We made it into Milan central just a little more than three hours before his flight. We still had to take another train to the airport that is a further 40mins train ride. We were very glad by this time that we had decided on the earlier train in the morning. Vincent and I had decided to see Dominique off airport to make sure he could get onto the plane.
We arrived just a little under two hours before his flight depart. He checked in and soon was off through the custom. Wasn't much time to say farewell to another one of our travel companion.
The feeling is strange, we started off the trip with two people and now again we are back down to two. However it felt different now, as if the trip of two months has changed us already. I felt more seasoned as a traveler on the road, more ready to move on, more ready to keep going as we part ways. Perhaps another factor is that its not so hard as we know we will also be back home soon too.
I was hungry by now and we decided to eat at the airport before we head back to central Milan. We had lunch at Autogrill which served Pad Thai! It was made by an Italian lady but still tasted more Asian than much of the food we've had so far!
There is free wifi service at Autogrills in Italy. But much like McD, if the connection does not work, don't expect much assistance from the staff. I was actually blatantly lied to when she couldn't help me to say that wifi was not functioning that day even though I was obviously seeing the available signal on my phone.
On the way into and out of the airport, there is a little art display just as you enter the terminal. It was a little scifi but also quite fantastic. Mind you, the water sprayed down could be anything from plain water to disinfectants... who knows!
We took a train back to the central station after our lunch. This is another good thing about the eurorail pass, we were able to take as many of these trains as we like and not having to pay extra for the same day travel.
Milan central station is quite beautiful, some boutiques as well as other shops line the station. However it was a little bit more difficult to find the bus station outside of the building.
We had to walk around half the building before we found bus stop no. 60 which will take us to our hostel, Zebra Hostel.
The train and buses in Milan can be quite confusing as their stops are sometimes situated in the middle of the road, at other times they are so minimally marked that I think only locals know where each stop is.
The Zebra hotel is not located close to the bus stop. A walk of 15min down the road was required. We very nearly missed the hostel as all the signage the hostel had was the little Zebra on the window. What made it worst was that next to the hostel is a baby product shop, I just thought the Zebra was part of the shop's display. Luckily Vincent thought it looked too similar and we decided to investigate.
The hostel is another side of the world compared to it's exterior.
As soon as you stepped inside you know you are at a youth hostels. There was a bar, young people lounging around serving the net on their laptops. A disorganized kitchen in the background. Yes, we were at the right place.
This time around we are staying in a 24 people room. A bit of an experience as it is nearly the same as staying with a classroom full of people. We didn't know what to expect as we walked into our bedroom. Turns out it is a bit like some of the youth camp sites in New Zealand. A large room with lots of bunk beds and lockers. We were lucky to be allocated to beds close to a window as there was only one fan in the large room and I'm sure the room will be very hot at night as soon as it is all occupied.
Once we dropped all our luggage off we headed to one of the main historical attractions of Milan. The Piazza Castello.
We had gotten a Milano Card at the trains station that allowed us unlimited travel on the public transport for 72 hours. Therefore we took the metro this time to save us walking and to have a little relief from the afternoon heat.
We took walk in Piazza Castello, I didn't read up on the history of this place but it is a pretty grand palace situated in the middle of the city. The walls are high up with a large moat separating it from the rest of the ancient world. I can imagine the lions, tigers, panthers and wild boars that may have roamed the wide moat to scare off any attackers. In this modern age it seems to be the home of much smaller felines, stray cats wander the moat below.
After our walk we visited the information centre and got a map of the region as well as suggested places for visits. Turns out there is a large art gallery inside the castle for only three euros.
As the day was getting late we decided to skip the museum and instead visit the Sempione Park just behind the castle.
First some watermelon Granita to cool off. Delicious and real watermelon flesh blended into a cool (but not too sweet) ice drink. Simply refreshing!
There is a beautiful lake just inside the park from where you can see the Arch de Triumph in the background.
What is with the Europeans and their Arch of Triumphs? They seem to be everywhere!
After the park it was time for some dinner. But first we had to have a Stroll through the Brera district. The chic and trendy shopping streets of Milan where up and coming designers have their boutiques.
There were a lot of glamorous and fashionably dressed people walking around. Much of the boutiques were serving out champagne and finger food. I felt most especially under dress next to all these tall, skinny and fashionable women strolling on the street with me! We did not dare enter any of the shops.
Turns out it was Vogue fashion night out for the whole of Milan! No wonder all the fashionable people and beautiful people everywhere!
We managed to find a terrific chinese take away smack bang in the middle of all the action. The meals were only around 3.90 euros per dish! We got a nice seat just on the window and settled down for some people watching.
To go with our fried rice and noodles was LV, Gucci, Ferragamo and Prada. I have never seen so many big house labels displayed on the same section of a street. Zurich main street is nothing compared to Milan. No wonder it is the fashion capital of the world!
I was curious because even very young girls were toting a LV bag, is it cheaper in Milan or is it a requirement, a turning of age regulation to own at least one big house brand bag to live in Milan city?!
Well filled stomach wise with good old Chinese takeaway and well filled visually with terrific bag selection, we headed back to the hostel.
The hostel is a whole new place at night, as soon as the doors open we were greeted with the sounds of pounding music, neon lights. People were milling around holding beers. There were people dressed to hit the clubs tonight! It did not feel like a hostel at all. A very unique environment compared to all the other hostels we have stayed in.
Here is my description of the showers as I think it is a must to let you know all the gritty details of some of the more 'interesting' places I've visited.
Ok, so there are four showers on the girl's side. One with a massive open window in the stall. As it was the largest and roomiest shower I went over to see if I can close the window. Turns out there is no window to close. It is just simply an open gap in the wall. So I resorted to the next one. The stalls are so small one has to kind of squeeze and turn to avoid the door as well as avoid getting ones clothes wet by leaning against the wall. After this mission was accomplished, the next task was to actually close the door. I found out later this was not a problem on the boy's side but all the stalls in the girl's bathroom did not have doors that shut properly. This was a slight issue as the one i choose actually opens directly in front of the bathroom door which is kept open to the corridor.
Eventually I figured out if I hung my cloths over the door then the clothing weights will keep the door closed but will also get wet once I turned on the shower.
Turns out the latter was not a problem at all. The showers were on timer press buttons that dribbled water out for two minutes at a time. I had to press about three times before I actually had my hair wet enough to wash!
No wonder there was no queue at the only bathroom for two floors of people. I think a lot of the girls are taking extra quick showers just like I was or they must have found another alternative I was not aware of.
Complaints about the showers aside, this hostel definitely has the best wifi speed and the cheapest drinks at the bar!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:Viale Regina Margherita,Milan,Italy
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