Thursday 24th September 2026
Turin to Milan
Up early and off to the train station for a typical Italian breakfast and then a platform hunt for our regional train to Milan- thankfully with no scheduled transfers.
Got good seats positioned next to the luggage racks and enjoyed a journey towards Milan where we followed the ranges on one side and flat rural land on the other.
Pretty uneventful trip to be greeted by an absolute throng of people at the Milano Centrale, it was a grand station and the crowds had that Rome Termini feel about it.
Managed to find our way out pretty quickly to a chaotic transport hub filled with the touts, taxi drivers, beggars and of course the homeless.
Vasco had the Mapsme App on and we quickly navigated the 10 minute journey to our ‘Hotel’. As fortune may have it our room was available at 1100am giving us a chance to drop the luggage and head off on our day tour of Milan.
The great irony of these last two days was a food lover missing the food festival in Turin and someone whose wardrobe comes from Gazman and Katmandu arriving smack in the middle of Fashion Week. Thank God Jane’s Milanesque colourful top fitted in a bit with the theme.
The place was abuzz with people dressed to the nines. Those not pounding the footpaths were being ferried around in fleets of black limousines with heavily tinted windows and fashion label signs signalling who might be aboard.
The cosmetic surgery industry must make a fortune up here with the LBGT community – not to be confused with the similar acronym involving sexual preference, this is all about having the best lips, boobs, guts and tits.
Jane developed a sore elbow and me sore ribs after being subtly reminded that there is a line between appreciating fashion and those wearing it to perving.
The one industry catering for men that you don’t want to be in is socks- seems shoes à la naturale are the go, no matter what outfits you are wearing.
The place is undergoing lots of construction and renovation with walking the paths requiring a decent sidestep to avoid hoardings, workers and rquipment. A step off the path is another realm with those bloody bicycles, especially the food delivery guys.
This attempt to beautify the city seems to be an ongoing battle against graffiti with any free wall or doorway in arms reach tagged in some form. It’s a fine line between an art form and vandalism.
There is an abundance of tourists as well and many of the popular spots like LaScala and the Doumo booked out by tours. We had to be content with a walk around the front and photo.
Ventured into the Gallerie Emanuel where Jane was in search of the bull mosaic . No guessing who stood on the bulls balls and spun around three times to achieve good luck- so the myth goes.
Had a short lunch break near the Doumo before continuing the sightseeing which included the expo for the European Volleyball Championships. Lots of interactive stuff including a competition to see who could jump the highest to perform a shot block. A group of young African guys sure demonstrated great athleticism which spooked me out of attempting to get two feet off the ground.
We continued further out of the centre of town to the Navigli area which is a mini Venice with a canal system, with motorised punts rather than gondolas. Both sides of the main canal are lined with cafes and restaurants all trying to outdo each other for the cheapest cocktails and Aperitivo offerings. The two bridges that cross the canal are covered in thousands of ‘lovers locks’ a phenomenon that has been embraced across Europe for many years.
We crossed the canal and decided that a little hydration with a couple of cocktails without food would be a nice way to ready us for the 90 minute walk back home. A Hugo, Limoncello and Cuba Libero did the trick and put a spring in the step.
Walked our way back through the university quarter where wreath wearing kids were celebrating their graduation with parents and friends in cafes and restaurants.
Closer to the University the bars were doing a roaring trade with students just celebrating life. A group in the park appeared to be doing some impromptu speed dating.
A walk through the backstreets had us passing through suburban parks where families were just starting to assemble for the evening ritual.
Backtracking through some of the high profile fashion precincts had us dodging more black limo’s dropping of glamourous groups to functions in eclectic venues.
The walk continued along streets full of cars. Mostly small ones who could navigate their way into the tiniest of parking spots. Then the motor cycles and bicycles who thought red lights and pedestrian crossings were mere decorations, making road crossing a game of roulette.
The public transport was a mix of buses, trolley buses and trams. The latter had some relics which could have been castoffs from the Melbourne system.
Our 90 minutes turned into nearly two hours when we finally arrived back at the hotel and crashed for a half an hour.
Then it was a last meal in Italy – pizza, mista salad, wine and beer- what else.
