I was so looking forward to Milan - Prada!, shopping, fashionable people watching and whatnot even though I was told there's nothing much to do there.
And yes, those people who told me so are right...
Perhaps we shouldn't be there on a weekend, perhaps we didn't explore enough thanks to the rain, I found Milan disappointing.
But the 5 stars hotel and of course Prada made it up somehow.
When I first shared with my aunt our itinerary, she advised us not to visit Milan and shortly after, she told me she won a 2 nights stay at The Westin Palace, Milan and she would give it to us. Until today, we don't know if it's the truth, haha.
The hotel is 1 metro station away from the train station and I thought why not take that instead of cab. It's relatively easy until we got out of the station and was lost. I didn't have a good map and there were several exits so you kinda don't know where you're facing. Doesn't help that it's a Saturday, only 1 or 2 shops were opened in that area and you can hardly ask anyone for help. We think that area is like our CBD - ghost town on weekends. We had to ask the police for help eventually.
After like half an hour I think, we found the hotel and upon check in, we were told we got an upgrade to a suite! But check in could only be later - does it even matter when you get a suite? And so I decided to go to the factory outlet first accordingly to planned.
To washroom first. Even that is grand.
Then to hunt for food. Like I mentioned earlier, most shops are closed and we didn't have many choices. We chanced upon this cafe and decided to settle lunch there. They served mainly coffee and bread and I settled for this homemade dish - it's a super cheesy soggy pancake which tastes almost like puke. Not a fan but the friendly boss, an old man who speaks limited English, left a good impression.
I think Mr. Grumpy's dish looks and tastes better.
This is the hotel and I shot this from the small park opposite it.
At the small park.
And yes, those people who told me so are right...
Perhaps we shouldn't be there on a weekend, perhaps we didn't explore enough thanks to the rain, I found Milan disappointing.
But the 5 stars hotel and of course Prada made it up somehow.
When I first shared with my aunt our itinerary, she advised us not to visit Milan and shortly after, she told me she won a 2 nights stay at The Westin Palace, Milan and she would give it to us. Until today, we don't know if it's the truth, haha.
The hotel is 1 metro station away from the train station and I thought why not take that instead of cab. It's relatively easy until we got out of the station and was lost. I didn't have a good map and there were several exits so you kinda don't know where you're facing. Doesn't help that it's a Saturday, only 1 or 2 shops were opened in that area and you can hardly ask anyone for help. We think that area is like our CBD - ghost town on weekends. We had to ask the police for help eventually.
After like half an hour I think, we found the hotel and upon check in, we were told we got an upgrade to a suite! But check in could only be later - does it even matter when you get a suite? And so I decided to go to the factory outlet first accordingly to planned.
To washroom first. Even that is grand.
Then to hunt for food. Like I mentioned earlier, most shops are closed and we didn't have many choices. We chanced upon this cafe and decided to settle lunch there. They served mainly coffee and bread and I settled for this homemade dish - it's a super cheesy soggy pancake which tastes almost like puke. Not a fan but the friendly boss, an old man who speaks limited English, left a good impression.
I think Mr. Grumpy's dish looks and tastes better.
This is the hotel and I shot this from the small park opposite it.
At the small park.
And then a cab to the factory outlet. It's about 6 euro and the cab driver didn't give us our change. We gave a 4 euro tip!
I know, this photo is not pretty but it was an honest expression.
This 'factory outlet' has all the branded stuff but are all clothes!
Mostly winter wear and not cheap at all.
I wasted 10 euro on cab and spent less than 10mins there.
And again, because it's a Saturday, there were no cabs in that area.
We didn't have a map too so we just walked aimlessly.
Walked into a supermarket, bought some junk and continue walking till we decided to stop at some random corner hoping to hail a cab. Waiting was all we did because cabs were either hired or not seen. Panicked a little and right at that moment, Mr. Grumpy found free wi-fi! Again, goggle map got us back to the hotel - I'm super impressed with goggle map!
Woo hoo! Checked in to find Ferrari champagne and chocolates for the honeymooners :)
Cheered me up immediately!
It's actually a small mall and not as fantastic as I thought.
Spin for good luck.
Duomo. Which I find the most magnificent among all famous churches/buildings we have seen in the 5 cities.
It was VERY crowded although you can't tell from this photo.
Even more impressive at night. It seems to glow on its own.
And this is the best hot chocolate I had in Europe.
You can't tell it was drizzling and that I was wearing 2 jackets and a long sleeve right? Well, the rain was a spoiler and we could only blame ourselves for not bringing brolly.
Settled for lunch at this restaurant and had our most expensive meal in Italy.
But also the BEST pizza I had in Italy!
The most expensive soup I ever had - 14 euro.
Decided to be childish and played with the biscuit.
As requested by Mr. Grumpy, Mac was our dinner.
