We left Trieste early for the 9:38 AM train to Milan. The car was almost empty but our seats were jammed against the back and not adjacent. We swapped seats so we could sit together. Despite its 4 hour duration, it was a relaxing journey, and we got to nap and enjoy the farmland views. We wondered what some of the crops were---rectangular patches of tall trees and a low, bright yellow flowering plant.

A metro ride brought us to the Milan Cathedral, 4th largest in Europe, adorned with hundreds of spires and thousands of statues. After munching a salad nearby, a side street brought us to our hotel, Gran Duca di York, easily the most luxurious of our trip, including Padova. Our room had a plant filled veranda overlooking the traffic bound street, and the staff was most accommodating.

After checking in, we went to view the cathedral. As the guidebook says, the 52 columns inside were like sequoias and the ceiling was barely visible. The highpoint of the cathedral is the marble roof with hundreds of statues, Gothic points and arches, views and a rambling walkway to the center of the roof. We had wisely taken the lift and saved our legs.

Back to the hotel and a late afternoon rest, we went out for a late dinner (for us) at Hostaria Borromei, recommended by both Rick Steves' book and the hotel, very charming. Risotto w/artichoke tips; veal milanese.

As we are waiting for our main course, Barbara saw a man waiting in the next room whom she thought looked a lot like Rick Steves of PBS and guidebook fame whose books we have mentioned many times. When he came into our room, Barbara heard his voice and said, "He IS Rick Steves!" She waved our guidebook. He said to his assistant, "Those folks have the books, let's say hello." He introduced his assistant, a Milanese guide, and chatted with us a while. He was updating his guide books and asked about our experiences. We told him how great Trieste is,and that he might want to consider including it in a future book or PBS program. He gave us his e-mail address as I had a restaurant recommendation in Venice for him. One often thinks, "If I met so and so, this is what I'd say," and we got to play out that fantasy. We thanked him for the help his guidebooks have been for us.

Full of energy afterwards, we walked through Galleria Vittorio Emanuele with its bright lights and high glassed domed ceiling and enjoyed the Milanese evening.

I simply want to add that the staircases on the roof of the cathedral looked like those in Hogwarts except that they don't change direction while you are on them. In fact, Rick Steves was on them in his video, but they were locked to tourists.