When we woke up, in our half-sleep state we mumbled happy anniversary wishes to each other.

I then said "I haven't heard the bells this morning". Literally three seconds later they chimed. We chuckled and fell back asleep.

An hour later we woke up properly. We only had two cards with us to open, one from Julie's parents and one from mine. It was such a good feeling reaching 30 years of marriage when many doubted we would last. We were so young when we married. Julie was only 17 years old, and I was 19. Thirty years later it fills us with joy knowing our parents are very proud of us.

Check out from the apartment was 10am. After breakfast we rushed about cleaning our apartment so we could "Leave it as we found it".

We left, wheeling our cases towards the ferry pier. With time on our hands, the next boat to Varenna wasn't until 10:45am, a quick coffee at our favourite little bar, Bar Rossi, was in order.

When we returned to the pier to wait for the boat we came across a bronze statue of an embracing couple. They were completely featureless, nothing but a smooth surface. They didn't even have fingers. Yet despite this, or perhaps because of it, the embrace was a powerful image.

For me it seemed as if they were comforting each other. We all need a hug from time to time.  

Our boat arrived on time with fresh new influx of visitors for Bellagio to delight and seduce as it did with us. We were, of course, sad to leave, but it wasn't the end of our journey. We were travelling to Milan for a few nights. 

It was another glorious autumn day, blue skies and sunshine. We sat upstairs to get the best view as we crossed the lake but as we neared the end we came down and stood at the front of the boat to get an immersive view of Varenna approaching. 

We couldn't get to the bow to recreate our own "King of the World" moment, which was probably not a bad thing, I suppose.

We docked in Varenna which was looking even more picturesque than we remembered. Today's lovely sunshine made it look like a painting.

From the ferry terminal we walked along the front towards the old town.  It was very peaceful along the promenade.

We soon found oursleves returning to the old port area and Varenna Cafe Bistrot where we had coffee on Friday morning. It was in a lovely spot even if it was in the shade.

Curious of something on the menu I ordered a bruschetta of Taleggio cheese, strawberries, wild rocket and glazed balsamic vinegar. I had heard of strawberries being used as an ingredient in a savoury dish but had never actually eaten one before.

I was shocked as to how delicious it was!

Julie went for what was described on their menu as a cheese and ham "stuffed toast" or what we would call a toastie.

After we finished Julie fed her left over crusts to the ducks and a few coots, (like a moorhen but with a white beak), then we returned along the lake side path, back towards the ferry terminal.

On the way back we stopped at a small market stall selling lavender products from oils to soaps and candles. Julie bought a small bottle of lavender "essence" whatever that meant. It was sold as a medicinal product as a treatement for insect bites. She's had quite a few on this trip, especially after walking up to the Santuario di San Martino.

We walked past Hotel Olivedo, right next to the ferry terminal.Bright yellow with green window shutters, it very much looked the part of a classic 19th century Grand Tour hotel.  

If ever we returned to Varenna we both agreed we should stay there. 

We continued walking, past Hotel Berreta, up towards the Varenna-Esino-Perledo train station. We arrived just as the 12:37 to Milan was leaving. Thankfully there was no reason to panic because I had pre-booked train tickets for the 13:37.

There was nothing else to do but sit outside in the sunshine, drinking coffee and eating cake. Julie came back from the cafe with a trio of minature desserts, a blueberry cheesecake, a dense polenta cake soaked in honey and another cheesecake topped with an undetermined red fruit. Our best guess was gojiberry!

There was only so much coffee and cake we could eat, so we relocated to the platform to wait for our train. It reminded us a little of our local train station in Bangor , how the trains emerged from a tunnel when it arrived. The rest of it bore no resemblance. 

The railway line was part of the Ferrovia della Valtelina, completed in 1894. Then, in 1902 it became Europe's first electrified mainline railway. A fascinating little piece of history.

A few regional trains came and went, heading to destinations other than Milan. We were relaxed about catching the right one. That's one thing about trains in Italy, they do run on time. Precisely at 13:37 our Trenord train arrived.

