Milan was a three-day pit stop for me between Dubrovnik and Bucharest. Because I had been to Italy a handful of times before, I wasn't looking for another trip but, while looking at flight prices out of Dubrovnik, Milan beckoned to me from the Google flights map with her $80 ticket. It wasn't an Italian city I had ventured to before, so after a few clicks, voila - Milan bound!

I booked an Airbnb in the Wagner area of town - just a few hops, skips and jumps away on the M1 red line to the city center. The apartment was small but super cute and incredibly spatially efficient. In the back by the windows, the building's exterior was under construction, but workmen wouldn't start until 8 a.m. and would be promptly finished no later than 5 p.m. One morning, I was gently stirred from my slumber by the sounds of lovely Italian singing. I propped my head up from my pillow, to see through my window shade, the shadow of one of the workmen outside on a scaffold, who, unbeknownst to him, gave me a bit of a serenade. Talk about starting the day off right - let's start every day off with an Italian serenade! He could have been singing the Italian version of Vanilla Ice's greatest hits for all I know, but it was still lovely.

Finally making my way out of the apartment and into the city, I headed straight for the Duomo di Milano (Milan Cathedral) to get a look at the city's icon, and it didn't disappoint. It's massive, it's thick and it's striking in an unassuming way. It doesn't have any one massive spire that juts out to the sky - instead, it's the culmination of every spire and buttress lining its long footprint, which you wouldn't even notice existed from the front. 

There are a variety of cathedrals throughout Europe that allow you some rooftop access, and the Duomo is no exception. I knew this was a must-do, so I swung around to get tickets for the following day. The actual rooftop entrance is on the side of the building, but I saw the line of anxious visitors wrap around the building all the way to the front. Wanting to avoid the crowds, I booked one of the slots toward closing. Also dotting the lines are big signs listing regulations and banned items. They had an almost identical feeling to the security lines at an airport.

The next day, before walking over to the Duomo, I bought more sunscreen and two bottles of water to keep hydrated in the baking sun and to not have my skin seared on the Duomo roof. As I arrived, there were less than 10 people in line - success on timing! What was interesting, or slightly unnerving ... maybe both, was that the military handles the security at the Duomo. There is a first check with a manual bag search, and I was instructed to drink out of both my water bottles to confirm there were no issues with the substance inside. Then there was a second check with a second round of the same - yep, more water testing, metal detectors and bag checking. What I did not realize was that my sunscreen was actually prohibited. As most of you know, sunscreen can be stupidly expensive, and I had to chuck the whole, unopened bottle away in their big trash can before continuing on. Oy, that hurt. 

What I realized later was that the giant signs listing prohibited items seemed to cover the "highlights," but if you look up the actual list on their website, the number of prohibited items is impressive, and again, very similar to airlines. Don't even think about bringing that dangerous eyelash curler with you - that would be a no-no. Now that said, once I ascended to the top, getting sunburned was completely worth it.

On the first landing you get to, you can walk over and peer at the most close-up views of the intricate architectural work of the buttresses, which repeat like beautiful dominoes. Once you get to the end of the landing, there is second staircase to take you up another level. It's only large enough for one-way traffic, so there can be a small line to get up there but, when you finally pop up on the other end, it's incredible. A vast expanse of sunlit, cream-colored marble surrounded by spires and marble statues - it's breathtaking. Some of the statues I noticed had some cabling going up their backsides - I'm not sure what for, but it kind of made me chuckle to see one of those cables going up the middle of a statue's butt cheeks - that can't be very comfortable for him. The Duomo was closing before sunset, but I can imagine having a front row seat at seeing the sun's orange and red hues set below the statues and buttresses is unforgettable. Had I spent more time in Milan, I would have been tempted to buy another ticket to go up again.

In contrast to the tourist-filled Duomo, I also loved the Sempione Park, located between the Sforzesco Castle and Arco della Pace (Milan's version of the Arc de Triomphe). Of course, there are some tourists that straggle around here from behind the castle, but the park grounds themselves are filled with locals picnicking, throwing frisbees around and just relaxing. There was a stage in one area that was being used by some local hip hop dancers who appeared to be trying out some new choreography. Not too shabby having the backdrop of the Arco della Pace behind your dance routine - au naturale set decorations!