Walnut and I rode the train from Basel to Milan while Jenn flew in a day later after a work conference. I went down early to spend a day at the Science and Technology Museum of Milan. The museum was huge- I couldn’t get through the whole thing in one day. They had a great display regarding particle accelerators and another regarding materials (plastics, rubber, aluminum, steel) It was really excellent.
Leonardo da Vinci 
early generator at Museum
After Jenn arrived, we did a half day walking tour that included the Milan Duomo and a visit to the Last Supper. The walking tour was very good- we were fortunate and it ended up as a private tour. Jenn managed to book us for a special once-a-month viewing of the Last Supper which gave us 30 minutes with a small group rather than the typical 15.
After Milan, we spent several days in Cinque Terre. We’d been looking forward to this trip for a long time. A travel blog we follow https://www.gocurrycracker.com/ suggested three places that would be fantastic to retire to and we’d already been to two of their suggestions and loved them. Unfortunately, though Cinque Terre was beautiful and quaint…. it is a hilly motherf@#$er. Part of the draw to the region is the cliffside hiking trails- and the 3 major ones were all closed due to damage. Walnut and I did one hike that was recommended. It was 7 km with 700m of elevation change and where there were steps, they were big ones. Great views but tough on the knees (and puppy legs!).
Cinque Terre was lovely but with the trails closed, it left some to be desired. The views were incredible, but it was very touristy even though we were there so early in the season.
On our way back to Switzerland we stayed a night in Varenna to help split up all the train rides. Varenna was an incredibly beautiful little town. We both said we may have been happier had we spent our time here rather than in Cinque Terre. Varenna was by the water and very flat- this might be why we were a little happier.
We took the poor man’s Bernina Express home (not express!). It’s a train that takes a specific path that crosses the Swiss Engadin Alps. It was a great trip! We even managed to get Super Saver tickets for our ride.
All told, it was a great week in Italy and we found we could take the train the whole way. It was a little long, so it was nice that Jenn broke it up into smaller train rides with an overnight here and there. Varenna was amazing, Milan has so much to offer that we didn’t get to, and Cinque Terre would be great to visit once the trails open back up. We’d love to go back and spend more time in some of the pretty little villages in northern Italy/southern Switzerland.
