Milan received some rain overnight, which was good, as it cleared the air somewhat. I certainly know I got a good nights sleep, and the others seemed to like their sleep in also. We quickly had some breakfast, and decided to go down to the station to catch the hop on hop off bus to the Duoma in central Milan. This cathedral is something to see and the Italians are presently giving it a bit of a makeover by cleaning all its exterior of the pollution that settles on the stone.

The square in which the Duoma and Galleria are located in was packed full of people, mainly tourists I assume. (It was also packed full of pigeons as well, so Dianne decided to get one perched on her arm). I also noticed that Phillipe McDonalds cousin Luigi has built his own franchised outlet in the Galleria. This was done long before the Galleria was built, and unfortunately the Galleria builders did not use the same architecture of the original building. Instead we ended up with this very large Galleria, finished in beautiful polished marble, with a central domed ceiling. It was built between 1865-1867. It is one of the worlds oldest shopping malls, and it is certainly worth seeing.

On the ground of the central octagonal, there are four mosaics portraying the coat of arms of the three capitals of the Kingdom of Italy (Turin, Florence and Rome) plus Milan's. Tradition says that if a person spins around three times with a heel on the testicles of the bull from Turin coat of arms this will bring good luck. This practice causes damage to the mosaic: a hole developed on the place of the bull's genitals.

I have put picture of the girls on the coat of arms. There is one correct way to do it. You choose the correct way. (God help the bulls testicles)

The Galleria then leads onto La Scala, the famous opera house for which Milan is renowned. After spending a considerable amount of time in this area, we decided to take another trip on the hop on hop off bus, but a different route. It was after lunch so we hopped off in an area where there were quite a few restaurants, some even sitting on the river that passes through.

Eventually we settled for this quaint little place which served up a great meal. The girls wanted to spend the afternoon shopping, as this opportunity is not likely to arise again. We found our Bus Stop and then decided to walk to the Galleria. Brian and I were getting confident with our navigation. We passed a very expensive area on the way, and we both breathed a sigh of relief when we got through without any attack on our credit cards. The walk was great, as we got to see areas you wouldn't normally see. Once we got back to the Duoma we split up. The girls headed for Buenos Aires (which is a street renowned for its shopping) and we decided to walk back to our bar behind the Excelsior Hotel. (it is actually named the New York Bar, not the Hollywood Bar). The girls said they would be back at 5, so there was 3 hours to kill, which I thought we did a great job of. The girls were late, and they were happy that they had purchased a few bits and pieces.

We sat for a while, and enjoyed a couple more drinks with the girls, then we decided to go back to the unit. We needed to be out early in the morning, so there was a lot of work to do to make that happen. Tomorrow was commuting to Como, then catching a bus to Bellagio. We have heard a lot about Lake Como, and we are looking forward to the journey.