Way back in January I left the cloudiness of Spain and headed to the cloudiness of Milan. Due to the clouds, I read nearly the whole way, and about three quarters of the way there I glimpsed out the window expecting to see the clouds floating below with no view of the ground. To my surprise, I could see the Alps swimming in the sea of clouds. I was entranced and continued to watch them for quite a while, and before I knew it we were descending into Milan.
On this trip, I wasn’t much in the mood for traveling (I had a rare three day weekend, and I booked trips in November for those long weekends). I was feeling a little bit out of it, and when I saw the Alps my day brightened. I put my book (read: Kindle) in the pouch in front of me, and forgot about it. Yes, I left it on the plane when we landed. I was also sitting at the front of the plane, and they were selling bus tickets into the city. I didn’t stop the steward when he walked by because I was looking at the directions to my hotel, and they didn’t mention taking a bus but a train. I decided to go against the directions, and buy the bus ticket. I waited for the steward to walk back down the aisle, and I stopped him when he did. I asked if I could buy it, and he told me that they were landing and the store was closed. All of this I understood fine, but he continued and demanded to know why I didn’t stop him when he walked by the first time. I just felt awkward during that entire exchange… Luckily we were being taken to the terminal by bus, so I realized I didn’t have my book when I opened my bag, and I ran back up to the plane. Woo. But this just goes to show that I was out of it, and probably not in a mind-set to travel to a country where I didn’t speak the language.
However, everything worked itself out in the end. My awkward experiences ended here, and I greatly enjoyed Milan. I was able to buy a ticket to a different bus in the terminal, and it left earlier than the bus I would have bought on the plane. The bus went to the main train station, and from there I took the metro to my hotel. It wasn’t too far away, and I checked in and was given a restaurant recommendation where I could also get 10% off with a card from the hotel. I dropped off my things, and it was only around 6:30. I decided to explore a little bit around my area of Milan, and when I got outside it started to snow. This greatly calmed my nerves, and I enjoyed walking around in the winter wonderland, even if the snow didn’t stick. As I was walking I even had a random guy ask if I wanted to go for coffee, and when I declined he said thank you. Whether the ‘grazie’ was for the response or what, I don’t know, but it seemed polite. I found the restaurant and ate a yummy marguerita pizza. I was there fairly early, and was pretty much the only one in the restaurant until the time I started to leave.
Since it was fairly early in the evening when I finished, and because I didn’t want to abandon the snow since I knew it probably wouldn’t stick around until the next day, I hopped on the metro and went to the major cathedral in Milan, Il Duomo. It was abandoned and gorgeous with the snow falling. It was magical, and I kept hearing music. After I walked around the plaza, I found another exit from the metro where the city had set up ‘musical stairs.’ A few people were playing on the stairs, and I played a little myself. I just stayed near Il Duomo and watched it snow for a while before going back to my hotel to retire for the evening.
The next day I had booked a tour to see Milan and Da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper.’ I ate breakfast at my hotel and went to the starting point of the tour. I was amongst the first to arrive, and I spoke with a nice couple from London while waiting. The husband had been working in Milan for several weeks, but had been too busy to see any of the sights. The wife had come in for his last weekend in the city, and they had decided to take the tour to try to fit in the most important things before going back to London. I ended up speaking with them a lot throughout the tour, and it was nice to speak English with a few different people than my usual bunch.
The tour first took us to the castle in Milan, Castello Sforzesco. We walked around the grounds and the guide pointed out the Italian’s copy of the Arc de Triomphe from Paris. Apparently Napoleon I wanted one in Milan, too. Also, there were old stone sculptures hanging in the castle grounds that had been found in Milan while excavating for metro lines.
In the castle, there were men trying to hand out bracelets. They reminded me a lot of the guys that hang out at Montmartre, and if you’re not careful they’ll put a bracelet on your wrist and demand money. I carefully avoided them and continued walking.
