The only reason I actually stopped in Milan was to see the San Siro Stadium; the home of Milan and Inter. Getting there wasn’t exactly plain sailing though as the train line which runs to that area was having work done on it so a bus was used in its place. A second bus from that station was then needed though luckily the same ticket could be used for all of that. I was quite surprised at how many people had decided to do the same when I arrived at the ground and had to pay a rather hefty 13.5 euro’s for the stadium tour and museum entry.

 

Since it made its debut (in its current guise) at World Cup ’90 I have always considered the San Siro to be an impressive structure and have long wanted to see it with my own eyes. In a way I was more impressed with the exterior as the inside was obviously just an empty stadium (above) of green, orange and red seats. Just a shame I couldn’t get an aerial view of the arena.

The tour was fairly short (about forty minutes) and a little chaotic with fifty or so people there but other than seeing the changing rooms and the stands what more does one need to see? Well, I guess walking out the tunnel and going on to the pitch would be nice but that wasn’t part of the tour.

The guide kept things fairly brief which pleased me as I don’t really have such a strong interest in the history and culture of the two famous club’s who share the stadium. I was more than happy with the basics and an anecdote or two which is what we got. Both teams have their own changing rooms which are both very different in appearance. Inter’s seemed a bit bigger with one large TV screen whereas the Milan one had lots of little TV’s. No doubt there were many more subtle differences but that’s what I noticed!

 

The museum was a good size in my opinion with enough shirts, memorabilia, famous player waxworks and trophies to keep the casual fan’s who visit here happy enough. These included Roberto Baggio’s shirts from both Milan clubs, the European and UEFA Cup’s, Ronaldo’s Inter shirt and, despite only being there on loan a couple of times, the huge fame of David Beckham means there is one of his shirts on display. My Dad may be interested to know that there isn’t a single memento of Norwich City’s UEFA Cup game against Inter in 1993 though!!

     

The rain was starting to get heavier and heavier as I took a tram into the centre to see the impressive Duomo (below) for a quick photo stop.

 

I had intended to scout out a few filming locations from ‘The International’ (2009 thriller starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts) but due to the rain and the time (I wanted to be in my next location early enough to see the place before it got dark) I decided to get moving as I didn’t really think too much of the movie anyway. Well, not quite as I had to go the Main Central Station which was used in the movie and the square outside it; Piazza Duca d’Aosta, was where the political rally took place albeit slightly to the left of the picture above.