Travel Diaries // Italy + Duomo di Milano (Milan Cathedral)

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that you all had a most wonderful time celebrating the arrival of 2018. Now before we all continue to move forward, I thought that it would be great to spend some time looking back. So, ready for a major throwback?

Since the hubby and I returned from our big trip to Australia and New Zealand, I started reminiscing about the last big adventure during which we explored a continent for the first time-- Europe. It then led me to remember (with some shame) that photos of that trip have long resided in my laptop without seeing the light of day.

After mustering up some spontaneous blogging energy, I managed to finally edit some photos and start writing this post. While my memories of Europe are admittedly getting foggy, I do have lasting impressions of the all-too-brief experiences I had there.

Firstly, the architecture and history. As a history major with a deep appreciation for art, I was constantly overwhelmed by the beauty of the buildings in London, Paris, and Milan. Coming from Vancouver, a very young city by comparison, I was constantly awestruck and starry-eyed while exploring the buildings in Europe. 

Our time in Milan was spent exploring the Duomo di Milano, which contains the world's oldest (and grandest) shopping mall and the Milan Cathedral. While the hubby wasn't able to join me inside the Cathedral as we were dragging around our luggage, I had the most fantastic time walking around that beautiful building. I also appreciated that the price to gain entry into the cathedral was much less than entry into historical sites in London, such as Westminster Abbey.

While we only had a brief taste of Italy in terms of its culture, people, food, and customs, I did enjoy what I did encounter and will be very happy to return one day. Other than its most popular cities, I would love to visit the Italian countryside and less-populated areas, such as Florence and Tuscany.

After exploring the gorgeous cathedral, we had a delicious lunch at the Nobu Restaurant located into the Armani building. I know, I know-- not quite customary Italian fare but the husband was quite set on eating there! 

Have you visited Milan before? Looking back, I wish that I had been able to visit more of the historical sites offered by the city... Sadly, our very restricted travel schedule prevented such meanderings. Where would you recommend going should I ever return there?