After the castle, we went by bus to see the Last Supper. I never realized it was in Milan before I booked this trip, and thinking about it I was curious as to why it was kept here. Now, realize that I haven’t studied art, so I had no idea that this painting was on a wall. I always thought it was a canvas painting. It was drawn so that if you stand in the middle of the room and look at the painting, it looks like the walls continue and the last supper is happening on the other side of the room. Da Vinci used a lot of strange methods painting this masterpiece, and as such it has faded a lot over time. It’s been restored countless times, and sometimes the restorations have been said to have dramatically changed the painting. It was pretty amazing. Also, during World War II, the building was struck by a bomb. There had been a few measures taken to save it from damage should something occur, but it’s still amazing that the wall even survived. The surrounding walls have been reconstructed to reflect the original architecture, but it is obvious where the new structure has been built. Due to the delicate painting, only a certain amount of people are allowed in the room for 15 minutes at a time, and it’s also necessary to pass through several acclimatization zones before entering to see the painting.
There is also a church there called Santa Maria delle Grazie. Our tour group was around 30 people, so while part of the group saw the painting, the other went to the church. It was full of intricate designs and was much more beautiful than the outside would have suggested since it wasn’t the huge cathedral that I’m more used to these days.
From here we went to the Teatro alla Scala. We walked inside the theater, and it was huge. We were told that shows sell out months in advance and it’s next to impossible to get a ticket. We also walked through the theater’s museum which featured the myriad of singers that had worked there.
We continued on to Il Duomo. We went inside the cathedral, and I learned a few things that I never would have known if I had gone on my own. For example, if you look at the picture of the interior, you can see a red light on the ceiling. The light points out where a nail is kept. This nail is a relic, and is supposedly one of the ones used during Jesus's crucifixion. It is only taken down once a year during Easter, and while it is out it has to be protected by guards 24/7.
After going inside Il Duomo, the tour was over. The couple from London told me that on a clear day the Alps can be seen from the top of the cathedral, and that it is definitely worth the trip up. Well, it was cloudy and they weren’t visible, but I still made the trip. It was pretty at the top, but I wish I could’ve seen the mountains.
When I went back down I took a few pictures of Il Duomo in daylight. I was approached again by the bracelet guys, and adamantly refused the bracelet. They kept insisting it was free (in 4 different languages), and I realized later that they were just trying to promote a good image of an African country, but I still didn’t take one.
I then walked towards the Corinthian columns. I found a restaurant near them, and ate a delicious dish of mashed potatoes baked with spinach and cheese while getting a glimpse of the columns. While I was eating, a man that worked with the restaurant was playing catch with his dog. He was either the manager or the owner, and when I paid, he was the man who had to make the change. He threw the ball, and went back inside leaving the dog running after the ball. The dog brought the ball back to the door, looked around, then just dropped down to the ground and put his head on his paws looking devastated while he waited. Unfortunately, the owner didn’t even go back out after getting the change, and the dog gave up after a while.
After lunch, I headed to the Monumental Cemetery. It was amazing. If you’ve seen Phantom of the Opera, the huge tombs in the cemetery reminded me of that film. I wandered the grounds and came across all kinds of monuments. Some represented grief, others showed religious scenes. A lot of them held the theme of the body becoming part of the earth again, and then there were modern pieces that just looked like artwork.
I left when it was starting to get dark outside. I went back to Il Duomo to maybe go shopping in the Galleria. I ended up seeing an outdoor market, and walked through the different stalls. There was one stall that had Venetian masks. Now maybe I should have waited to go to Venice to buy a mask, but I found one that had playing cards all over it. Since I have no idea what to do with my collection of playing cards, I thought the mask might help me to tie a theme together once I get on my own in a place of my own.
For my last meal in Milan, I went to the restaurant next door to my hotel after checking out menus from all over. I ate lasagna and tiramisu and listened to a French couple discuss the role of women these days. Should women stay at home or work: discuss. After my dinner, I turned in for the night and then I headed back to Madrid the next morning.
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