[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 10 May 2015]

 

31 October 2014, Friday

It’s Day 7 of the trip, and after just one night in Venice, we packed our bags reluctantly and prepared to depart for our last stop in Italy – Milan. As our Train Frecciabianca 9722 was only scheduled to depart at 12:50pm (I didn’t book the earlier train because it was more expensive), we had some time in the morning to walk around and take one last look at Venice.

It was nice to stroll through Piazza San Marco early in the morning without the hordes of tourists. We covered pretty much the same places as we did the day before, turning back when we reached Rialto Bridge. Along the way, when we saw a nice canal or arch bridge, we paused to take photos, enjoying the scenery and slow pace.

We came across an artist who set up a booth showcasing his art works. He told us that he is over 60 years old and he used to teach art at an academy in Venice. Dad loved his watercolour paintings and bought one depicting a typical Venetian canal, costing about 40 Euros. It was pricey but very beautiful. Dad would have bought more if they weren’t so expensive, but it was a good buy. It now hangs proudly at our home, just beside the main door.

Finally, it was time to really say goodbye. We arrived early at Venezia Santa Lucia train station as usual, but to our dismay, our train’s departure timing had been delayed. There was no indication how long the delay would be, so we just sat around and waited for updates. In the end, it was delayed by about an hour, and by the time we arrived at Milan after the 2 hour 35 minute ride, it was already close to 5pm.

As the train pulled into Milano Centrale station, we didn’t have a very good first impression of Milan. The air was a bit smoggy and the buildings in the city appeared run down. The Airbnb apartment I booked was from a company instead of an individual. The company owned several apartments in Milan and they had an office opposite the train station. So I went to the office to get the keys.

The man who attended to me was friendly and gave me very clear instructions to the apartment. However, he didn’t accompany us there, so it lacked the personal touch of an Airbnb host. The apartment was not too far away and we managed to walk there in less than 15 minutes.

Airbnb apartment
Address: Via Lazzaretto, 15 Milan, Lombardy 20124
Host: Filiberto Bentivoglio / info@milan-rentals.com
Cost: S$208 for 1 night, for 3 pax

The apartment’s location is actually good – near the train station and the main shopping area, which was about 10 minutes walk away. Just that it was located in a neighbourhood that felt unsafe. We didn’t see anything bad going on, just a general vibe that told us it wasn’t as safe as the other cities. The apartment itself was also disappointing. It was big but old and tired looking. When I made the booking, I already expected it not to be as good as the others, because it was the cheapest among all the Airbnb apartment bookings. But it was still a letdown after the nice ones we have had so far. Thankfully, it was only for one short night.

We quickly dropped our stuff and headed out to see a bit of what Milan had to offer. As we grabbed dinner at Burger King, we saw a few kids on the street all dressed up for Halloween. The shops were all the same as what we had seen for the past six days, so we didn’t bother to do any shopping at all.

Maybe it was because night had fallen and there weren’t enough street lamps, but the impression I had of Milan as a glamorous and glitzy city did not materialise at all. Instead of posh boutique shops and beautiful buildings, I only saw the same old chain stores and dark alleys, with rowdy people and smokers at every corner. Milan certainly did not live up to its reputation as a Fashion Capital of the world.

The only redemption was the Duomo di Milano, which was truly a stunning piece of architecture. Its massive, gothic white façade dominated the piazza and took your breath away, even at night. It was very impressive. Mum said it was her favourite church so far.

We continued walking around the streets to see if there was anything good, but sadly, there wasn’t any. We decided to cut our losses and called it a day early, heading back to our apartment at about 8:15pm. Milan was disappointing, but thankfully, we only spent a few hours there and just one night’s sleep. Tomorrow would be a better day, as we would be crossing the border to Switzerland!