 We set off, following the lake South, towards the village of Lierna. However our first stop wasn't until Mandello del Lario.  We sat by the window facing the lake to enjoy the spectacular views.

"Why wouldn't you?" we asked ourselves as local commuters sat on the opposite side, taking it for granted.

At Lecco we left Lake Como behind, and after the smaller Lago di Garlate we headed across the lowlands through some very uninspiring towns towards Monza, home of the Italian Gran Prix. 

An hour and a bit after leaving Varenna we rolled into Milan Centrale train station. We dragged our suitcases down from platform 2, down a series of escalators and a maze of shops to reach the metro. Today we needed the yellow M3 line.

Four stops later we got off at the Duomo station.   

When we came out of the underground we immediately came face-to-face with the spectacular Milan cathedral. The Duomo was enormous whilst at the same time ornate and elegant. 

Captivated by its beauty we stood at the top of the stairs for a few minutes, awestruck.

Not wanting to lugg our luggage around we decided to find our hotel before anything else. It wasn't far to walk from Piazza del Duomo, just down the busy shopping street of Via Torino, then turning right down a few narrow back streets to find Via Santa Marta.

Dirty, graffiti ridden and mostly in the shadows, it wasn't the prettiest of streets.

Despite its less illustrious location Hotel Santa Marta Suites was very pleasant albeit a little old fashion. With a free standing teak wardrobe, and a gold framed mirror above the fireplace, our room felt very homely, like we were staying at our grandmother's.

The hotel boasted a rooftop terrace with "views of the Duomo", so we went up to have a look for ourselves. True to their word we could see the cathedral, with its multiple spires creating this a mountain of marble rising above the rest of the city. It really was monumental.

We returned to Piazza del Duomo to take a closer look at the cathedral, or the Cattedrale Metropolitana della Natività della Beata Vergine Maria to give its full title. It was officially completed in 1965 almost 600 years after construction began in 1386.

Despite its enormity its elaborate facade gave the impression of being quite delicate, especially the tall thin spires.

There were 135 of them, each crowned with an unique statue. They were all saints but when I looked closer at a cluster they looked more like Roman gods, naked but for a toga drapped around them.

They weren't, of course, pagan false idols, but bare-chested holy martyrs, which apparently was how they were commonly depicted. The three in corner of our attention were actually San Vitale, San Agricola and San Genesio.  

There was one peculiar exception. Amongst them was "saint" Napolean, a fictional saint in the image of Napolean Bonaparte! Whilst of course we all know him as the French Emperor he was also crowned the King of Italy in a ceremony here at Milan's cathedral in 1805.

The  bare-chested St. Napolean, dressed as a martyr, was added a year later. 

Along the Northern edge of the square was the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of the earliest examples of the modern day, purpose-built, shopping centre.  Its imposing entrance was built like a Roman truimphal arch.

Inside was built as regular streets, but the facades were decorated to the highest order. Each window was embellished with golden painted plasterwork creating the feeling of oppulence. The stores inside reflected the luxury with high-end retailers like Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vutton, Giorgio Armani.

A cast iron and glass roof covered the entire arcade with an impressive dome crowning the centre. This engineering acheivement was completed in 1877.

We left the galleria into Piazza della Scala, a small square at the back of the Teatro alla Scala, not only the best known opera house in Italy but probably the world over. However at the centre of the square was a statue of Leonardo Da Vinci.

He may be better known as a Florentine, born in the Tuscan town of Vinci and instrumental in the 15th century renaissance that began with the Medici of Florence, but he spent 17 years of his life in the patronage of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan.

We returned to the Piazza del Duomo where the marble, quarried 65 miles away in Candoglia, in the Ossolo valley, not far from Lake Maggiore, was changing colour reflecting the sun's fading light.

The marble is known for its pink quality but in this golden light it was difficult to appreciate it.

We sat down at a cafe right on the square called Motta Milano 1928 with a perfect view of the cathedral's facade changing through the phases of the sunset.

