As mentioned in previous shots, part of today's excursion was intended to be to the Quadrilatero della moda, the upmarket shopping zone of Milano. Did we make it there? Eeeeeh, according to Google Maps we're JUST inside the south west quarter of it. This store, the Magazzini delle Firme (or signatures (as in signing one's name) warehouse, literally) has its official address as Via degli Omenoni, angolo, Piazza Filippo Meda, 2, which is a little strange since the Via degli Omenoni is in fact the street that runs down the far side of the building, and does not actually intersect with the Piazza Filippo Meda, which is behind me in this shot. But anyway...

The store was a tad underwhelming, as I recall it, being more like an outlet store that you can find in many suburbs in Australia but that may well have been a failure of expectations. We were well into the trip by this point (day 21 to be precise), and I was starting to get a bit travel fatigued, as well as relying too much on Google Maps rather than getting an understanding of the layout of the city. However even if I HAD led us into the heart of the fashion district... what were we expecting to find? Yes, Milan is renown as a fashion centre but in the end clothes are still clothes. And here's the dirty little secret of clothes shopping when you're travelling; your bags are probably already packed to capacity with what you need for the trip anyway. Suppose I were to find myself a nice Milanese suit at a bargain price. Where the hell would I put it for the remaining week of the trip? Have it get crushed inside an already stuffed suitcase? Have it sent through the mail and hope that it doesn't get lost, crushed, etc?

This extends to other types of shopping as well, such as the glass works that we were taken to in Venezia. Like you're going to carry a glass artwork around for a couple of weeks? Have you SEEN how baggage handlers at some airports toss bags?

I don't think that trying to find a good shopping district was intrinsically a bad idea, but I think it's probably useful to have a clear idea of "what specifically do we want to see, and what do we want to get out of this?" before setting out. This doesn't exclude the possibility of serendipity and unexpected detours, but it probably makes for a better experience.

Still, the guy standing outside the store here seems quite amused by it all, between his wry smile and relaxed pose. Whether he's a local or a tourist is hard to tell.