Milan

I know, I know...I'm away longer than promised!  We got back into Paris late Sunday night and I went straight to Taylor's house in Chatou to spend a couple of days there cooking and doing laundry and just laying around watching movies.  I didn't have my computer which is why my blog posts are so long overdue!  

Italy was FABULOUS as always.  Milan was fashionable, Venice was romantic, and Rome was beautiful.  My favorite of the three?  Venice was without a doubt the most beautiful of the three, but Rome was young and energetic.  It would be a close call.  Unfortunately around day 2 of Venice I became sick as a dog with some sort of severe cold.  It was terrible and we couldn't move as fast as we would have liked to amongst the cities.  In fact, the day we spent in San Marino was an absolute blur and I remember saying to Laura, "If you want to go see that tower, go on, and I'll meet you at the bottom."  Those of you that know me, especially on vacation know that I normally don't pass up any discovery opportunity but I just couldn't make it.  I slept on the train from San Marino to Rome and then on through the night...it. was. miserable.  

Anywho, I'll get to that later.  

We left Laura's house Saturday morning at 5 am to get the night bus to Chatelet.  We then caught one of the first RER's out to Charles de Gaulle Airport for our flight at 8:30.  The flight was a bit rocky, but we flew over the Alps which is always incredible...I can't wait until our ski trip in a couple of weeks.  

We got off the plane in Milan and were greeted at the train ticket counter by an Italian man who thought he had jokes, but turns out when you can't speak the language, it's not so funny.  We got on the fancy Malpensa Express to the center and holy grail of Milan, the Duomo.  We got off our fancy train and descended to the metro, where a nice American girl helped us with our decision of a 2 day metro pass.  Our hostel was not as close as promised, but we were certainly satisfied with our decision once we realized that trams were a very important part of public transportation in Milan.  

Laura was crushing on the front desk guy at our hostel, so we spent the maximum amount of time downstairs in the common area.  Our room was very clean and well kept, but the fact we shared it with 4 other guys made it not so pleasant.  They were very nice guys, but I was glad we didn't spend very much time in the room because boys are just....well....boys.  We're not really sure how we came to the decision we signed up for a coed hostel dorm, but it was the only thing they had left so I suppose beggars can't be choosers.  Since we were all checked in by noon, we had an entire half day of exploring.  We started off through the magnificent Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, window shopping at Prada, Massimo Dutti, and Armani...drooling at all the beautiful things that seem so out of reach to an au pair's budget.  The Galleria Vittorio is built with glass-vaulted arcades and is named after the first king of the kingdom of Italy.  

We loved the architecture in Milan.

After wandering around the city center a bit, we made our way out to the Castello on the outskirts of town.  It was an unexpected surprise to find such an old castle plopped in the center of Milan, but I soon will find out in Rome it is quite the norm.  

There wasn't much to do there except for a few museums that we didn't have any interest in and some really annoying peddlers trying to sell us bracelets so we quickly moved on.  

Behind the castle a small children's fair was set up for the city.  Just beyond the fair was Milan's Arc de Triomphe...because every good European city has one.  And yes, that is snow in those small patches on the grass...there was still snow in quite a few places we went, Milan included.  

For dinner our first night we started off with a bang at 10 Corso Como.  10 Corso Como is a design concept store focusing on fashion, food, art, music, design, and culture.  We had reservations at the restaurant and arrived a little early so we spent a good hour browsing the beautiful things and marveling at the store design.  We can also now include a gallery opening on our checklist for Italy.

Loving these paper poppies that were everywhere throughout the store!

The bookstore.

Besides a 1000 euro lambskin bag, dinner was by far my favorite thing about 10 Corso Como.  We started off with an aperitif (apéritif is very popular in Italy) of sundried cherry tomatoes, fresh bite-size mozzarella balls, focaccia biscuits (like my Italian grandmother would make if I had an Italian grandmother), and freshly shaved prosciutto.  Dinner is hard to make out in this photo, but it was freshly made penne pasta with a tomato sauce that would knock your socks off.  I'm not even sure there was anything in the sauce other than tomatoes but the quality of those little cherry tomatoes smashed up all together was phenomenal.  Top it off with fresh cheese and a basil leaf?  Well, that's just icing on the cake.  It was the perfect beginning to a perfect Italian holiday.  

