At last, they arrived :)

21 June: Collection from the trip...

A set of very useful materials bought during the trip, for future planning :)

21 June: Home Sweet Home

The journey that took more than 14 hours to go home.

One unique feature in Turkish airlines - we can find a chef onboard :)

Meal onboard - rice with chicken and beef

21 June: Checking out Milano

Though the flight only took off at 6.50 pm, we arrived at around 1 pm. Only started checking in at 3.30 pm.

See, Leslie, our guide (in checked cap), is helping to 'defend' the queue from being "cut" by the Thais!

Lunch at Milan Airport just before departure - the 1st Italian MacDonald meal - RoyalDeluxe Meal with Salad that cost 8.20 euros.

Internet does not come free easily in Italy. Similarly, for the airport, with only 15 min of free access - to use more? Pay up!

20 June: Street view in Milan

At the corner of the piazza is where Trussandi Restaurant is located.

The piazza where Leonard stood.

Tram on the street. Amazed by the complicated network of cables at the cross junction.

Window display in GAP shop at Milano.

20 June: Expo coming to Milan in 2015

The street between the two squares had flags of the various nation participating in the Expo neatly lined up along both sides. Hm... I could find flags from Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, Holy See (just to name a few)... But, somehow the Singapore flag is missing. Hm....

20 June: Milan Cathedral, the Duomo

The majestic gothic landmark of Milan.

Look at the beautiful elaborated marble outfit. Wonderful details!

It's definitely more grand than the Notre dame in Paris.

On the other hand, the interior is definitely far much simpler and less elaborate. Still, those rose stained glass windows in Notre dame stands out!

20 June: Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is the oldest shopping mall in the world that was electrically lit up!

Beautiful interior decorations where the Roman classic feel still lingers...

Had my gelato ice cream (€3 for small, 2 scoops) from the shop that started its business way back to the 1850s

20 June: Meeting Leonardo Da Vinci in Milan

Here, in Piazza Della Scala, stands my idol Leonardo Da Vinci, the genius!

Here are four panels that tells the Leonardo story

20 June: Fine dining in Milano

This is a 1-star Michelin restaurant, Il Ristorante Trussardi ala Scala beside the Teatro alla Scala. A 2-course meal that cost €50. The food was definitely good, but what really came with the price tag was the experience :)

That reminded me of the fine dining experience we (with SS) had in London about 7 years ago during the study trip :)

Lunch menu for the day.

Nice "plastic-taste" chips.

Starter bread of different kinds.

Suckling pig prepared in a non-oriental manner, the 'side dish' fig was tasty.

Dessert - chocolate pudding coated with coconut-flavoured mousse.

Roasted cashew nuts coated with chocolate/coca powder.

Caffe latte

19 June: Lunch in Venice

Had lunch in this restaurant that is well known for its squid-ink spaghetti. We also ordered a plate of squid-ink cuttlefish :) wow, that afternoon, we carried lots of ink in our stomach!

19 June: Gondola ride in Venice

It was a (roughly) 45 minute ride, going through the various water alleys in this place that is a network of more than 100 islands connected by bridges.

The ride was only confined to the tourist area around St Mark's square.
What's lacking: We didn't hear any singing from any of the gondola boat men :(

The traffic controller of the marine traffic in the older days in Venice