearby and the massive crowds, we figured we’d just head back to the hotel and come up with a dinner plan.
We definitely made a point to walk through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II to check out the amazing shopping and maybe grab a piece of Italy to bring home with us. But first, the statue of Leonardo da Vinci caught our eye. We weren’t in the mood for the museum but this was another amazing sight to take in along our walk.
After making our way back to the hotel, we decided to try this restaurant someone told us about -- The Small. It was just a 10-minute walk from our hotel and although they didn’t have any reservations available, they asked us to come when they opened for dinner.
We were there right as they opened and promptly seated near what I can only describe as a replica of Dobby, from Harry Potter. This place had a ton of character and artwork throughout the small dining room that was nothing short of amazing. I knew we’d thoroughly enjoy our experience here.
I lived in New York at the time of this trip and got into a discussion with the owner of the restaurant about the city. It turned out, we had a mutual friend and had a great time talking about some shared experiences.
So when the dinner crowd arrived, he insisted we stay longer and enjoy some wine and more of his amazing food. Several hours or so later, we decided we had enough and needed to sleep before heading to the airport early the next morning.
While we were only in Milan for an afternoon and evening, the architecture, history, and amazing food still stay with me today. I may never get to Milan again, and I’m so glad we had the afternoon to walk around and visit the Duomo. And years later, I think of how amazing the food was at The Small.
Have you ever had a short trip that just stays with you? Tell us about it in the comments.
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