You are walking around the center of town, like most dutiful tourists do... you have marvelled the…read moreColonne Di San lorenzo (one of the vrey few Roman remains still "intact"... you are probably either looking for a great place to eat, or are lost... and... You stumble upon a white wall decorated with old dolls pinned on the wall... DO NOT FEAR. .. you are not partaking in the latest horror sequel of SAW... It is simply a permament exhibition, to which you may choose to give your personal contribution. All dolls up on the wall represent a woman who has been killed (by a relative or an ex lover/husband). YES. .. i realize many may think this is a bit GORY, sending a chill down your spine... but, life is not not all fairytale like... AND if you have stopped and thought about how in Italy a woman is killed every 3 days, then.. this exhibit has served its purpose. .. I will remember, one of these days, to pin my own doll up on the wall, symbolizing how lucky i was to survive my own demon and live to tell my story.

Interesting and creepy same time. No need to make a trip to see the wall but you can reach it…read moreeasily from Duomo if you really interested.

You know how they say that in the past, rivers were the "interstate highways" of the time? Well,…read moreit's true. And even though this isn't a river, this canal was used to transport goods from Pavia to Milan. This one is the Pavia Canal and was not completed until the Napoleonic period. It begins at the canal basic known as the Darsena, under the so-called Trofeo Bridge. Locks enable it to negotiate differences in level at various points along its 33 kilometer route, culminating in the visually striking sequence where the canal flows into the Ticino River. When the canal opened to navigation in 1819, Milan was finally connected via the Ticino and Po rivers to the Adriatic Sea. This project, which began in the 15th century with the construction of the Bereguardo Canal and the Martesana Canal made the city a crossroads between continental Europe and the Mediterranean. [Review 10677 overall, 445 of 2019.]

The Naviglio Pavese (some may NOT be aware) is not a natural river flow. Its construction dates…read moreback to 1564, though interrupted 20 years later and completed only ib 1819. It was (once) a 33 km long navigable river that linked Milano to Pavia and, through the flight of six locks to the River Ticino. It has been closed to navigation back in the 1960s, but has recently been considered for restoration to full navigation, connecting Switzerland to Venice via inland waterway. Those who love biking will be extremely pleased with the cycle lane that promises to lead you from the Darsena (downtown Milan) to Pavia. To those who want to enjoy some live music or some happy hours (drinks and food for competitive price) many are the options (La Sacrestia, Maya, Movida (i would strongly NOT recommend this one) King, puentoalegre are but a few choices). For those who just want to stroll around... just take a few moments to yourselves, and stroll around this minor naviglio. It is just as cute at night as it is during the day.

L.O.V.E. While…read morewandering from the Museo del Duomo to San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, I needed to find something besides another cathedral, which is what I wanted to see, to capture my husband's attention. After checking out the Starbucks Reserve Roastery around the corner, we stumbled across this monumental sculpture by Maurizio Cattelan. Also known as Il Dito, or The Finger, it is a giant hand with all of the fingers cut off except for the middle finger sculpted from Carrara marble. L.O.V.E. The name L.O.V.E. stands for Libertà, Odio, Vendetta, Eternità, which translates to Freedom, Hatred, Revenge, Eternity. It is located in Piazza Affari in front of the Italian Stock Exchange, although it did not start there originally. Coincidence?? Art brings the world together. While talking to the manager of Tavola at a Wine and Food Event in The Woodlands, he actually told us a story about Maurizio Cattelan, whose piece The Comedian sold for $6.2 million. Interesting to learn more about this self-trained Milano based artist who uses humor and satire in his works of art. My husband did share our Milan photos with that manager. We bonded over L.O.V.E.

L.O.V.E. aka Il Dito (Italian for 'the finger') is a sculpture consisting of a hand with the middle…read morefinger. The name L.O.V.E. is the acronym of "Libertà, Odio, Vendetta, Eternità" ("Freedom, Hatred, Revenge, Eternity"). The sculpture is placed in front of the Italian stock exchange. It's a fun art piece to check out that wasn't too out of the way.

This is a great - if a bit narrow - pedestrian street. It connects the Piazza Bra with the Piazza…read moredelle Erbe. It is quite packed with other tourists, but still it is a lovely stroll along some interesting shops. Some of course are the big chains, but also some smaller and independent shops can be found. We liked "L'Occitane". Ok, it's not an italian chain, but had some really good offeres on hand and face creams here. Also nice as a gift. What this street doesn't really have are dining options. Head elsewhere if you're hungry. Besides that it's a perfect little walk.

Every day this square becomes a marketplace. It is the central meeting place for the citizens and…read morevisitors to the area. It has wonderful local products at very reasonable prices. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/piazza-erminio-ferratta-mestre?select=tofpbGnTbl6g1WFw9JYWng#tofpbGnTbl6g1WFw9JYWng Of course, being Italy, it has lots of sidewalk, outdoor eating places. There is always a big crowd strolling and dog walking at night.

This was on my must do list! It did not disappoint- the house is 5 stories with great art and…read morestories throughout- you must do stairs. There are no free tickets even to the courtyard anymore- and tickets are only online! Additionally you can not get in from the street across most blogs tell you to go to! So Plan to need to walk around the block There are gift shops to get a lock if you didn't bring one - why not! There is a cute cafe right outside the entrance that we enjoyed vino while waiting for our entrance time

I was pleasantly surprised by this museum. I was expecting to see just the balcony, but you get to…read morewalk through the entire house and see the costumes, paintings and books on display. We were first in line and rushed in to take photos of the balcony without anyone in them. There were a few people who pretended not to see the queue, so you just have to get there early and stand your ground. The house itself was spacious and beautiful. There are a few sets of stairs so wear comfortable shoes. Definitely recommend visiting!

Bugs in food and crawling on guests Bought a ticket to…read moremedieval show at Caneva World in Italy. From early start we started noticing black bugs running on the table, and soon we were all itching and our food was filled with bugs. People next to us left, people next to them were taking t-shirts off and it was caoz. I could not eat the food after a while and did not manage to enjoy show, though I stayed for my son. After complaining, they did not answer for 2 months and then state there are no refunds of tickets. Probably a good show for people in other seats but this row was overrun with bugs. We and other family went to ticket office to complain and were promised refund, as we were very angry about this disgusting experience having bugs all over us, but then ticket office denies it now in email conversation, stating refunds are never done. How crazy is that to deny to refund tickets after such horror experience, even people leaving before mid show!

Medieval Times in Garda was awesome. Great night our for some dinner theater. It seems cheesey and…read moreis but is also completely worth it. I paid about 30 euro per person but would have easily paid 60. The Actors were great. And although it was in Italian there were some English voice overs but still the show spoke for itself and did not need translation to understand. The food was also plentiful and filling. Chicken and potatoes. It all fit the medieval setting perfectly. Great for going for a night out with or without kids. The beer was endless and they kept my glass filled without me having to ask for more. Also I got to pet a super cool horse at the end. Be ready to cheer for your Knight. Embracing the show makes it so much more fun. I was yelling my face off for the Green Knight. I highly recommend this place. It's only 2 hours between 730 and 930 so a great way to end or start the night depending on your desires.

On another of my days explorations I set out to find the flamingo's of Milan!…read more It wasn't far from the Natural History Museum really. How uniquely unexpected. I highly recommend seeing this amazing group of pink flamingos! I heard them before seeing them!