I decided to go for an early morning photo shoot before the others got up, although 7:20 is no way early by my standards. Why I was so relatively tardy, I have no idea. My preference is to go out photo shooting before sunrise, which was at 06:55 that morning.

I decided to take a shot of my starting point, specifically our hotel which was at the time the Best Western Plus Hotel Galles. It still is the Hotel Galles, but it seems to have left the Best Western group not so very long ago.

The place was a little bit like Fawlty Towers in the way it was run; we were given the wrong room types, trying to use the laundry involved 3 trips to the front desk, the key card stopped working, and many other irritations. They did try to be nice about it and brought me a complimentary bottle of wine which is always appreciated by someone who doesn't drink alcohol but I believe the other 3 enjoyed it. But regardless, I do look back on the place with some degree of fondness. It's unfortunate that it's no longer a Best Western, since that was how I found it in the first place.

The hotel still runs, but it's simply under the name Hotel Galles these days.

The large road that runs alongside it is the Corso Buenos Aries. However the address is actually Piazza Lima, which is the start of the small offshoot road that runs along the south west of the building. The main entrance is on that road, behind the shrubbery in my foreground. The flags are situated over the main lobby doors.

Speaking of the flags, the Italian flag obviously needs no introduction. The European union flag, likewise although it's a little hard to see folded against its mast. The one on the far right is the Best Western flag which looked worse for wear, and is doubtless no longer flown. The one on the far left is a different matter.

At first glance it would appear to be the cross of St George, symbol of England (amongst other places). However it isn't, it's the flag of the city of Milano. More specifically, this was the symbol of Ambrose of Milan, Archbishop of Milano from 374 A.D. to 397 A.D. He was later made a saint, and went on to become the patron saint of Milano, and also, for some reason, beekeepers.

You will see the cross appearing on the crest of calcio (football) club AC Milano. (An odd pairing given that it was the symbol of an Archbishop, considering that AC Milano's nickname is il diavolo (the devil).) It also forms part of the symbol of Alfa Romeo cars which used to be headquartered in Milano.

The building's structure seems to have a certain Parisian vibe to it, which probably is no coincidence considering the impact of the French on Milano in the Napoleonic period. We'll see another distinctive example of that later on in this gallery.