Milan - Portovenere

Our day in Milan starts with a sumptuous breakfast in our hotel. Everyone seems to be getting over jetlag and perhaps the incredible array of delicious food is helping. We are all looking forward to exploring Italy and the day ahead.

Our first stop is at the Castle which was for some time the home of Leonardo Da Vinci. The Castle has an amazing history and the group enjoys meeting our local guide, Valeria, who is full of information and Italian humour.

Then it is a short bus trip to the centre of Milan. We walk past the Teatro alla Scala then into the stunning glass covered Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II built to celebrate the unification of Italy. We emerge from this and can only gasp at the magnificence of the marbelled Duomo and the vibrant Piazza. Inside the Cathedral Valeria explains that the Cathedral is totally made of marble inside and out and took nearly 500 years to construct. Paul Aldred takes the option to walk on the roof deck where there are apparently thousands of sculptures. The rest of us take in the huge expanse, probably close to twice the size of St Paul's Cathedral Melbourne and rising to an internal height of 60 metres. This Baroque style Cathedral is emblazoned with superb stained glass windows.

After a quick lunch we are in the bus and on our way to the seaside passing through the Alps with endless interesting commentary from our guide Claudia and Ray also contribute his notes on the life of St Anselm - an early overview. 

We arrive at our hotel in magnificent sunshine and our hotel by the waterside is a dream with views from most rooms of boats bobbing on the water and Tuscan Ligurian villas across the water and a beautiful church with bells ringing.

Dinner is at a restaurant overlooking Portovenere a few kms away. We have plenty of time to stroll around the village, enjoying the quaint local shops and the interesting local wares and then arrive at the Church on the tip of the peninsula.  No wonder the great poets Byron and Shelley fell in love with and were inspired by the landscape in this village. The return journey to our restaurant takes in the views across the bay and marina  as we 'passegio' along the seaside promenade with its colourful buildings. 

A splendid seaford menu is enjoyed by all and we think we were probably the noisiest group of diners our Italian hosts have ever had but the hospitality is cheerful and generous. We celebrate the end of the meal with a shot of Limoncello to celebrate the 54th Wedding Anniversary of Jim and Jenny tomorrow.