After the expense that was Switzerland, Audrey and I were looking forward to some savings somewhere.  However 38 degree heat and tents don't mix so we really had no choice but to get a Hotel to stay in and sleep cool after the days walks.  Our other money saver was supposed to be the Milan Card, but it never arrived so we had to pay full tote for everything we did, except the Milan Expo, a ticket which we did get.
Like all other big cities we chose to utelise the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus, just to get a quick overview of what we can see and then decide what we really want to get a closer look at.  But after doing 2 of the routes the heat got to us a little so we called it a day.  Next day we went off to the Milan Expo.  Each time an 'Expo' is conducted, the host city can decide what the topic will be, and for Milan is was food and sustainability, or officially "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life".  145 Countries are currently participating in this years edition of which Australia is not one of them.  Why? Well it costs a lot to participate basically and Australia just doesn't have the extra money, they say.  Nevertheless it was a good experience to wander through all the pavillions and test the local products and see what the buildings turned out like.  Once in this place, there is no getting out until you really have to and we manganed to last until about 18H00.  Once again we were spent and just went back to the Hotel.  Day 3 was about looking around the centre of Milan to see what all the fuss is about.  Several must sees are in Milan and because of this you need to book early.  Such as Leonardo de Vinci's 'The Last Supper' need to be booked and this is something that we didn't do.  In the end it doesn't really matter because there are lots of 'Last Suppers' around the place, just not done by da Vinci (they all look the same to me anyway).  And if you do desperately need to see a frescoe by de Vinci then all you need to do is go to the Castello Sforzesco because they are currently restoring one that he did there.
All in all I don't rate Milan that highly.  Yes there is a magnificent Duomo there and lots of history but it is a mystery to me as to why it is so highly regarded in the World.  AC Milan I suppose.
Off to Cinque Terre, a place that I've heard great things about, and also to tempt the Heat Gods and try to camp.  Bad, bad error that, I must have pissed them off somewhere.  Anyhow stiff shit as somehow I managed to start the chainsaw up but poor Audrey didn't get any sleep that night.  Maybe it was her that upset the Gods.  Ummm.  Cinque Terre is a group of 5 Villages that have slowly grown over the Centuries, spreading out over the cliff faces that they cling precariously to.  Up unitl about 120 years ago, when a railway line was contructed between them, paths connected all the villages and farmlands (over 7,000 km's of terracing) that have been created.  Some along the cliff faces, others up and over the hills.  The most famous of these walks is the via Dell'amore, the lovers road.  So off we went, catching the train from Deiva Marina through to Riomaggiore and then walk back along this nice and easy and flat section, enjoying ourselves and the vistas.  However noone told us that the damm thing is closed, and has been for quite awhile and that the only way to walk to the next village, which was only 15 minutes, is now over the hill and about 1H30.  Not enough water brought for that journey especially in the 40 degree heat.  We tried it and by the time we stumbled into Manarolo we where both Effed, yes with a capital E.  Our plans is disarray, there was only one option open and that was to take the train back to the last village, Monterosso, and have an ice-cream there and chillax.  Audrey can't do that, even when buggered, and we had to go for another walk just to really make us tried.  Doesn't she realize that I still had to drive to Florence later that afternoon !!!