Milan May 23

We had a good night's sleep in spite of some traffic noise.
The apartment has electrically controlled blinds on the outside of the windows and when closed completely black out the room.
After showers we walked across the street toward the Duomo and found a cafe for breakfast then walked another couple of minutes to the Piazza del Duomo, the square at the Duomo , to buy tickets to go inside.
Short line, only about 10 minutes. As we stood the sky got very dark then we heard thunder then saw lightening.
We just got our tickets and were headed inside when the downpour started. Luckily we were only in it for a minute before getting inside.
Very heavy security, soldiers with automatic weapons everywhere. All bags opened and inspected, metal detectors passed over us, then we were through.
Awesome church, second largest in Italy and third in the world, high vaulted ceilings and beautiful stained glass.
We could hear the rain pounding down from inside.
We paid for a lift access pass so we took the elevator to get to the exterior roof of the Duomo where you can walk amidst the gargoyles and Saints on spires.
Very cool, and by then the rain had stopped.
Too many stairs for Karen to reach the very top but Stephen and I went up and admired the views.

After we descended we went a few steps to the Renescenté department store , Italy's largest chain.
We had lunch on the top floor with views of the Duomo and the rain again pelting down on the glass roof.
After lunch we did some window shopping then went next door to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of the worlds oldest shopping malls, built in 1872.
Very impressive glassed roof mall with all the high end shops we can't afford to buy in.
The rain had stopped and the sun was out.
Later we came back to the apartment for a rest and Stephen went back out to explore and shop.

Pictures below,

Duomo of Milan

Galleria shops

Duomo at night