24 Hour Layover in Milan

Not all trips are going to go as smoothly as planned. Flights get canceled, strikes occur, or bad weather can quickly throw your meticulously planned trip straight out the window. When this stuff happens, roll with it. That is what I recently learned on my 24 hour layover in Milan.

My trip started off with a bit of a curve ball. I never planned to have a full day in Milan. We were only flying there so we could train to Cinque Terre early the next morning. A day before our departure, I received an email from the airline company saying that our flight to Italy was canceled due to a national ground handling strike. Seriously? Oh yeah and by the way that was less then 24 hours before we were supposed to be leaving. This five-day weekend was already going to be jam packed with many stops so we could not afford even the slightest setback. Hunter and I scrambled to find any other means of transportation to get to Milan or even any other nearby city. We had already paid for our train ticket to Cinque Terre so there was no way we were going to reschedule that. Especially since we were going to have to shell out more money for a whole other plane ticket. Literally the only other option we had was to leave Barcelona at 6am the very next morning with a different airline. After booking our tickets and packing, I got about a solid 2 hours  of sleep before leaving for the airport.  Lucky me.

We arrived in Milan early in the morning with no agenda planned. The one thing I knew I had to see in Milan is the Duomo Cathedral, and hunter… well, he was more interested in finding some authentic gelato. So this is what we initially had planned to do in Milan until we could figure out what else we needed to see. We checked into our hostel, the Ostello Bello Grande (which I would highly recommend).   It was walking distance from the main train station. They greeted us with a free breakfast and a city map with all the main attractions. We decided the first thing we needed to do was find the Duomo Cathedral. This spot is also considered the main city center. We followed our map for a little ways until we saw herds of tour groups flocking in the same direction. We tagged along with them and before we knew it we were in the center of a main plaza with the Duomo flaunting right before us. I really am no architect buff by any means, however this church had so much Intricate detail that I was in complete awe over its beauty. The entire façade of the building was ornamented with biblical references in marble statues.   There was also winding patterns and designs that would be sporadically positioned throughout the many pillars and points.

We took a lap around the towering Duomo to see what else we could find. It didn’t take long to be reminded that we were in the fashion capital of the world. Every street we turned down was high end and name brand boutiques and every one was dressed to kill. Me on the other hand felt very under dressed even just walking next to the exquisitely dressed fashionistas that were strutting along side me. We window shopped in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which is a very high end shopping mall. We wandered past a small food stand called Luini Panzerroti with a huge line wrapping around the block. We figured it was probably worth a try while we decided what our next plan of attack would be. This place was more of a bakery selling different delicacies, everything from sweet to savory. Their main claim to fame are homemade pizza pockets called Panzerroti that have different fillings. Hunter and I both sampled their classic tomato and mozzarella, which was to die for. That long line said it all, this place was definitely worth the stop. Also we couldn’t complain about the price because it was only a few euros, such a score!

We then roamed over to Sempione Park. This is the kinda place you to go to just sit and enjoy the day. With all the scattered bridges and ponds, you can easily waste your time watching the clouds roll on by or doze off into an afternoon nap, which is exactly what we did.

We spent the rest of the day just roaming the city, however we still had one more item to cross off our list. Hunter found a gelateria called Cioccolat Taliani that we had to pay a visit to. Once again we ordered what was recommended on the board. This one was a fresh strawberry sorbet and chocolate gelato with a whipped meringue topping and a melted chocolate filled cone. I don’t even think I have to say how delicious it was from that description I just provided. Let’s just say, Milan knows how to make some killer gelato.

So, with our last task at hand completed, we had finished our city adventure in Milan. There really isn’t much I would have done differently. If there is anything I wish I could have done though, it would be to go inside the Duomo and also to see Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Last Supper“. But both these things should be booked in advance unless you want to spend your day waiting in a line. But for me, no thanks, I’ll get these on my next visit.

For this day being completely on a whim, I would say it ended up working out perfectly. Not only did I get to see a new city, but it was a day I would have never gotten to experience. So what did I learn from this whole situation? You just can’t plan everything when you travel. Sometimes things happen that are outside of your control and you just have to wing it. These unfortunate events can turn into something wonderful. The more I travel the more I realize it’s not about the destination, but it’s about the journey to get there.