Meandering in Milano

We stepped around the corner of the street and just stopped. Monica and I stared in awe at the majestic Duomo in Milan.


Now I know we have been here before, but it really is so breath-takingly beautiful. We took an audioguide tour of the cathedral and were inundated with historical facts and information. What amazes me is how old parts of the structure are, but that newer acquistions have been added much more recently, it really is a work forever in progress.

We had to catch the tram into Milan, just a short block or so away from our hotel. The tram was of an older style and had wooden seats around the outer walls, and wood paneling, very retro - or is that just old?

The tram took us directly into the city, so it was very convenient. We went shopping first, but not for boring old shoes or handbags or such, no we went shopping for books and videos. Of course as 98% of the material was in Italian I had a harder time spending my money in those stores, but I did find a few things to buy. Monica, however, managed to spend a few more Euros than me.

We had lunch at a sidewalk cafe in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. We ordered pizza, the crust is much thinner and the sauce is much more just tomato, but it is so good.

We tried to go to La Scala, but there were no performances that day, we also went to Sforza castle, but got there just as all the museums were closing for the day. So we went for dinner at another restaurant that had a beautiful view of the Duomo, gleaming in the setting sun. Monica and I shared a salad, pasta dish, and dessert, and decided that was a good way to be able to have more than just one dish for supper.

As we took the tram home it poured rain and there was thunder and lightning (same storm you had maybe? just kidding) but it had mostly stopped even by the time we had to walk back to the hotel.

The next day we toured Sforza Castle, a beautifully restored castle from the 1400's. We took an audiotour of this building as well, but I can never listen to all of the information... my brain goes into overload. What is amazing is that people back then really didn't have as much stuff as we do, even the wealthy people in the castle. They did however, have lots of colour on the walls, in gorgeous tapestries, and in frescos painted on the walls and ceilings. They also seemed to like statues.



Monica and I finished our tour, then went back to the hotel and headed out. We left Milano, and only took one wrong turn on the road to our next destination - Bosco del Fracasso (A Forest of Chaotic Sound is the translation!) More about that and the amazing sights later.