TUE - Shops in Milan Airport doesn't open round the clock, or as early as Singapore Changi Airport. We had coffee and some snacks while waiting for our car rental shop to open at 7.30am. After getting our Mercedes Vito, we drove straight into Milan. I trusted my paper map and did not get a GPS, and did one of the "Top 10 Must Do in Italy" ... got lost! We were lost trying to get out of the airport, and in the city towards the centro. But we managed to find our ways to Hotel Brunnelleschi after a while as we had chosen a hotel in the heart of Milan ... Duomo Di Milano at the Piazza Del Duomo.
Our first destination was the Duomo Di Milano.
Built in marble, its exquisite exterior had many intricate carvings that tells stories from the bible, e.g. David and Goliath.
Even all its stained-glass painting told stories in the bible and of the cathedral's history. There was also the famous statue of St Bartholomew who was apparently skinned alived! The statue showed him holding his skin and very detailed illustrations of his muscles and tissues, showing the depth of medical knowledge at that time.
The kids had their first free tour and bible lesson.
After that, we were ready for our first Italian meal ... pizza! We circled Piazza Del Duomo trying to find a good place to eat (eateries at the Piazza were expensive).
Finally, we found a pizzaria that served yummy pizzas and pasta in one of the shopping alleys. We got seated in the tentage under the warmer, and ordered our favourite pizzas (margheritta, parma ham, etc.) and pastas. It was our first Italian meal in Milan, and Ethan's first pizza! Was a great treat for the kids!
We walked around the piazza to enjoy the atmosphere, watching people walking by, found the statue of Leonardo Da Vinci,
indulged in coffee and desserts,
and getting lost. We all had gelato at GROM ... yummy.
This place must truly be the centre of power and focus during its flourishing days. All the buildings around the piazza - such as the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Teatro Ala Scala, 
branded merchandise shops along Via Montenapoleone - were beautiful. 
By evening, we were all tired. We went back to the hotel to wash up, while I went to buy wine and ordered pizzas from Pizza & Friends, just across the road from the hotel (Ethan was most amused by the shop name, which sounded like his story series "Ethan & Friends" that he was writing). The pizzas were so so so delicious!It was a wonderful first day in Italy and in Milan - pizzas, coffee, Duomo, etc. Only one thing left to see - Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper at Santa Maria delle Grazie (not in The Louvre in Paris as shown in the movie The Da Vinci Code, although the painting of Mona Lisa is in The Louvre).
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