Today we were lucky enough to take a tour with one of Trip Adviser's star tour guides for Mian, Giacomo.We started at the Duomo where he took us to the terraces to admire this beauty from above. Made completely from Marble, the Dukes of Milan donated a complete mountain to the building of the Duomo so that it could always be made and maintained in a common stone. We're pretty sure we saw the quary on the way to Milan yesterday. 400 years in the making it was finally finished by Napoleon. Today the golden Madonna on the roof has to be the highest point in the city. To overcome the limitations this places on new buildings, anything higher has a replica of her on their roof.
The terraces are full of ornate statues and buttresses, all built purely with the intention that only god would ever really see them. Artisans donated their time through the centuries to contribute to the Duomo, there is even a Michelangelo amongst the statues.
Giacomo led us down and into the Gallaria where Gab purchased her bag last night. Built originally as shopping arcade it's one of the oldest in the world, and has some shops and cafes from the original building time. It's also home of the oldest Prada store. The mosaics on the floor and roof line are beautiful. It was originally build as an arcade from the Duomo through to the opera house alla Scarla. We got a chance to visit the opera house and the boxes the home of society in the 18th century.
Next we took a trolly car ride to Santa Maria delle Grazzie to view The Last Supper. Giacomo told us all about the differences between fresco painting and the new technique Leonardo tried to invent for this piece and how this difference first led to the wall absorbing all the pollutants duling the work for centuries. How the various caretakers had tried to repair and repaint through it's lifetime until the 1970s when the began the 20 year project to restore it properly. Today it is kept in a hermetically sealed room to protect it further. Giacomo also pointed out all the symbolism in the painting, all figures cast in light apart from Judas. The grouping of elements in threes to represent the holy trinity, even Jesus depicted in a triangular shape, and Judas and Jesus reaching for the same bread. Leonardo worked on the piece for 4 years, but set up him Milan home and vineyards just across the road. 
Our final tour stop was the Castello Sforzesco, we grabbed a gelato and strolled over in the glorious midday sun. Giacomo explained about how Leonardo had designed the walls of the city with outer brick layers for strength and inner rubble for flexibility. He has explained back at the Duomo that until it was built most of the city was made from brick because there are no rock areas to quary around Milan. The castle was the same with stone reserved for the main fortifications and bricks for the rest. The massive granite cannon balls used when enemies laid siege were pilled up in the moat, massive things, and you can see the damage the inflicted on the fortifications - but at 6m think and in a cylindrical shape most cannon balls just glanced off the walls. Max was in his element when we got the armory museum, old guns, Knight armor, every scary medieval weapon you could think of, it was gold to him. 
We had lunch in a Milan version of the DJs food hall, but overlooking the Duomo, glorious in the afternoon sun. The girls loved the chocolate stand that featured it's truffled seated on the toe of a life size chocolate stiletto :) I tried the Paznerotti, delicious! Off we went shopping for the afternoon. The shops are endless, I hunted blue loafers while the Gab and the kids kept their eyes out for the Disney store they'd heard all about. We strolled and enjoyed for a few hours before going into one of the beautiful old pasticceria for afternoon tea. A bit more strolling in the afternoon sun and we met up with Mum and Dad for dinner in the Galleria - this time Risotto Milanesse - delicious.
The kids had a ball in the Piazza Duomo climbing all over the statue, in black marble it was boild hot to touch. We strolled home via a grocery store, and didn't realise it was so late (9:30) until we walked into the foyer of the hotel, this late summer sun is fantastic!
Tomorrow southern Lake Gardia, Verona and Venice!