Milano

Day 2: An early start due to jet lag this morning. Out of the hostel by 6.30 we made our way into the old city for a days sight seeing. The Duomo was first stop and our draws  dropped. Wow! A beautiful square to say the least, the Duomo is surrounded by classic Italian architecture, but hardly imposed on. The worlds oldest mall (Vittorio Emanuele 11)sits on one side with an amazing glass roof and impressive marble floor. Given we were there by 7.15 nothing was open yet so a cafe in a square just a few minutes away was our next stop to get the map out and plan the day out. Pleasantly surprised by how cheap, and good, coffee is here we ordered a Brioche (croissant) and a couple of lattes all for only 5 euros. Here we relaxed till things started to eventually open up.  Plenty of walking followed as we made our way round the old city.  Overall the inner circle of Milan was beautiful. We both enjoyed that Milan acted as a busy city rather than a tourist haven, as locals went about their business and we were hardly hassled by street hustlers. Jen thought it was perhaps because she looked local, twice being asked for directions by other Italians. I don't know why I wasn't asked... As we did our lap around the city, taking plenty of photos, we finally made our way back to the Duomo. It was 7 euros each to climb the stairs as opposed to the €10 to take the lift. It was not to surprising to see the majority of people taking the lift were American. Atop was a  stunning view and ridiculously intricate detail in the roof design. Each figure on the thousands of turrets was individual. Even the roof slates were marble, surely making it one of the heaviest buildings. Would highly recommend climbing the Duomo to anyone visiting Milan, even if it's your only touristy expense for the day, as it was ours.  A long day indeed, we made our way back to the hostel via central to book our train tickets for Venice tomorrow.