Pa Lu Bin Cheng: Fashion Week in Milan, Italy

1st of all i got nothing to do with Milan Fashion week, i just happen to be there during this year's Fashion Week...haha! it was in September, we headed there because the flight ticket was so cheap that we just can't say no to a short 5 days trip. Come on it was like 11Euro for 1 way(exclude tax) crazy right? Funny thing was that we didn't even know it was Fashion Week until we were in Milan.

If i'm not mistaken the flight ticket from Leipzig - Milan(Bergamo) including the return ticket is about 50Euro / pax. From Dresden (that's where we lived) to Leipzig we took the train (about 1.5 hours to the Leipzig Airport) as we travel in a group of 4 person we bought the Sachsen which cost us less then 20 Euro / pax for 2 ways. Talking about less then 80Euro / pax and we got ourselves a good deal to Milan.

From the Bergamo Airport we then took a bus (1 hour) to Milano Centrale train station Cost us about 5Euro/ person. Don't worry about getting information about where and how to buy the tickets, you'll see it as soon as u get off the plane...trust me! We then took the Metro to our apartment

our 2 bedrooms apartment in Milan for 5 days

with a small kitchen(but we cook alot so we only spend like 10Euro / person for the whole trip on breakfasts and dinners only lunch we had to eat out), and a big bathroom. It was superb and very clean, There was also Wifi. Cost: 20Euro / night for 1 person

how to buy the Metro ticket?

one can either buy in a tobacco stores or at the machines

Prices:

1 day ticket - 4.50Euro

2 days ticket - 8.25Euro

tickets for 10 Urban Journeys - 13.80Euro (*meaning u can only use for 10 times not for 10 days)

1st stop, Santa Maria Delle Grazie.

This church and Dominican convent is where Leonardo da Vinci's mural of the Last Supper located

We checked out alot of sites before we came regarding how and where to buy the tickets to see da Vinci's Last Supper and it was too complicated as they don't really have an official site only from 3rd party. So we decided to screw that and try our luck when we get there.

The office that sells the tickets is this building on the left of the church. We were lucky as there are still ticket sold for that day itself. woo hoo!

price 6.50Euro :). The mural covers an end wall of the dining hall at the monastery (which is not in the church )

Seeing the Last Supper was one of the highlights of this trip. It was really really impressive...it's just mind blowing. A MUST VISIT in Milan

ok back the the church, the interior

beautiful and not surprised that this church Santa Maria Delle Grazie (or Holy Mary of Grace) is a UNESCO World Heritage sites

i love the warm color on the ceiling

the convent was completed by 1469 while the church took more time

the cupola

courtyard

small chapels

coffee break! I'm not ever a coffee drinker but i got to say i only drink Italian coffee

or coffee made by Italian... i don't know why...they taste better. From not more then 5 cups of coffee a YEAR to 3 cups a day in Milan

after a nice coffee break we hen took the tram to Duomo or the be specific @ Tram station Dante Cordusio

love the architecture here :)

there it is, the Duomo of Milan (Milan Cathedral)

......

this cathedral actually took 500 years to complete. YUP! 500 years

us @ II DUOMO

a sneak peak of the interior of the cathedral

due to the amount of pictures i took of this cathedral, i had to make a separate post specially for the cathedral. Stay tune!!

just next to the cathedral is the famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

the spectacular 19th century shopping arcade, also known in Milan as " IL Salotto"(the living room)

beautiful floor design. There is also a bull "toro". Legend tells that if a person put its right heel on the bull's genitals and turn on himself 3 times, this will bring good luck. As this practice gain popularity, it actually cause damage to the mosaic, a hold developed on the place of the bull's genitals

us @ The Gallery :)

stunning stunning!!! this place is the oldest shopping mall in Italy

price list from one of many fancy restaurant in the Gallery.

