Sunday, 11 May

Bellano, Lake Como to Idea Hotel, Milan Airport


Weather - 10 - 24c - sunny, cool morning, very warm afternoon


It was a long day leaving Bellano at 9.30am and arriving at our Milan airport hotel at six o’clock going via the Duomo, a restaurant for lunch and the afternoon at Milan’s Biblioteca Ambrosiana.


We were up early packing and tidying the apartment for our departure from Bellano after five wonderful days. It was a quiet Sunday walk on the cobbled pavement to have our one last croissant and cappuccino from our favourite cafe. Those croissants really were to die for!



From the quiet station at Bellano we arrived at the busy Milano Céntrale at 10.40am. As it was a Sunday there seemed to be many families making the most of the sunny weather. 




Our first job was to put our bags into luggage storage so we could spend the day exploring Milan further. There were about fifty people in front of us but the line moved quickly as the service was efficient.


We got our bearings and found the right Metro train to take us back to the Duomo. There were even more people around the cathedral than last Friday and the atmosphere was terrific with a number of talented buskers.




There was also a silent but powerful protest against battery hens.



We wanted to have lunch at the same restaurant again as last Friday, the Osteria al Ventotto, but sadly it and its sister restaurant were closed. However, nearby was the Bellavista Cafe. I checked out the menu and Henk Googled to find that It had good reviews so we ventured in at noon as they were opening their doors for business.



 The waiter gave us the front table with a large window and we had good views of the busyness of Milan as people rushed by. Brian and I opted for the Aperol Spritz again and our meals were delicious. I opted for the sea bass. 



Not far away from the restaurant was Milan’s Biblioteca Ambrosiana which is an historic library in Milan founded in 1609 and also houses the Ambrosian Gallery. Brian was keen for us to see Raphael’s restored cartoon “The School of Athens”. The work is Raphael’s full-scale preparatory charcoal drawing on paper for the fresco which is in the Vatican. It consists of 210 sheets of joined paper measuring 8 metres by 3 metres. It was fascinating to see the charcoal strokes making up the enormous work and it’s also amazing that it has survived on such fine tissue paper with charcoal.




The dark historic library is very large and high housing thousands of books and manuscripts which date back hundreds of years. I felt I was on the set of a Harry Potter movie. It also had many drawings by Leonardo da Vinci. 




On our way back to the Metro to return to Milan Céntrale to pick up our bags Brian and Henk bought gelatos. 



When we returned to Milan Céntrale we had fifteen minutes to pick up our luggage and catch the above ground train at Platform 1 on the other side from where we were. We missed the train by two minutes. Just when you want them to be late! We waited another 30mins before the next airport train arrived. We were picked up at Terminal 1 by the hotel’s shuttle bus. The driver must have thought he was a Formula One driver as he drove like a maniac. We were at the hotel in no time at all!


Dinner was at the hotel restaurant. We were tired, pleased we mastered the multi-faceted railway system and loved being back in vibrant Milan again. Tomorrow the shuttle bus driver will take us back to the airport at seven to catch the 9.30am plane to Zagreb via Belgrade. 


We will miss our small apartment at Bellano overlooking Lake Como. It really is a special place. We feel like we have been on holidays for much longer than the five days and we have seen a lot during that time. 


We were in bed early. Tomorrow starts the next stage of our holiday which we are greatly looking forward to. 


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