Another rainy day in milano so it was nice to sleep in and have a lazy start to the day. After a coffee served by one of the hottest Italians I've seen yet, I picked a couple of trams to catch to their terminus to see more of the city, getting off if I saw things that interested me. My lunch spot was a fantastic discovery - Milan goes all out with buffet brunch on the weekend but I did not have any suggested places to try. I stumbled across a chocolate cafe that...

I wanted to see a bit more of the real Milan today as I only saw a very touristy version of the food, the shops and the city yesterday. I bought my first subway ticket (always a bit daunting in a strange place in a different language) and caught the train to the duomo as it was the closest point to where I wanted to go - the canal district. This is a buzzing local neighbourhood that still has some existing canals and ancient monuments scattered amongst more shabb...

My most social day yet in Italy! I caught up with my breakfast room friends and compared body aches after our hiking efforts yesterday. I also had a chance to talk for a while with my hosts who are a lovely young Italian couple, the father in law has been bragging every morning that the expresso he makes is the best in Italy. My train to Milan did actually depart (there was some doubt due to the regional strike), and I travelled in a compartment with a Victoria...