Only felt safe when we reached the hotel...
Had a tiff because of the 18 euro water. Shall not elaborate, ha.
And then it was time to bid Milan and Italy goodbye.
The suite. Need I say more?
Day 1 plan in Milan was screwed up because of the factory outlet and we went to ask Conceirge where else we could go. He told us malls will be closed on Sundays and we immediately cabbed down to the Gallaria.
Cheered me up immediately!
Went in like a little kid who walked into a candy shop.
Looked at a couple of bags and fell in love with one almost immediately.
Looked at a couple of bags and fell in love with one almost immediately.
Mr. Grumpy fufilled his promise and I'm the proud owner of my first Prada.
I bought a matching wallet to go with the bag and was the happiest girl instantly.
Ya, very shallow I know.
It's actually a small mall and not as fantastic as I thought.
Most brands are not of any interest to me and of course, way beyond my budget.
Spin for good luck.
Duomo. Which I find the most magnificent among all famous churches/buildings we have seen in the 5 cities.
It was VERY crowded although you can't tell from this photo.
Looks a little like Venice don't you think?
Even more impressive at night. It seems to glow on its own.
Now, can you see the crowd?
I didn't feel particularly safe especially with the huge Prada paper bag.
People came up to us offering nuts to feed the pigeons (there were a lot) and trying to sell us friendship bands. We were forced to buy the bands because he just threw it on us. He had the cheek to ask for 10/20 euro! Must have thought we are stupid or since we can afford Prada, what's 10/20 euro... we gave him 2 euro instead.
I didn't like the crowd at all.
I didn't like the crowd at all.
There are many shops around the Gallaria, more affordable brands like Zara, Berskha and I spent a bit of time looking for the latter. Bought a pair of jeans without trying and I don't like it now. Because there wasn't much to do, we settled for dinner. It was also getting unbearably cold (at least for me).
And this is the best hot chocolate I had in Europe.
Tried to get a cab after dinner and the one and only queue was very long. Doesn't help that I was shivering in the cold. So we did something ugly. We "snatched" a cab before the queue. Ha, and a cab did stop for us.
And that's Day 1 in Milan...
Woke up to a rainy morning and I guess that explains the cold the previous night.
I don't know what we were thinking because on the 2nd day, we decided to walk instead yet refusing to bring a brolly even though it was raining.
You can't tell it was drizzling and that I was wearing 2 jackets and a long sleeve right? Well, the rain was a spoiler and we could only blame ourselves for not bringing brolly.
Settled for lunch at this restaurant and had our most expensive meal in Italy.
But also the BEST pizza I had in Italy!
Because it's the last stop in Italy, I told myself I must have pizza.
Didn't disappoint me at all :)
The most expensive soup I ever had - 14 euro.
And it's not even that tasty.
Decided to be childish and played with the biscuit.
Do I look convincing as an Ah Lian?
I went back to Prada again on Day 2 and was very tempted to just get something small.
I went back to Prada again on Day 2 and was very tempted to just get something small.
I didn't eventually... and after lunch, drizzle became rain and we were stuck.
Didn't make it to the castle but back to the hotel to surf net - gotta paid for internet - and slack.
As requested by Mr. Grumpy, Mac was our dinner.
Yes, I went all the way to Italy to have fillet o fish...
The walk from hotel to Mac isn't that long but it is the pubs district and a lot of blacks so it kinda looks dodgy and a little dangerous.
Maybe it was still early, it was pretty quiet and paranoid me didn't feel safe.
Didn't feel comfortable at Mac too because 2 men were staring at me and us (maybe because we were one of the few Asians there). Mr. Grumpy assured me we would be fine because if anything was going to happen, the 4 Korean girls would be in a more dangerous position.
Only felt safe when we reached the hotel...
Had a tiff because of the 18 euro water. Shall not elaborate, ha.
And then it was time to bid Milan and Italy goodbye.
The rain didn't stop. Yes, it rained for more than 24hrs.
Because of that, we cabbed to the train station instead of taking the metro.
And that's when we realised it's pretty near and didn't cost too much.
Should have done that when we arrived but we all learn.
If you are going to Milan airport, take the airport shuttle bus from the train station.
We were taking a plane to Paris since it saves us a lot of time and doesn't cost a lot more.
Tickets can be bought on the spot (not sure about availability) or prior.
We went with Malpensa Shuttle and it costs us 7.50 euro each.
Each bus interval is about 20-30mins (also depending on how fast the bus is full I think) and the ride to airport takes about 40mins, depending on traffic.
The shuttle bus saves you a lot of money and is really easy and convenient.
It's like we only went there for my Prada.
Thanks to the free hotel stay, we could splurge a little, thus enjoying more cab rides and an expensive meal.
I would suggest a one day stopover (not on Sundays) if you want to visit or if you mainly want to shop but of course, I may be wrong.
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