Milan Day 2

The sun had gone in leaving us with a hot and humid day. Time to explore the west of the city and its churches. This is the Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio.

A huge building with what I was recognising as the northern Italian style of red brick and white fresco exteriors. I rather like the look.

This is the Santa Maria delle Grazie, home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper (the painting not a leftover sandwich and packet of Jaffa Cakes)

Even bigger and more impressive and seemingly very unspoilt and quiet, off the tourist tracks.

We wandered the pleasant and wealthy looking streets back to the Castello Sforzesco.

We were heading back to the Parco Sempione with a idea to climb this, the Torre Branca. Sadly it doesn’t open in the morning. 😦

We wandered about the park as its rather nice, up to the Arco Della Pace, and then decided we were hungry and needed to eat.

Onwards to the modern Piazza Gae Aulenti (more on that in a minute) and then down to a luxury food store called Eataly which had a fine cafe for lunch.

Milan has a few old trams like Lisbon.

Back to the Piazza. I’m a big fan of tall buildings and glass and steel skyscrapers so I liked it here. This tower block seemed be sprouting a forest. It was really odd.

The Unicredit Tower is the centrepiece and a striking sight. I rather liked it, as you’d expect.

We’d walked a long way so everyone wanted some R&R. I on the other hand wanted to explore some more so I was soon out beating the streets again.

I wanted to see one of Milan’s more unusual sights, the Torre Velasca.

It divides opinion in the city, some think its a unique and arresting example of contemporary modernist architecture, others just think it’s plain ugly. It appeared derelict and pretty much ready to fall down. Worth a walk though.

I got thoroughly lost on the way back although I did find a few more interesting buildings while I searched for a way back.

Another wonderful meal out to end our stay and a last lingering look at the courtyard of our apartment block.

And the grandiose Milan Central station before we hit the tracks to the South of France.