The only restaurant we can afford here is McDonald's! lol

Apparently there won't be any McDonald's soon because in 2012 (this year) McDonald's was prevented from renewing its tenancy in the mall, after 20 years of occupancy. So We got the mall's 2nd Prada store instead.

i love Milan because everything is pretty

luxury looking apartment with beautiful foyer

even the cellar window shutter look elegant

awww little Babes!

another interesting place to visit in Milan is the Castello Sforzesco

me @ Castello Sforzesco

used to be the seat and residence of the Duchy of Milan

the castle is huge

and it's one of biggest citadels in Europe. It was also demolished and rebuilt several times

it's Free to roam around the castle there are only small fee for the castle museum

price ----> http://www.milanocastello.it/ing/info.html

lovely courtyard

the castle museum, Museum of Ancient Art

info's on the castle museum ----> http://www.milanocastello.it/ing/permanenti.html

perfect! and nicely trip hair :P

ceiling painting

the tapestry room

i'm pretty sure he got a nose job

one of the most beautiful room of the museum is The "Sala dell'Asse", designed by Leornardo Da Vinci

mulberry tree

the monochrome decorations on one of the wall, it part of the original design by Leonardo da Vinci

another highlight in this museum is this marble sculpture by Michelangelo, Rindanini Pieta

it's Michelangelo's last and unfinished work that he worked on from 1550s until the last days of his life in 1564. The sculpture represent Virgin Mary mourning over the body of Christ

armour, swords and firearms from the middle ages to the 18th century

some furniture exhibition

tip: don't go during lunch time...some areas are closed

right infront of the citadel is a huge park and at the end of the park is the Arch of Peace

the park

Arch of Peace, Porta Sempione. Look almost the same like any of the Arch of Peace in Europe. Too bad can't get a better shot of it, because of the tent in front of it

some random shots of the city

Milan street in the evening

Santa Maria Delle Grazie

Duomo looks even more magnificent at night with all the lights up, you can even see the stain glass design. More pictures in my next post

Duomo Metro Staion is just next to Duomo

The Palazzo Brera, an 18th century Neoclassical

It houses the Pinacoteca di Brera, a museum contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings, the Academy of Fine Arts founded in 1776, and the Braidense National Library, founded in 1770

entrance fee to the Pinacoteca di Brera: 9Euro/ adult and reduced price: 7.50Euro. It's slightly on the pricey side

for more infos -----> http://www.tourism.milan.it/wps/portal/!ut/p/c1/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz94NQ8_Qj9KLN4c0tDv0BnCxMD_yAjUwNPA_9gD09XR2MDAxP9cJAus3g_f6NQNxNPQ0MLM1dDAyMzDxMnnzBPA3cXY4i8AQ7gaKDv55Gfm6pfkOHlUe6oqAgA29PRKg!!/dl2/d1/L0lHSkovd0RNQUJrQUVnQSEhL1lCWncvZW4!/?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=en/situr/home

the area is quite big

time for a coffee break

or gelato with waffles :)...oh yum. Absolutely delicious

the Basilica of Sant' Ambrogio (St. Ambrose)

This church is the most ancient churches in Milan, it was built by St. Ambrose in 379-386, in an area where numerous martyrs of the roman persecutions had been buried. the 1st name of the church was in fact Basilica Martyrum

interesting column design, with animal motif

in August 1943, the American bombings heavily damaged the church

the interior

the Marble Ambo(for the reading of Gospel)

there is a crypt where lies Ambrose and his follower

it is over 1600 years old!

on the left upper corner, is the Mosaic of Christ Pantokrator from the 13th Century

treasure of St Ambrose...we didn't go in that one...you'll need to pay but to visit the church itself it Free

original painting on the wall

small chapel, under the alter is the remains of S,Satiro, brother of S. Ambrose

Me @ Basilica of Sant.Ambrogio

nice ride ^^

i have no idea what this is but it does look like a mini castle

When u say Milan, it's always relate to fashion and of course shopping. Besides the famous shopping area (Quadrilatero d'Ora or known as golden rectangle) bound by 4 main street- Via Montenapolene, via Monzoni, Via del Corso and via Senato that we all know, This open air market (Mercato viale Fauche) isn't your average market. You get all sorts of stuff here, shoes, clothes, scarfs, bags, winter jackets ,suits, flowers, vegetables, fish, meat.....etc, etc, etc. I think the market is only during friday and the weekends. A must visit!!! it's really fun to see the energy and people busy bargaining, trying out shoes. This Market does reminds me of Apollo(an open air market) market back home in Penang, which sells all kinds of things. I guess us Malaysian and the Italian do share a common culture :)