We left early Saturday and were very lucky to have clear weather as we flew over Austria - allowing us an amazing view of the Austrian Alps from the plane. So majestic...and so awesome. You could see tiny villages nestled in the valleys of the mountains...
Austrian Alps
I had found this hotel on TripAdvisor and it did not disappoint. From helping me with a booking snafu (which was my fault) to answering all of our questions to treating our kids like kings, we can't say enough good things about Hotel Berna. It is conveniently located near a metro stop and we loved our stay there. While the hotel rooms are the typical small European size rooms, they make up for it with amazing service and staff.
We dropped our bags in our rooms (which were ready at 11:30 a.m.) and headed to the Duomo area to explore and grab lunch. Our kids quickly became metro experts - which I love! This will make the travel in the other major European cities very easy.
It was overcast on Saturday and Sunday while in Milan, but no major rain - so we did not let that dim our spirits. We snapped a few photos at Duomo di Milano and avoided all of the peddlers with their selfie sticks and bracelets and God knows what else and grabbed some lunch.
Duomo di Milano
We found a crowded cafe and figured it looked as good as any to try and enjoyed our first taste of Italian food and drink! We we were also lucky to escape lunch with only a few minor bruises as a huge piece of metal from the cafe made its way towards my head. Thankfully, Blaine grabbed it with one arm and while he has a helluva a bruise, it missed my head!
I think the cafe should've at least comped us a few beers!
We watched a ton of entertaining street performers. The kids were laughing that some of the performers were giving away cigarettes if you made a donation. (We did not grab cigarettes.)
We kept Saturday short as we were all pretty tired and Sunday was scheduled to be a long one with a walking tour and a soccer match on the agenda.
After a quick breakfast at the hotel, we headed back to Duomo to meet our tour guide, Marco. He runs a free walking tour 6 days per week and you tip him at the end based on your enjoyment. (His tour is known as Walkabout Milano if you ever go! Highly recommend!) I have to say anyone who can keep 9 and 10 year old boys entertained as you visit churches and talk history is a winner in my book. He was funny and entertaining and very knowledgable. The kids loved that he showed them an Italian family crest with testicles on it, took them to a statue giving the middle finger, talked about vipers and to the church with all the skulls and femurs. And yes, he did talk about some of the more important aspects of Italian history in Milan, but this mom was thankful for some levity.
The kids were in opposite corners here and could speak softly and hear each other due to the acoustics.
The church with all the skulls
Lunch at Spontini's - LOVED their pizza!! Loved!
This statue is directly in front of the Italian stock exchange...No hidden symbolism there.
After almost four hours of touring, we headed back to our hotel to grab our tickets for the soccer match, but not before we had a quick gelato break!
This was my first professional soccer match and it did not disappoint. WOW! So crazy! So loud! Until you've experienced it - there's just nothing quite like it! And you've got to love a team that enters the stadium to "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns-N-Roses!
The game ended in a 0-0 draw, but what a fun night!
We got back to the hotel around 12:30 and planned to leave the hotel at about 9 a.m. the next morning as we spent Monday and Tuesday at Expo di Milano - the World's Fair. This was really the reason we chose Milan as our vacation destination. The theme for expo this year was food - which we love. And, the location was convenient - Milan.
With over 120 different pavilions at Expo we knew we would be pushing to see just a small portion. The lines are long at certain pavilions (Italy was over a 6 hour wait) - so we decided we would be smart and visit the ones that were near and dear to us or didn't have long lines. It all worked out perfectly! The kids grabbed their Expo passports and we were off to visit country pavilions and grab some stamps!
Passports for Expo 2015
The US Food Truck Nation had us eating BBQ - pulled pork, ribs, and brisket!
The kids became part of the Kuwaiti display
Chile
Poland
Malaysia
France - We were the first to enter the France pavilion on Tuesday
Inside the France pavilion. It was beautiful. It showcased all of their products in different waves and the waves all converged in the center of the pavilion like it was pouring into their cooking ware.
The UK display was all about the plight of bees around the world. It looked like a giant hive and was incredible!
Looking up while within the "hive"
Spain
Mexico - Home of the tastiest tacos el pastor and margaritas
We next visited the Future Food District which was essentially a model of a future supermarket - and you could actually purchase things. Every item you picked up/pointed to in the store showcased where it was grown/produced and then where it was processed. It was mind blowing! You could pick up a bottle of olive oil and know all about the product. One can only hope this technology is not far off!
The Tree of Life and some cute kids in cutouts
Vietnam
Tuesday evening we left the Expo thoroughly exhausted. We managed to visit over 30 different pavilions in two days and enjoy a lot of yummy food from around the world before heading back to the hotel for some much needed rest.
Wednesday was our last day in Milan and consisted of a rooftop visit at Duomo and an afternoon viewing of the Last Supper by Da Vinci. I think the kids were pretty churched out by then, but they were good sports about going on the roof at the Duomo and were attentive in looking for the things Marco told them to find (i.e. the statue of St. Bartholomew holding his own skin and the various gargoyles).
Look at the blue skies
Art inside Duomo
Statue of St. Bartholomew
The rooftop
Caleb catching a rest
Art on the roof
After the rooftop visit we did a little shopping next door - you know - Prada, Louis Vuitton, Cartier. Haha! More like window shopping and grabbing a cup of cappuccino.
We walked around some more and bought the kids a few more soccer jerseys. (My kids are soccer jersey addicts!) Then it was lunchtime. I have to say Cafe de la Ville was great - mainly due to the front of the house manager who went way above the average customer service. Lunch was delicious, he brought us shots of limoncello and nutella tarts on the house and we left ready to see The Last Supper.
Gnocchi - Yummy!
The kids stopped to watch this puppeteer who gave them balloon swords once they tipped him. I guess it's better than cigarettes.
We arrived at the monastery to see The Last Supper. You only have 15 minutes to spend looking at the fresco and we were appreciative of the information our guide provided us regarding the hidden symbolism. Well, the adults were appreciative - Grayson was just about at the end of his church visiting.
No pictures are allowed of the actual fresco, but we were truly in awe.
This tour also included a trip to two lesser known churches in Milan. One is known as the "Sistine Chapel of Milan" and the other has this incredible forced perspective arch inside of it. Both were very beautiful.
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