Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Musei del Castello Sforzesco, Duomo Cathedral & Galleria Vittorio


Our first day in Milan was nice and hot.  We drove into the city and began our day at the Musei del Castello Sforesco (Castle).  On the scale of castles and museums that we have seen, it is on the smallish/modern side.  Luckily we went on a free day that was part of a festival here in Milan, as there are several museums located in the castle and usually you have to pay for each one individually, good bonus.  Today Allan was harassed by a guy painted in gold who wanted £10 for a photo & then Taylor and Nicolette were also asked for £10 for a little cotton bracelet, we don’t mind tipping but this is the first time we have come across quite aggressive street vendors (made things a little interesting!).  We had finished the museum by 1.30pm, so we wandered through the city to the Duomo Cathedral.  It is a gothic cathedral and took 500 years to build, so was big and impressive.  We took a couple of photos on the inside before finding out that you weren’t allowed to take photos, oops!  We took a good look at the priests in the glass coffins because they looked so real, only to come home and research that they were!!  At least they put a silver or gold mask over their faces.  After the cathedral we walked through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (shopping mall).  This mall was built in the 19th century with a glass topped barrel-vaulted tunnel roof, the floor was designed with lots of little colourful tiles and the mall was home to expensive shops like Prada.  Finally we walked to the Arco Della Pace (arch).  Everyone was tired and ready for home by the end of the day, all in all a great day out. 

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