Bonjourno Milan!

Last weekend I was lucky enough to visit the beautiful city of Milan for the first time. The reason for this trip was to watch my 10 year old play with his team, Southampton Academy. On the first day they were against the mighty Inter Milan and unfortunately they lost 9-1. Both teams were equally as strong, but on this day Inter Milan managed to finish their goals.

Myself and the mum’s flew out Friday in preparation for the match on Saturday and had some free time in the morning before kick off at 3.30pm. On arrival at Linate airport we caught the bus into the center so we could get the the tube to Bresso where we were staying. As far train stations go, Centrale was breathtaking. It had incredible stonework and really high ceilings. It reminded me of the Grand Central Station in New York. We used the local transport of buses and tubes and found it so easy to get around. The cost of travel was really cheap too, not the sort of prices we pay in the UK. The main place I wanted to see Milan cathedral or Duomo and it didn’t disappoint. The Gothic cathedral is over 600 years old.

 Duomo

The architecture was magnificent, it always amazes me how in the time it was built how they created these beautiful buildings with the tools they had. The Cathedral is on a large square and next to it is a large shopping arcade, Galleria Vittoria. It first opened in 1877. This building it’s self was outstanding and homed the likes of Prada, Armani, Louis Vuitton to name a few.

      Galleria Vittoria

You can ‘t help people watching as everyone looks so elegant and sophisticated. Here we enjoyed a delicious lunch and of course I opted for the four season pizza.

We were very lucky with the weather all weekend and on the second day we traveled by taxi to watch the boys play in northern Milan. It was around an hour’s drive and you could see the scenery changing and getting more hilly. Italy is such a beautiful country and it has made we want to travel around it more and visit all the other cities.

The second game was a lot better and after being 2 – 0 up the final result was 2-2. Still the boys had a great day and another fantastic experience to look back on. They are very lucky to be able to have this opportunity and experience the culture of these European cities. AS well as playing football the club always take them on tours of the cities and visit a football stadium.

Once the game had finished we said our goodbye’s and headed for the train to the center of Milan. We walked around some more and came across a huge castle called Castello Sforzes. This was originally built 1360 and is not a sight to be missed.

I hope you enjoyed reading my Blog as much as I enjoyed visiting Milan.

Emily