Milan – July 2023

Before I begin waffling on about the Milan Malpensa airport experience, let’s briefly discuss the hotel room. As Ibis is a global chain, you know what to expect (mostly!) in terms of accessibility. Ones room was called ‘luxury’ compared to the other rooms due to its size, amenities and environmental controls, quite a contrast from the hotel in Athens…

Anyway, back to today, thunderstorms were predicted for the morning time, however we were presented with a light show and the loudest thunder claps one has heard for a while at 1am. Trudging through the soaked streets at 6am, we headed back to Milano Centrale to catch the Milan Malpensa Airport Express. Although the station is gigantic in size, its easy to find the dedicated platforms situated on the far left.

Approximately 60 minutes later, we arrived back at T2 which is dedicated to EasyJet hence its prudent not to expect luxury! After a while of insisting that 105kg was acceptable on EasyJet, we were hurried to the gate even though the flight wasn’t scheduled to depart for another 2 hours…efficiency once again.

Unfortunately the rainy weather conditions in Bristol did not favour the cable on Superbunny finally accepting defeat…good timing that!!

My next adventure takes one to the capital of Armenia, Yerevan, on the 19th September with a train journey to explore Lake Sevan, the biggest lake in the Caucuses. As there are wheelchair accessible taxis available in Yerevan (surprisingly!), Superbunny will be joining to see what the city has to offer access wise. It’s also the first time that Superbunny will journey on connecting flights (heard bad things about Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris though) so that will be interesting to say the least!

As one explored the historical side of the city on day two, it was time to explore the modern side of Milan including TOWERS (how I have missed towers this year!). The city seems to have two distinct areas for this purpose, one, very coincidentally (well…) is located near our hotel. I have always wanted to visit the Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) ever since it crept up in various architecture blogs hence that is what happened…(it’s two apartment blocks so the view from below had to suffice!)

The M5 Metro is conveniently located to the rear of said buildings and takes you to the CityLife district which is a little like Canary Wharf in London with a gigantic shopping mall located below several skyscrapers. Opposed to the M1, M2 and M3, the M5 is relatively modern hence has level access, elevators etc making for a smooth journey.

Although the area only boasts three skyscrapers, it was enough to fulfil ones tower quota for the trip…

As I mentioned, the area has a gigantic shopping mall including shops and restaurants and you know that said places are ones preferred location to eat as they are enclosed away from pigeons right? It’s just my luck that one decided to fly in (doors automatically shut mind you) and become trapped, what is it with this trip!

Anyway, the final stop in Milan was the Branca Tower observation deck, however the challenge was to get to the thing as it is located in a park which has been shut since the tornado last week (to be fair, it did look like a mess with numerous debris, even around it’s perimeter). Trusty Maps refused to accept that the park was shut hence logic was required to reach the entrance.

As the tower was constructed in 1933 for the Triennale, I did imagine it to be akin to the Petrin Tower in Prague with the smallest lift possible to reach the top. However the difference between Czechia and Italy is that the latter country has way more health and safety rules meaning that even ones manual wheelchair would be too heavy and big for said lift…ahh well, we tried!

As the day was hotting up and the remnants of the tornado were becoming endless, we hopped on the M1 back to the hotel (with the same assistance as per the M2…can’t fault it really!).

It’s an early start tomorrow as we head back to Milan Malpensa Airport via Milano Centrale and return to rainy Bristol.

Last week, Milan experienced a powerful tornado thus you are likely to stumble across fallen trees (even a crushed car near the hotel) if you are wandering around the city currently which is a little difficult if it’s blocking the pavement!

As a result, a few parks were closed thus it was the road way down to the centre, quite pleasant to wander the streets without watching out for potholes or drop curbs for once…

Eventually, the marvel of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II presented itself before us, it probably goes without saying that it is nice and accessible whilst packed full of designer shops and restaurants…

Rolling through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II leads you swiftly to the Duomo di Milano…

Now, as I am attempting to do this trip on a budget, I was in two minds whether to go inside. However it transpires that a disabled individual and one companion can enter for FREE and, even better, access the rooftop via a lift…who wouldn’t say no to that!!

I will say that the walkway to access the rooftop from the lift is quite narrow, Superbunny only just managed it (with a little manpower). However it provides panoramic views over the city…

The next stop on the list (bar McDonalds) was the Naviglio Grande canal located to the South of the city for some food. Now, you know how picky one is about restaurants being inside away from my furry friends, we found a nice quiet restaurant without many pigeons around, 10 minutes later, the outside seating became a bird party. This was fine until the people seated started to become frustrated with said birds and, yes, a few decided to fly in for a brief moment before realising that it was the inside. Needless to say, the owners had to close every door and window for one to re-enter!

Anyway, after that ordeal, it was time to sample the Milan metro, however, before I discuss that, let’s briefly talk trams. The city uses two types of rolling stock (as in many European places), unfortunately Milan opts for the older stock on the majority of lines (perhaps to maintain the feel of Milan?) which are completely inaccessible with steps leading up to the vehicle hence the metro or the buses are the best way to traverse the city in a wheelchair.

Milan has 4 metro lines with another under construction (as of 2023) with nearly every station being accessible. However, it is worth noting that some stations have stair lifts rather than elevators which can be confusing if you are used to seeking out lifts in back alleys…

From prior research, I knew that the rolling stock on the M1, M2 and M3 had quite a big gap and step up hence needed to ask the staff for a portable ramp. As per the London Underground, the staff contacted the destination station with ones location in order for Superbunny to get back off…

Tomorrow, we head back to Milano Centrale to board the Frecciarossa (high speed train) to Florence taking just 2 hours! Who knows what Florence has to offer a wheelchair user…