Oct 31: Zurich-Milan

It’s a 3 1/2-hour train from Zurich to Milan, and we moved from clouds to sunshine over the course of the early afternoon. The train station in Milan is VERY FANCY - and very busy! There were tons of people bustling around. 





Before I left Zurich I reserved a single twin-bed room a few minutes’ walk from the Milano Centrale/the main train station. Single rooms like that were pretty common in my Italian travel experience, and while I did get tired of sleeping in small beds, I appreciated the economical offering. 


On my arrival, I walked the ~5 minutes to my hotel, checked into my tiny (but quiet, clean, and modern) room, and headed out to see a bit of Milan. I hoped to get to the cathedral/Duomo and even get to its roof before sunset, so I hopped on the subway for the 2- or 3-stop journey. 


SPQR is associated with Rom and I’m not sure why this was in Milan. 
Per the internet, SPQR stands for the Latin phrase, Senātus Populusque Rōmānus, the motto of the Roman Empire and translates to "The Senate and the People of Rome"




However! Wow, Italy had a LOT more tourists and people about that Zurich and Switzerland had. The tickets to the top of the Duomo were sold out, and the plaza was milling about with thousands of people speaking all manner of languages. I decided I’d take advantage of the last hour or so of daylight, and headed on foot back to the train station & my hotel. I passed through a very ritzy shopping center, saw some handsomely-suited doormen, meandered past the famed La Scala opera house, and generally took in the sights. 

Over the course of this trip I learned that a lot of train stations have an upscale food court nearby, usually called the Mercato Centrale. The Milan train station’s food vendors offered lots of little appetizer-sized items, so I ordered a few, and a beer, and sat down to do some people-watching before heading to bed. 


I was heading to Venice the next day and felt like I got what I needed from Milan - a break in my journey, some exposure to Italian, and the knowledge that I’d likely be seeing a lot more tourists than I had up to this point. 





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