We skipped past the pièce de résistance of Milan on our way home, the Duomo.  

Funny little door guy.

Goooooood stuff. 

The construction of the Duomo of Milan was started in 1386 and technically wasn't finished until 1965...with many trials and tribulations along the way detailing its growth over 6 centuries!  It is the 4th largest cathedral in the world with many different styles of design executed throughout.  

East wing of the Duomo

Isn't it magnificent?

The inside is just as beautiful with its bright stained glass and 80 ft columns.  

Outside you are certain to find the "Jolly Bar" man selling any little snack you could ever think of.  

After the Duomo and a quick pizza lunch we made our way out to the Brera Gallery of Art for a little museum time.  Many famous Italian works were showcased in the museum, but I found the museum to be a bit large and overwhelming. 

We had scheduled our viewing of da Vinci's The Last Supper for 5:15 Sunday evening.  Luckily we bought our tickets ahead of time for they were sold out the day of!  **If anyone is ever thinking of going to Milan you must buy your ticket at least 2 or 3 weeks ahead of time on the internet.  The painting is at the Santa Maria delle Grazie church which is a UNESCO world heritage site.  The church is quaint yet beautiful, and from the looks of it, you wouldn't even imagine that such a famous work of art is stored there.  

The courtyard of the Santa Maria delle Grazie.

We presented our tickets for the 5:15 group and were sent to a little room with short descriptions of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece.  We waited about 10 minutes and then a museum employee came and gathered us all together, took our tickets and we went into a glass hallway.  We walked just a bit and suddenly couldn't go any further because the glass doors were shut.  After all of us were closed off into the hallway the first door opened and we were taken into another 'holding cell' if you will.  After we were all in that cell, we were then taken to another area where we could then see the door to the work of art....but not until the doors behind us were closed.  A voice came over the intercom, "Please enter the room and we kindly remind you, no photos."

My breath was taken away as we all took a seat on the benches in front of the giant painting.  Did you know that The Last Supper is not a framed painting but a wall???  The colors we see of the painting growing up in church and sunday school are saturated and bright in the photos.  But the actual painting is very very light and you can barely make out some of the characters and symbols.  The room was silent and peaceful, and the temperature was to remain unchanged, which is why we only had 15 minutes.  Da Vinci finished the work in 1498 and we learned that because of the painting technique he used, even a few years after he finished it was beginning to deteriorate.  

As early as 1517 the painting was beginning to flake, it went through many unsuccessful restorations and a period where the French Army used the building as a base in 1796 and threw rocks at the painting and scratched out the disciples' eyes.  During WWII the building was bombed and the vibrations and bomb splinters further damaged the wall.  It has been through many restoration periods since then, and the colors have changed dramatically on this masterpiece.  The climate and light controlled space was completed in 1999 and it is since then that you must book your ticket ahead of time.  

The faces in the painting can't compare to the ones you see in photos.  The facial expressions are so real and you can feel with every bone in your body what is going on at the table.  It's as if you are sitting as the 13th apostle and Jesus just said you would betray him.  I can't begin to imagine what my facial expression would be, but I began to paint myself into the photo.....

After a thought provoking half hour, dinner was the next mission on our minds.  I googled around and found a trattoria in the less touristy part of town that was suppose to have a decent risotto for fairly cheap.  The menu was completely in Italian and we had to do a little guessing and sleuthing to find out what a cozza was in the local language and there were even a few surprises when we received our plates but nothing that disappointed.  The risotto was made to order and delicious.  The only problem?  I wanted more.  

Spinach, anchovy, fresh olive oil, and puntarelle (a purely Italian green) salad.  

Mushrooms, tomatoes, red wine, leeks, beans, and parm.  

The next morning was another early start but not before wishing our best to Milan and the dishy Italian man working behind the counter at our hostel.  Milan treated us well including several quality dinners, a famous work of art, a beautiful cathedral, and some stunning architecture.  But, onto bigger and better things....like Carnivale celebrations in VENICE!