Milan

Still trying to slow the pace, so booked 4 days in Milan, however our time here did not begin well. The apartment we’d rented had a strong odour, a washing machine we desperately needed that wouldn't start, a terrible bed, and an unhelpful host. After returning on the first day to the same smell, a still-broken washer, and then a power outage to the whole apartment, and with no response from the owner, we’d had enough. We packed up in the cold and dark and found a new apartment that was clean, comfortable, had power, a working washer and helpful hosts. Suffice to say, our review of the first place was scathing.

Anyway Milan itself was nice with a great tram system which we used over the four days.

We wandered through town and came across an iceskating ring with a very impressive skater on it doing some great spins and twirls, very impressive. Safe to say we stayed off the ice. Sue fell in love with the little Citroen's, Fiats and Renaults and their style of parking. Sliding very neatly into the tiniest of spots. They've been very prevalent in all the European cities so far.

We visited the Gothic Duomo di Milano Catheral and attached museum with some incredible sculptures, art pieces and led lighting. Very hard to get photos to do this justice with the huge scale of it all. This Cathedral was started in 1386 and evolved over the years and was not completed until 1965, nearly 600 years later.

It was surrounded by amazing Christmas market stalls, and we had the best carbonara ever!

We visited the main arch entry the Arco della Pace (arch of Peace) originally built for Napoleon. This led to an entry to the main park, this was a very peaceful walk with buskers on guitars, drums and an electic keyboard.

Also a couple of squirrel familes that were very friendly and not all that timid.

There some cool things wandering the streets.