Today we headed out to explore a bit more of Milan. First up was the San Siro soccer stadium.
We walked up to the M5 metro line and caught the underground train all the way to the stadium.
The automatic trains drive themselves, so it was fun for the kids (and us) to sit at the front and watch out the front window—it was almost like being on a ride. The kids loved it.
We arrived at the stadium just as the first tours were about to kick off. We had the chance to walk through the museum and take in all the trophies and jerseys from players from around the world.
A was pretty awestruck when he saw the UEFA Champions League trophy 🏆, as well as jerseys from Pelé, Messi, and more.
The tour kicked off. Today was the only day this week they were running tours—as the soccer season had finished, the stadium was now being used for a series of concerts. Unfortunately, this also meant the pitch was covered as there was a concert on tonight 😭
It is what it is—take the good with the bad and keep on rolling.
We toured through the media area as well as both the ACM and Inter locker rooms. There was a clear distinction between the two.
ACM felt like money: plush seats for each player, lots of banners and emblems displayed.
Inter was basic: bench seats and just the pictures of past great players on the wall as you walk in.
The ground itself was pretty big, seating for around 70–80k people (nothing on the good old MCG 😉).
The last stop on the tour—as always—was the gift shop. We stopped in as A has been saving his pennies all trip for a specific jersey. Of course, they didn’t have it, so we went in search of a new option and ended up with a nice Inter training jumper instead and a new pair of black Inter soccer socks (so he can use them when playing back home).
With the tour complete, we headed back home for a short rest before heading back out to see the centre of Milan and the Duomo.
The festival from the weekend was still being packed up, but we could at least wander through the park behind. It’s a massive park—similar to those in New York, London, and even Melbourne. Lovely to walk through, except the gravel is a bright shade of white and just reflects the sun fiercely. Having lost my sunnies at the Vatican, the kids and I were struggling. The glare was terrible. We headed for the grassed and shaded areas, but there were sections that we had to push through.
We arrived at the castle and wandered through, then continued on toward the Duomo. The architecture in this part of Milan is amazing.
We arrived at the Duomo and walked around. It was the hottest part of the day and everyone was really feeling like we were at the end and pretty tired, so we turned for home.
Two quick stops before we left the central district, however.
A and I ducked into the Inter store and happened to find the jersey he was after. So we picked this up and headed off to find the girls.
Laura and H headed for the Lindt store. H has become quite fond of Dubai chocolate gelato, and the Lindt store was selling blocks of Dubai chocolate. So they picked one up for H to enjoy when we get home.
Heading back through the castle, we entered the park. We grabbed granitas for the kids and Aperol Spritz’s for Laura and I. Refreshing.
We headed home and had a slow evening in. We cooked up a chicken salad, had a glass of wine and a few beers, then chilled out with the kids with some Netflix.
Tomorrow is the end of our time in Europe and we head to Singapore for a few days before getting back home to Australia (and the cold weather).
