We didn't really have much of an idea of where to go or what to do in Milan. Well besides what our guide book mentions. So we made our way to the metro station for some breakfast and then figure out where to go. We knew we wanted to see the Duomo and Sdorza castle and whatever else we happened upon. For breakfast we had a cappuccino, hot chocolate and croissants standing at the bar. It was pretty good except the barista tapped me on the arm and then pointed at the tip jar ... 4 times. WTF! We tipped him but not 4 times.
The Duomo was pretty but not that impressive compared to what we saw in Rome. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful and elaborate and ornate and all those other colorful adjectives but the inside just didn't have the 'wow' that we expected. However we did climb to the top and get a birds eye view of the city! Now that was sweet! Interestingly, taking the stairs was €7/person while the elevator was €12!!!!!! I can't even imagine how much money that place takes in!
Left the Duomo, made a free bathroom stop at McDonalds (yea!!!!) and walked to a church I had read about. Of course it was closed so we made our way to get some tasty gelato just as it started to rain. Tried to find another church but were thwarted again so we grabbed a yummy slice of pizza and went to the Sforza castle.
When we ordered our pizza I used my best Italian and said 'Due Pizza Margherita per favored' to which the guy replied 'are you from America?' why yes we said, how did you know (cause my Italian was spot on of course!). He then explained that we ordered a pizza mar-GA-rita instead of a pizza marga-rrrrrrrita (rolling the r's). Guess I need to work on my pronunciation :(
Sforza castle is a gigantic brick, hard looking structure. We paid the €3/per to go into the museum and perused all the art and did out best to interpret it all. The real reason to go was to see Michelangelo's last Pieta. It wasn't finished when he died so it gives a neat look into how he worked on his sculptures. We saw some cool things in the museum: sarcophagi, funerary monuments and a room full of WEAPONS and ARMOR!!!!! Super cool that was! Spears and swords and silly helmets galore. In the next room was the Pieta which had a great description nearby. We looked at it for a bit, read Michealangelo's inscription and then headed out.
From there we made our way over to monumental cemetery. However our metro planning was a little off, meaning our 24 hour pass had run out so we had to buy a regular ticket. Anyway, got to the cemetery just before closing and were blown away. The grave monuments at this place are seriously awesome. Giant statues, quaint angels, some angels with friggin spears! This place had it all. Of course it was raining a bit which added to the experience.
Headed home and eventually made it out again for dinner. Tonight was a crazy important soccer game for Milan. Intermilan played AC Milan ... In Milan. So we found a local restaurant playing the game, had pizza and a calzone (and some wine) watched the first half of the game and then figured we'd watch the end from our room. Right. Apparently out of 3 cable companies in Milan, only 2 show the game. Guess which cable company our hotel had? Our cable company is only allowed to broadcast highlights during the game. What does that mean? Well it means you get to watch 4 or 5 older men sitting in front of their own tv / computer screen, screaming out their own interpretation of what's happening ... In Italian of course. So we did a little more planning for the rest of Italy and listened to people on tv screaming in Italian about the soccer game.
Tomorrow we head to Lezzano on Lake Como. We'll be there 3 nights, staying at a place we booked on airbnb.com for $60 per night. It's an attic apartment in someone's house so hopefully it works out.
Pics:
1) Candle lighting in the Duomo.
2) Top of the Duomo.
3) Reading is fundamental! Saw this in a random metro stop.
4) Michelangelo's last Pieta.
5) The Duomo.
6) Mrs Blue on top of the Duomo.
7) Seriously cool statue of St Bartholomew in the Duomo. This poor guy was skinned alive and the statue is meant to show this (notice how scary he looks).
8) Me in front of a grave monument at the cemetery.
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