I was somewhat persuaded to visit Milan in November last year. My best friend Dani, being Italian herself, therefore completely biased, nagged and nagged me for 3 whole weeks to go.
"Right" I thought, "if it shuts her up I'll go." Her smile was the size of the moon, a full moon that is.
No problem with the country or the people. It does help though when you can speak a little bit of the language. Could I? No, not a word. So Dani taught me a word or three.
"Busta di munetza!" (Excuse the incorrect spelling). "Bag of rubbish," it means, literally. Right, that will get me a long way when I ask for a cup of coffee won't it?
Dani hates flying. God that journey was an absolute nightmare for the first 20 minutes. I held her hand like a kind friend would do. Had no blood in my left hand by the end. The price you pay for friendship.
Touch down in Milan Linate. About 11am, quite hungry at this stage. Now, we have to try and find the Grand Visconti Palace, Not as luxurious as it sounds, but a reasonable price at 112 Euros per night for the both of us.

Zurigo Hotel- priced at 87 Euros.
Lloyd Hotel- priced at 94 Euros per night
The Winsdor Hotel - priced at 108 Euros per night
Executive Hotel- priced at 136 Euros per night.

After unpacking and getting sorted out, we went out for lunch. It is either pizza or pasta i thought.

Bice- A popular luchtime place for business people. Sleek inside with quality food, at a fairly reasonable price.
Savini- Lovely decor and warm ambience. Very good service and again fairly reasonably priced for a decent restaurant.
L'Assissino- You will have to dig your hand deep into your pocket at this place. Situated in a small side street it is elegant and romantic. A good place for couples to eat.

When visiting Milan, you can not help but see and admire the historical side to it.
Probably the most famous archiac building there is, the Duomo Cathedral. It was first built in the 1380's on the site of where several churches had been. It is one of the largest cathedrals in the world. Its white marble over brick core shows the beauty of its exterior. It is said to have "French" style to it more than Italian. Inside the decor is fabulous. The silence is a sign of respect from the visitors as to how magnificent and breath-taking the building is.
You can also see images of The Last Supper. Some people also say that the cross on display is the one that Jesus was nailed to. Whether you believe it or not the thought still sends shivers down your spine.
The streets around the Duomo Cathedral are old-fashioned with its faded and mishaped cobbles. But there are parts of Milan which are modern, such as near the San Siro. All you big football fans (like me) will know that it is the ground to the great AC Milan and Inter Milan. Its capacity of 86,000 and its modern structure is definitely a sight to see. They were digging up the old turf and I was lucky enough to get my hands on some. To think that, Andrei Shevchenko could of walked on the square foot of grass that I had in my hands. Nice!

Still had a few communication problems with ordering food. So to stop myself from getting a bacon sandwich instead of egg on toast I left all the work to Dani.
The one disadvantage about Milan is that not many of the locals speak much English.
It is wise to take a pocket dictionary with you, though the locals will help you as much as they can.