Milan & Genova: 20-22 June
I went for a very short trip to Milan and Genova - I really like Italy! I have visited Italy every year in recent times. I find the people friendly and relaxed; the food good; and the climate excellent! When I visited it was really nice and sunny - a good excuse to eat lots of ice cream.
Here's a view from the plane from Paris to Milan... there were some great views flying over the Alps...
Corso Vittorio Emanuele II is one of the main shopping streets in Milan. Milan isn't one of my favorite cities in Italy - there isn't much to do there except go shopping, but there are some nice cafés:
Another main street in Milan is Via Dante - it runs from the centre of the city, near the Cathedral, to the castle:
Here's a nice collage-like poster advertising cultural events in Milan - there seems to be lots going on...
The castle is impressive with a nice grass courtyard...
Just in front of the castle is this big fountain:
On Via Dante there are lots of cafés and restaurants, though they seemed to cater mostly for tourists. I found a really nice little café/restaurant in one of the back streets just near to the cathedral:
The arcade is the main shopping area in Milan with all the most expensive shops. The arcade is a nice place to come for the shade and just to window shop:
Just across from the arcade is the cathedral with its impressively intricate roof and fine stained glass windows:
On Saturday I made a day-trip to Genova - it was nice to visit somewhere on the coast. The trip on the train was cheap but not very good - I had to stand for about half the 2-hour journey; the train was so crowded.
Genova is a much smaller city than Milan, but it is nonetheless impressive with its tiny and ancient streets and hidden squares:
For lunch I went to a small and very local restaurant in one of the backstreets. The speciality of the house was farinella - it reminded me of polenta. Thhe restaurant served 'filtered water' (looked and tasted just like tap water) at one Euro a carafe and a strong expresso!
The port at Genova is very nice and peaceful - a good escape from all those narrow streets. The only thing that didn't impress me in Genova was the autostrada (motorway) that runs right along the sea-front of the city...
Via Garibaldi is especially impressive, with all its Palazzi (palaces):
In the afternoon I went to a small village on the coast called Portofino. It's about 30 minutes south along the coaast road from Genova. The village is at the end of a small coast road and is full of nice little houses and cafés.
At the end of the day I headed back to Milan on the train - though I would have liked to have stayed longer.
On Sunday I just had time for one last short visit to the centre of Milan to do some last-minute shopping and see a few more sights...
posted by James at Wednesday, June 25, 2008
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