At the beginning of the Summer, a friend decided to go on a quick visit to the gorgeous city of Milan. Since I hadn’t seen her in a few years, I quickly booked a hostel and grabbed train tickets to see her. After much searching on Deutsch Bahn, Rome2Rio, and the EurRail site, I realized there was no great way to get to Milan by train. So, I settled in for a 14-hour train ride. 

The train ride itself was a bit exciting as while it crossed the German-Swiss border and the Swiss-Italian Border, armed guards walked up and down the aisles to check everyone’s passports. I’m not sure what was happening, but there is nothing more intimidating than men with AK-47s standing at either end of your train car while another escorts a man checking passports down the aisle (1). To add to the excitement, several Swiss military members were in my car with their guns which were not packed up at all. Were they loaded? I’m not sure, but it set my teeth on edge. 

Once I crossed the Italian border, I stopped focusing on the guns and more on the gorgeous scenery. 

My first stop was my hostel, YellowSquare Milan. From there, I took the metro and then walked to the Duomo as well as the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. I spun on the tiled bull in the Galleria but didn’t get a photo as I was alone. It’s a gorgeous area, but I was exhausted from the train ride, so I called it a night not too long after. 

The next day I organized a visit to see The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. It was glorious, and I’m glad I did it. From there, I walked to the Starbucks Roastery in Milan to caffeinate before returning to the Duomo Cathedral. If you are in Milan, I highly recommend you visit for cocktail hour. Enter in the front of the Roastery and head towards the stairs to the second floor. The first floor is a mix of tourists and locals, but the bar on the second floor is almost exclusively locals. Enjoy the smell of freshly roasted coffee beans — it reminded me of growing up near the S&D Coffee Factory — and a unique cocktail or coffee-based drink explicitly made for that location. If you go for happy hour and get a cocktail, they’ll even give you little cheeses and olives free of charge. 

Once I’d gotten my soy cappuccino, I walked back toward the Duomo Cathedral, where I got to walk on its roof. A quick disclaimer, I’ve seriously injured my ankle, and it hurts when I walk for a while, go upstairs, and am unsteady at the best of times. Despite this, I decided to save 4 dollars and walk up 250 stairs instead of taking an elevator. I loved it. The views are incredible. There are several more stairs after the initial 250, including some very worn, smooth, slippery stairs to get from the top to the bottom of the roof. With little to hold onto, I sat and scooching down the stairs. Did my pride take a hit? Yes, but it was totally worth it. I do recommend bringing a selfie stick if you go up here by yourself since you can’t use camera stands, and I wouldn’t trust propping it up on the marble banisters. 

By this point, my friend had texted me that she was close to Milan, so we arranged to meet at the Sforzesco Castle. I got there first and entered the museum, looking through all the intriguing exhibits on art in Milan through the ages. Once my friend entered, we decided to keep going through the museum. A mistake we would later regret. The religious art museum led directly to the Milan furniture museum, which led directly to a death-defying staircase, which led to the China museum, which led to the serving dishes museum, which led to the silverware museum (I am not kidding), which led to the musical instruments museum. We tried to turn back several times but were ushered onwards by the custodians since ‘the exit is right around the corner,’ but the exit never was. Finally, I was in enough pain to drop to the floor and sit on the ground. One of the security guards came over and asked if we were alright before telling us that because of a concert, we had to go all the way back the way we came. I don’t know how my friend did it, but with much pointing at me, she got us an escort out a side door into the fresh air. We had left the never-ending museum for good. 

Hungry, we headed back to my hostel, looking for a restaurant that looked good. We stopped at Trattoria Trippa, which had just had a table cancel their reservation. A godsend for us, we got to sit at the bar looking straight into the kitchen. Of course, it was a little weird since almost everyone in the kitchen looked like a younger version of my father. I’ve never seen a doppelganger for him, but there were at least 4 men in the back that could be his siblings. I digress, though. The food was heavenly. My friend and I each got an appetizer and an entree, sharing bone marrow for dessert. My ravioli was elegant and fresh, tasting like my mom had picked the ingredients from her spring garden that morning and then served it on the back patio overlooking the garden. The bone marrow for dessert, per the waiter’s recommendation, provided some much-needed fat from the lightness of the entree and led to us waddling out of the restaurant fully satiated. If you do decide to hit up Trattoria Trippa, make sure to make a reservation. I got the feeling that our luck in having someone cancel a reservation does not happen often, and no other tables were available. 

My friend had to leave early the next day, but I still had another day to enjoy Milan. I decided to go on a trip through the various Cathedrals there. I started at Sant’Eustorgio, before heading to San Maurizio, Carreto Chapel, San Simpliciano, Basilica di San Marco, and San Bernardino alle Ossa. So many churches, so little time. Each was incredibly unique, from the gorgeous paintings in the Carreto Chapel to the stark elegance of San Simpliciano to the bones ornamenting the San Bernardino alla Ossa walls. My favorite is the Carreto Chapel, and I highly recommend visiting it if you’re in the area. The paintings are everywhere and in fantastic shape, especially compared to the frescoes in Sant’Eustorgio. While Sant’Eustorgio’s frescoes are beautiful as well, they’ve faded over time, leaving one to imagine what it would have looked like hundreds of years ago.  

Between visiting the different churches, I also stopped at several cafes. In part to enjoy cappuccinos and in part because my feet hurt so much. I knew from my Aunt-in-Law that I needed to stand at the counter to enjoy my drink at the cafe to get the best prices, but I felt the extra few euros were well worth a seat.   

In the end, I really enjoyed visiting Milan, but I’m not sure if I would visit again unless I knew someone who was also there. Unless I was nearby and had reservations at Trattoria Trippa, of course (no, they aren’t sponsoring this, they are just that good). It reminded me a little of Atlanta, Georgia, in fact. Lots of fun things to do the first time you visit, and not much to do on second and third trips unless there is something or someone you’re looking to see specifically.

1. Or AK-47-esq guns. I am not a gun aficionado, but that’s what they looked like to my very untrained eye.