Milan: Fashion Capital Of Italy

October 25, 2011: We'll we woke up late on this chilly and drizzly Tuesday morning. Next agenda was to go to Milan, Italy. Doreen checked the weather forecast the night before and it says it will gonna be raining. We left Genova at 0800H and it was drizzling and the chilly winds emanates in the atmosphere.

We arrived at the Genova Platform Principe still raining, bought our ticket to Milan and left off with the train in platform 14. The trip lasted for two-and-a-half hours and it was smooth and uneventful. We still exchanged ideas about what we read from Wikipedia the previous nights and we were so excited on what to see there despite of the wet weather.

We arrived at their train station which is so huge. It has three floors and there were shopping stalls located within the station. Various designer stalls like Dolce and Gabbana, Prada, Armani, and other famous Italian Designers. Milan really stood with it's known name as the fashion capital of Italy. My friend Doreen was really excited about the shopping part.

Since it was raining and it's close to 1200H we decided to take the hop and ride bus to see some of the city's highlights as well as to avoided straining Doreen's fracture which made her limp in walking. We get in the bus after we grabbed some food and drank coffee from the nearby McDonald's at around 1230H.

The bus took us to different famous sites around Milan like the churches, museums, parks, architectural structures and buildings, etc. But the one that really left indelibly in my mind is the Milan's Duomo and the Shopping Center adjacent to it. The facade of the Duomo was very catchy and beautiful adorned with statues in every corners and spires of the roof. It hit me in awe and made me wonder how they built it. No wonder it was a UNICEF World Heritage Site because of the intricacy and meticulous process it was built.

Milan also has a rich history. Being the second largest city in Italy, Milan has a lot of promise to Italians considering that it was the number seat of fashion in the country and the second form Paris in Europe. The fashion industry had made it so famous and the city was teeming with beautiful and gorgeous models in the heart of the city.

There were also a lot of Filipinos in the place. Everywhere we go we saw and identify one. At the McDonald's where we ate earlier almost all the crew were Filipinos. It was really funny and fascinating.

The rain was still pouring but we still managed to browse the biggest shopping center adjacent to the Duomo. The Prada and Armani at the center of the building were facing at each other trying to probably denote to us about their extreme competition at each other.

We also tried some of their famous foods and pastas. My friend Doreen was been craving of the Osso Bucco but apparently on the restaurant that we went in they have no Osso Bucco. Too bad, but hopefully on our next stop my friend.

Despite of the rainy weather we still managed to eat ice cream and shivered underneath the rain. It was funny and amusing. We were kinda wet after we were done touring the whole city. The place was so huge but everywhere you go you can see a lot of designer stalls in each corners of the city.

I also noticed that the place was so diversified when it comes to a lot of things. There were different people of a lotof color and I conclude that Milan is also a melting pot of the country's employment because a lot of people all over Italy migrated to this place because of a lot of job promises and offers plus the lure of the fashion industry.

We finished our tour at 1700H and we walked towards the train station and waited for our trip back to Genova. The rain was still pouring but our itenirary is still in progress. Rain or shine there were no days left unwasted. It was tiring yet enjoyable and fun as well as unforgettable and full of memories.

Our Milan trip was just a short trip but we still learned a lot from it. From the rich history of their Duomo and how it evolved as the fashion capital. Another knowledge we acquired from traveling and it was so helpful though.

We arrived at Genova very tired and exhausted. The rain had stopped but we were so out of it. It seems that I am brewing some cold but I am crossing my fingers that I will be okay. Another day spent in the rain yet it was a very rewarding day. Hopefully more to come despite of the forecast about the storm hitting the Tuscanian region where we were focus our next few trips.

They say life will always go on rain or shine and that's what happened to our agenda today. Although we got wet yet we still made it. It was indeed a great experience to have done it despite some minor setback. Thank you Lord for making it realized.