Channelling Stephen Walls

What would Stephen do if he was in Milan for a day, it was a little bit rainy and he was a little bit tired due to unforseen circumstances the previous day?  A glance at the map told me - the Stazione Centrale was only a 10-minute walk from our hotel. I have come to appreciate a good railway station since I have known Stephen Walls, so I thought I would go and check the Milan station out and see what it was like. 

As soon as I turned from Via Buenos Aires into Via Scarlatti I knew I was onto something. There was a very imposing building looming large at the end of the street and if that was the station, I could already tell it was going to be impressive. I was not disappointed. 

The sheer scale of this building is mammoth, the architecture amazing,  and the overall impression, jaw droppingly beautiful. Some research tells me the facade is 200 metres long and the vault is 72 metres tall. No wonder I couldn’t capture it all in one photo. I explored inside, up and down the marble staircase and around the outside, taking photos that don’t do the building justice at all.  I’m sure I have been there with Michael Portillo on one of his great train journeys of Europe, but seeing this piece of stunning architecture in real life left me speechless. 

Then, the street market I had passed on the way to the station was calling me, so I ambled back, bumping into my sister at the very same market, and may have made a purchase or two before we returned to our room armed with fresh produce from the food market to feast on for lunch. 

A rest was in order for the afternoon so Sheryl and I did some life admin before she rolled over to attempt a sleep and I headed out for another stroll along the streets of Milan. We thought Happy Hour on the Rooftop Terrace may have been on the cards, but it was locked due to the impending storm. The storm also looked set to put a dampner on our dinner plans, but we eventually secured taxis which whisked us away to Il Tavolino. 

The girls had visited this interesting restaurant for dinner last night and were dead set on taking the three of us who had missed out, back there this evening, and we soon found out why. The staff were fun and friendly, we were treated with a free welcome drink of Prosecco, there were complimentary slices of pizza to share for starters, all the meals were delicious, they brought out a free birthday tiramisu for me because I had missed celebrating it last night, and the staff sang a resounding happy birthday chorus, with a little help from my friends, and then there was a free limoncello to top off the night. What more could anyone want for a birthday spent in Milan … except for a very long-stemmed red rose, presented by ‘Jack’ the restaurateur, of course. 

The rain had ceased by the time we finished dinner, so we were able to walk back to the hotel to wear off those extra calories. It is our last night in Milan and the days are ticking off rapidly now.