Milan....not Monte Carlo

When I first booked the Magic cruise – it was scheduled to dock in Livorno which is the closest port to Florence and Pisa……so I had plans to see the leaning tower for myself or perhaps visit Cinque Terre. But quite a while back, they changed the port first to Genoa – and then to Savona – neither of which really appealed to me.

So, Judy and I were planning on taking an excursion to Monaco as the best of the not so great options…..but I wanted to wait to book until we were onboard – and wouldn’t you know it had sold out.

Plan B was Milan – a two hour bus ride to a place that is known for designer clothing – most of which I couldn’t afford and wouldn’t fit me anyhow. But we figured it had a nice cathedral and would be a change of pace from the Mediterranean coast.

As it turns out – it was a wonderful excursion. First off, it was Fashion Week in Milan which meant that the people watching was firstrate…..I didn’t see anyone famous – but then I don’t follow fashion so who knows for sure. There were big screens set up in various plazas so that those without tickets to the various shows could still watch the runways – and we walked on a red carpet that was laid out along the main pedestrian drag.

And Milan has a beautiful cathedral – one of the largest in the world, in fact….along with the Castello Sforzesco, a 15th century castle that is one of the largest citadels in Europe

No, I didn’t buy anything – between the weak dollar and the value added tax – even a pair of Levi jeans was more than a hundred dollars….but it was still fun to window shop. A day well spent due to a happy accident for sure.

Milan