Milano!

I love being in Italy. The train to Milan from Bern passed through the Lake Como region, which was a beautiful sight, and we all smiled knowing we were back in Italy again. The cab ride from the train station to the hotel gave me no indication of what was in store for us in this incredible city. We got settled into our somewhat funky, but somewhat cool hotel (we liked it better after we realized our surroundings)! One of the first questions we usually ask when we arrive at a new hotel is “how do we arrange our internet service?” Our very sweet Italian bell boy, Lucca, says “ youa wanta internet? Yes, yes, it’sa free here . . . youa justa givea me youra credit card number, anda thena it’s all free.” And that’s the way it was in Milan – everything free – just after you give them your credit card number!

The first night we just walked around the Duomo and took in the people (the pickpocketers move through the crowds like sharks!), ate dinner at a sidewalk café and, of course, treated ourselves to gelato (it really does taste better in Italy). On Sunday we got really lucky and found four tickets on a tour which would take us to see the DaVinci’s Last Supper (the main reason we came to Milan). It’s not easy to get a ticket, even in the off season, and the best way is to join a tour, so we were really happy. After Madeline’s experience in her History class with Mr. Bream, she was determined to see this work of art. The tour took us to the Milan Castle, a classic Italian castle with gorgeous grounds, to the Santa Maria delle Grazie, the Gothic church which houses the refectory with the Last Supper, the La Scala Opera House, and back through the Duomo to the Piazza. We had an awesome tour guide because she was so passionate about the history and information she was sharing with us. The fifteen minutes we got to spend viewing the Last Supper was extraordinary. Madeline was really taken with being in the presence of this special art work. It’s pretty amazing that so much of the piece was preserved while the rest of the refectory was almost entirely destroyed in World WarII bombings. We found it strange and bizarre that at some point in the refectory’s history, someone decided a door should be put between the dining room and the kitchen (which is behind the wall where the Last Supper is painted). The door was cut into the wall in such a fashion that Jesus’ feet were cut off! Hey, if you need a door, you need a door!

The night of our tour we hung out in our hotel room and had a blast! An earth shattering lightning/thunder/hail storm passed over Milan for about two hours. The noise was deafening and all we could do was stand on our balcony and laugh out loud because it was so wild! The hail chunks were about one inch diameter drops of soft snow that pelted you pretty hard if you were brave enough to stick your hand out from the deck. Then, to our great satisfaction, we turned on the TV and our favorite movie, Moonstruck, was on in Italian! Matt and I walked to the corner to get a pizza to go and that was our perfect night in Milan.

The next day, the skies were blue, the sun was warm and the views from the top of the Milan Cathedral, the largest cathedral in Italy, were just stunning. We took loads of photos from roof, but the images we have from inside this cathedral will have to stay in our hearts and minds forever. There is no possible way to capture on film the architectural grandeur, the inspiring grace and the absolute magnificence of the interior of this cathedral. The moment we walked in the tears welled up inside me. It’s an experience I will never forget. It took 500 years to build the cathedral (but if it’s anything like Malibu, the first 327 years were spent just getting permits!). I can only imagine the generations of families that participated in the building of this cathedral and what their lives must have been like experiencing the progress.

Unfortunately, I had about as much desire to shop in Milan as I did to knock on someone’s door and ask them if I could do their dinner dishes! I’m really enjoying being a consumer by necessity only. We have plenty of time to find fun things along the way and I think I would get the most pleasure out of finding some incredible statue from Thailand, or Cambodia for our new home. But hey – there’s still time to get those Prada loafers in Rome in a few weeks!

See you in Paris!