Milan

March 23rd 2012

Today was my day to explore Milan. I woke up at 8:30 and really had to convince myself to get up out of bed. I got dressed, got my stuff together and headed downstairs to find breakfast. I did find it and it was nothing like the one in Venice. It was only one table and had just cereal, roll, and yogurt. I ate a lost still and stole 2 rolls for lunch later. I asked for a map at the front desk, and headed out to go into the city center. It was good that I asked for a map! It was an easy enough route, but I felt better having a map with me.

Milan was not what I expected. I expected something like NYC, sleek, cool, modern. Instead it looked like NYC met Italy, and it just didn’t work. I am glad I don’t live in Milan. Its my second least favorite city (above only Naples). After about 20 minutes I got to the famous shopping Galleria. I went in and my jaw dropped. It was impressive. It was a long gallery with a glass roof and it was full of designer stores. A walked around with my jaw down the floor. One good thing about Milan… I wasn’t tempted to buy anything because I could remotely afford anything!

I walked out the other side of the Galleria and found myself face to face with the Duomo of Milan. It was HUGE. I walked around it to see all the statues and then headed inside. It wasn’t the most awesome church interior I have ever seen, but it was worth a gander. There was an awesome statue of the martyr who had been flayed alive. He is standing with his skin around his shoulders! I thought it was so cool! (again see facebook!) After walking around the inside, I went to the ticket office and bought my ticket to climb up to the roof! The hike up wasn’t as long as St Peter’s Basilica in Rome but it was still tiring! The views from the top were awesome though and well worth the climb!

It was fun to walk around the roof, and see all of the statues up close and personal. I spent awhile wandering around and resting after the climb! It was fun to see the spires up close, and the Galleria from above. Eventually I headed back down to the ground and sat on the steps to figure out my next move. I decided to go to the Pintoteca di Brera, an art museum. One I wanted to see some of their famous paintings and Two… they most likely had a potty. So I found my way over there without a problem!

I used the potty and bought my ticket. I showed the woman my student id, and she asked what I studied and where. Apparently Art History students get in for free, so I didn’t have to pay anything to roam around! I LOVE being a student for that reason! Discounted prices/free entry. I don’t want that to end! I went through the one floor gallery. They had some good pictures. A lot of Italian Renaissance art. (Hmmm… I wonder why!) I spent time sitting in the gallery chairs too in order to rest my weary feet!

After I bought some postcards of my favorite paintings at the bookshop, and decided to head to the Sforza castle. It was neat to see the castle, but besides that it wasn’t all that interesting. I did notice that the Museum of Ancient Art there had an unfinished Michelangelo Pieta. I decided to check it out. I walk in and read the sign… the museum is free from 2:30-4:30 every Friday and it was 3:00! Score! I was glad it was free at the end of the museum because there really wasn’t all that much there. I did see the Pieta which was cool! But besides that there wasn’t much going on in that museum!

I wandered around the park outside the castle. It was SO SO nice to see grass. It felt amazing soft to walk on. I miss that fluffy green stuff! It was a nice break from the city! At this point I was running out of things to do. I wandered back to the Duomo to sit on the stairs and figure out my plan. It was a good landmark to orientate myself around. It was really crowded by this point in the day, so I headed to a square nearby. I sat down to read my map and realized that someone was talking to me. The older man next to me started asking me questions. He seemed friendly so I answered and we chatted. He said that he had been a missionary and finally came back to Milan to retire. (why you would retire there I do not know) I talked to him for 15 minutes or so and then said that I was off to see a church (I really was but at the same time I was tired of talking to him) He wanted me to have coffee with him and his wife and at that point I excused myself. He seemed harmless but there was no way I was going to go to coffee with him and his wife. You never know…

So I was off to the church San Ambrosio. It was a long-ish walk and I was tired. I finally go there and it was a simple little church with not much there. I went inside just so I could sit down and rest without anyone talking to me this time! After awhile I decided to head back to the hotel. I went back to the Duomo and sat on the stairs to figure out the way back. I decided to take a different route that was a straighter shot. I picked the Corso… the shopping street! It was fun to look in windows and I was safe from spending money because I couldn’t afford anything! The walk seemed to take forever. My feet were killing me, and my legs were tired. I decided to eat at McDonalds near the hotel/train station because it was the cheapest! After my Big Mac Value Meal I headed over the train station to buy my tickets to Lake Como so I knew what time the trains left Milan. It was only 12.50 for a roundtrip ticket which was exciting! I bought the tickets, wrote down the times the trains left and headed to the hotel.

Somehow I stood up long enough to shower, then I laid in bed and watched the only English station… CNN. The news was depressing but I learned a lot. By 10:30 I was beyond tired and headed for bed! I was excited for the Lake Como adventure!

P.S The picture is Milan's Duomo