The waitress was very aloof, avoiding any eye contact. She was flat-out busy but she continued to ignore us. We actually didn't mind. It was nice to simply sit down and people watch and whilst we weren't drinking anything it didn't cost us anything.

However, after a few minutes I got bored and left the cafe to take close up photos of the cathedral, whilst Julie stayed in the hope of eventually getting served. It was difficult to truly appreciate the incredible detail from a distance. Every square inch of it was carved. 

Even the main door was elaborately carved showing scenes from the scriptures with the joy and sorrow of the Virgin Mary as its theme.

I returned to Julie who still hadn't been served. The stressed out waitress was now turning everyone away telling them "we're close" but I slipped under the radar undetected.

Minutes later she approached us to take our order. One glass of wine an an Aperol spritz.

The drinks arrived quickly, together with a cheese and ham panini. She explained that the cafe was closing and they were giving away what they hadn't sold.

"Sorry" said Julie "but he's a vegetarian".

The waitress took the plate away and turned on her heels. I was expecting her to huff or even swear at us for being ungrateful but she quickly returned with a mozzarella and tomato panini for me. It was very kind of her. She must have been so happy her shift was coming to an end.

As she went to all the effort I had to eat it. Although it wasn't a hardship, because it was delicious!

We quickly left the cafe to stand at the front of the cathedral. The sun was now at the very end of its setting, In its final death throws, it projected an intense warmth onto the marble. It looked on fire. It actually took our breath away.

And then it was gone, casting us and the square into shadow. That signalled our time to leave Piazza del Duomo.

We walked in the direction of our hotel, in search of a Billa supermarket to pick up some supplies for the room, like water, biscuits and yogurt for the morning. 

Having previously been disappointed with our neighbourhood it was a pleasant surprise to walk down Via Santa Marta in this early evening. It didn't look as grubby now with all the shops open for business. It was transformed into fashionable street with all the shutters up and the shop lights on.

Even our hotel looked a lot more inviting with the glow of the inside pulling us in.

We spent an hour or two in our room, replenishing our energy levels, drifting in and out of sleep and checking tripadvisor for a nice restaurant for our anniversary meal tonight. We had been doing it old school by looking at menus in the windows of restaurants as we walked back to the hotel but it was much easier on-line.

Heading out for the evening, we couldn't stay away from the Duomo. Our on-line research had brought us to a restaurant called Il Salotto inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.  Julie had seen lamb chops on their menu, and a seperate vegetarian section, so it was a done deal.

We sat outside on the "street", choosing to be side by side so we could both people watch, rather than gazing into each others eyes. 

The inside of the Galleria was subtly, almost dimly lit, with only the globe streets lamps offering any light. It did add an element of romance to the setting. 

We skipped starters, ordering instead a bottle of white wine from Lombardia as our starter. For my main course I ordered a ravioli dish like I'd never had before. It was served with three large mushroom filled raviolo floating in a ladleful of minestrone soup. To supplement my meal I ordered a side of mushrooms. At €10 for a side dish it was very expensive.

Julie also ordered a side of roast potatoes to accompany her lamb main course. After the shock of the prices for the sides €19 for four plump lamb chops felt like good value. It was also served with half a jacket potato wrapped in foil, making the roasties unneccessary.

There wasn't much in the way of people watching but a group of four elderly women and one guy kept us entertained. They were having such a good time, belly laughs all round. They were laughing so much they were in tears.

Their joy was so infectious.

We paid our €75 bill, which for underwhelming quality felt too expensive.  

We stopped by the Duomo one final time. It looked stunning agains the blackness of the night sky. The golden statue of the Virgin Mary shone brightly above the cathedral like a star whilst the full moon was rising behind it.

We returned to Via Santa Maria, walking past our hotel to find a bar for a nightcap. On the corner and the end of the street we came to Bolan Bar. It had a cozy pub feel to it with good music like old school R&B like Aretha Franklin and Eta James before shifting to even older school Swing with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

We were enjoying ourselves greatly that one drink, turned into two and then three. We left minutes before midnight.

We collected our keys from reception and after some conusion over room numbers we headed to bed.